16 Comments

1. 

   Is the Geezer tag for Alger Hiss, or is there something more obscure that I’m missing?

   Alger Hiss was before my time, but I’ve heard of him many times through history books. I don’t think he calls for a Geezer tag any more than Warren Harding, or Henry VIII.

2. 

   Winter, while I doubt Alger Hiss is as well-known today as Henry VIII, the Geezer tag is more art than science, so that’s why I asked.

   (Of course, there’s also the fact that this community might not be completely typical of the average comic strip reader)

3. 

   We resemble that remark!

4. 

   I get the Alger Hiss reference, but what is the caption supposed to be–is it the character’s name? It doesn’t make sense as a role, or profession.

5. 

   beckoningchasm, sometimes I tag a comic as a CIDU because I’m pretty sure there’s more to it than is plainly obvious.

   But…

6. 

   From Wikipedia:

   HISS. Did you ever go under the name of George Crosley?
   CHAMBERS. Not to my knowledge.
   HISS. Did you ever sublet an apartment on Twenty-ninth Street from me?
   CHAMBERS. No; I did not.
   HISS. You did not?
   CHAMBERS. No.
   HISS. Did you ever spend any time with your wife and child in an apartment on Twenty-ninth Street in Washington when I was not there because I and my family were living on P Street?
   CHAMBERS. I most certainly did.
   HISS. You did or did not?
   CHAMBERS. I did.
   HISS. Would you tell me how you reconcile your negative answers with this affirmative answer?
   CHAMBERS. Very easily, Alger. I was a Communist and you were a Communist.

   So there is a connection between Hiss and 29th Street

7. 

   Great find, Kevin. Thanks.

   And I think we just moved the dial to 20.

8. 

   Mike Peterson also featured the “Algebra Hiss” comic today, and sort-of suggested a tie-in to a New York cheating scandal of some years back:

   http://www.dailycartoonist.com/index.php/2019/02/25/csotd-kvetching-and-komix/

9. 

   I am disappointed in the lack of pumpkins.

10. 

    Shrug, that link was interesting. It leads me to another question, was Freckles and His Friends actually an early version of the Archie series. I see a lot of similarities there in this sample.

11. 

    I am disappointed in the lack of pumpkins.

    Oh sure, “Dave”. Or should I say, “David S. Pumpkins?!”

    

12. 

    ‘And I think we just moved the dial to 20.’

    That comment must’ve put me into an alternative universe ’cause IDU it or anything after it (Freckles, pumpkins, et al).

13. 

    Andréa, that was to follow-up on Bills title, “Dialing the Obscurity Up To 11”, which again is a reference to “This Is Spinal Tap”. (Google that, if you haven’t seen the clip.)

    As for pumpkins and stuff — no idea…

14. 

    I seem to remember something about Alger Hiss passing his spy communications hidden in a pumpkin in a garden, or something…

15. 

    http://www.famous-trials.com/algerhiss/650-keyevidence

16. 

    “Freckles and His Friends” started in 1915, about 20 years before Archie, and continued well into the 1960’s. “Harold Teen” appeared in 1919 and survived into the 1950’s. The only connection with “Archie” is that the strips were about teenagers.