B.A. was right: coincidence or not, Death comics really ground to a halt the third week in February. This is the first entry since March 6.
And as somebody else pointed out (forgive me please, I’m not able to look it up right now, but I’ll edit in the name shortly), the current pandemic might be putting the kibbosh on Death comics soon.
Comics I Don't Understand 
This cartoon (#7634) has nothing to do with current events, since it is nearly a thousand entries short of the (current) end of the Andertoons archive (#8606). An appearance at GoComics is a meaningless coincidence.
This might be a new Gesundheit entry:
https://www.gocomics.com/breaking-cat-news/2020/03/15
Kilby, my speculation was that the Death comics ground to a halt three weeks after Bill announced the contest, as a reaction thereto.
Nothing to do with our friend Coronavirus.
“the current pandemic might be putting the kibbosh on Death comics soon” should become applicable in a week or so.
And a new Russian nesting dolls entry: https://www.gocomics.com/half-full/2020/03/14
@ Brian – I’m perfectly willing to suspend my disbelief for the sake of cartoon physics, but I cannot conceive of a linguistic system or medical infection that could possibly result in the word “opossum” sounding even remotely like a sneeze.
@ B.A. – Bill seems to agree with you; he wrote “…we were seeing a lot more Russian Nesting Doll/Clown Car/Gesundheit comics before we began keeping score“. Personally, I doubt that anything here at CIDU would carry that much weight with a cartoonist suffering under a looming deadline, I think the effect that both of you have reported is more likely to be an inverted Baader-Meinhoff phenomenon.
@ guero – That “Half Full” theater window is awfully similar to Wayno’s depiction, but perhaps the “group rate” aspect makes it an independent gag.
Kilby, of course you realize I was just pointing out a curiosity, not really suggesting causation.
@Kilby: we’re cheering for our teams, and you are commenting on the artistry (or lack thereof) of the individual goals 🙂 What’s important here is to rack up two more points for team Russian Nesting Doll/Clown Car/Gesundheit!
@ larK – As I mentioned to Bill along with a recent submission, I’ve gone renegade and changed sides: I’m currently rooting for Death to score a big win. This may explain my unwillingness to accept B.A.’s unfavorable (but entirely accurate) observations of the declining frequency. The reason for my changing sides is tactical, and has nothing to do with my aesthetic preferences: I’m simply hoping for a 4:1 lead at the end of the month, so that the invocation of the mercy rule will release us from having to keep score.
I’m perfectly willing to suspend my disbelief for the sake of cartoon physics, but I cannot conceive of a linguistic system or medical infection that could possibly result in the word “opossum” sounding even remotely like a sneeze.
Tell Georgia. It’s still a published comic. I don’t recall the exact rules, but I think it qualifies. Did it require an actual sneeze, or just use of the word?
@ Brian – Of course it qualifies, the intent is clear. I just think that the linguistic stretch is a bit too tenuous to support a viable joke.
The gag is, basically, we see something having been blown away — like a snowman’s hat, carrot nose and all of his buttons — and that snowman saying to his friend “gesundheit.”
NOW ENGLISH IS NOT MY FIRST LANGUAGE SO THEREFORE I HAD TO LOOK UP 1. KICK IT (HAVE FUN) AND 2. KICK THE BUCKET (TO DIE). SO DEATH FOOLS THE OLD MAN SAYING HAVE FUN AND WHEN HE DOES HE DIES. FOR YOU GUYS THAT MAY BE SELF-EVIDENT BUT FOR ME IT WAS A REVELATION.
All caps are frequently considered to be rude in forums (equivalent of shouting).