From DanV, who says “The first two panels of today’s Frazz were clear enough. But then Frazz starts talking about the kid’s pants. Even if I did understand what that had to do with the conversation (which I don’t), where is the joke?”
Maybe the answer is in context? Try for yourself! The weeklong series begins Monday, October 12: https://www.gocomics.com/frazz/2020/10/12 .
Comics I Don't Understand 
Kids grow up fast?
Yeah, under the philosophy of ‘don’t buy until you discard’ he has an edge in getting to buy new things because he’s outgrowing his clothes so quickly. In fact, he outgrew his pants as they were speaking.
It seems like “too big for his britches” should come in somehow, but I just don’t see it.
In his case, waiting to buy until after he discards would not give him “an edge”, it would actually cause a period in time where he has no wearable pants; were he not a minor with parents to take care of this, this situation could lead to being unable to purchase the replacement as he now has no pants to wear, and so can’t go out to buy replacements (yeah, yeah, buy online; I’m interested in the principle, not the specific instance) — so far from having an edge, this philosophy causes him a hindrance compared to those who stock up before they actually need an item….
The edge is simply that some people find it hard to get rid of stuff they already have. (Psychologically, we value things we own more than they are worth, also known as the Endowment Effect https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endowment_effect#:~:text=In%20psychology%20and%20behavioral%20economics,they%20do%20not%20own%20it.) For kids, it’s theoretically easier, as it’s obvious you need to get rid of things you’ve grown out of. I say theoretically, because have you ever tried to get a kid to get rid of their favorite shirt? (“Mom, I LOVE this shirt! I don’t care if it’s too short!”)
@Chemgal: A friend just posted a photo of her son wearing a Pokemon shirt – fits fine. It was his nightshirt as a much younger child – so I guess eventually these things do fit again! 😀
Chemgal, my wife has the same problem with me to the extent that she has been known to throw my old clothes out while I’m at work.
Surely the secret is to wear your old clothes to work, so she can’t do that?
Yeah, it’s a “kids grow fast” joke at it’s heart. As my wife is…an accumulator, shall we say, I almost agree with what this kid says. I think it should actually be “one in, one out”. There can be a brief period of overlap, but when you bring (non-food) items into your home, you should try to get rid of some other stuff.
I did go back to the beginning of the series on October 12 and the thing I found shocking is how upset Frazz looked that this kid WHO DOESN’T EVEN HAVE A NAME is going to be moving away.
I’m glad someone did go back and examine the whole didactic series!
I believe the boy is Caulfield, the one who most often takes part in interactions with Frazz. But yes, odd that it doesn’t get mentioned across six days.
Caufield is black. That is not Caufield.
Hmm, right you are, it’s not Caulfield.
Very frustrating that none of the early search results give a clue to the other child characters names or pictures. The GoComics site is hopeless, and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frazz#Recurring_characters , after Frazz and Caulfield, goes into a long list of other adults but no other kids.
Mitch4 – I cannot remember seeing any other kid in “Frazz” (besides Caulfield) being addressed by a name. That doesn’t mean it has never happened, but even if so, it is very rare indeed.
A quick look around found two:
and
Good detective work!
I agree with Mitch4 that both strips are impressive finds for just a “quick look” (both of them are seven years old), but only the second one really qualifies as “showing” the kid who was named.
Kilby, *after* posting those two strips, I found one with Gabriela pictured. Here’s one showing her, with a different named kid offscreen.
@ Arthur – I should have realized that the second strip was part of a longer story arc. Perhaps these are an indication that Frazz used to be more balanced (with regard to the students), before Caulfield started to monopolize the strip.
P.S. Nevertheless, it would be nice to see another good “mystery literary costume” for this Halloween. I’ve already decided that it would not be a good idea to send our kids out for “trick or treating” this year, but I’m not sure how to handle any kids that come around ringing our doorbell. Maybe we’ll hand out disinfectant wipes instead of candy.
Here is a sequence (from present week) showing another Frazz kid with a name, Ronnie:
So Ronnie themself is shown in one strip, while their name is used in the other two. Is the author still playing with us a little?
One advantage of the Venerable Bronco is that it’s so tall compared to me that I’m not inclined to put anything on the roof.