“They say it’s probably safe to keep orbiting for a while, but if it stays on or starts flashing we might have to call someone.”
Boise Ed sends this in: “I can’t recall ever seeing so clever a use of the fourth wall.”
JMcAndrew sends this in: “I’m assuming Curtis is watching the 1977 schlock horror film “The Incredible Melting Man” which might be the most obscure geezer movie I’ve ever seen referenced in a newspaper comic strip.”
Perhaps some relative of cartoonist Ray Billingsley was in this movie. Billingsley was born in 1957, so he would have been 20 when this was made.
Comics I Don't Understand 
My Halloween costume the year The Incredible Melting Man came out was one of those “crappy plastic mask and plastic tabard” costumes of the title character. I didn’t actually see the movie until it was on MST3K a few years ago. I lost the tabard very quickly, but had the mask for years.
If you want to see some amazing 4th wall breaking, check out Mister Invincible by Pascal Jousselin.
This link has a couple of pages from the book: https://store.magnetic-press.com/products/mister-invincible-by-pascal-jousselin
I see eight dogs in the Lennie Peterson “Big Picture” strip. I recognize (roughly from top to bottom without tilting your head) Odie (Garfield), Marmaduke, Satchel (Get Fuzzy), Snoopy (Peanuts), Grimmy (Mother Goose and Grimm), and Otto (Beetle Bailey).
I don’t recognize the white-and-beige dog or the blue dog, though.
Joshua K.: I think the blue one is Dagwood & Blondie’s dog Daisy.
The white-and-beige makes me think of the dogs from Mutts but it’s not specifically any of them that I can see.
The Incredible Melting Man has recently gotten a blu-ray release. I guess Curtis is going to be one of those pretentious cult film fans.
I’m old enough to remember when CHECK ENGINE meant, “you’re boned.” Now it’s mostly, “The computer has received a code which might or might not be a big deal.”
@JohnnyDog (2): Good stuff!
I got to see the melting man lose an ear on a shrub at the Hyde Park in Chicago on a double feature with the much worse My Bloody Valentine. Compared to MBV’s soulless celebration of cruelty, IMM was a Hallmark.
Brian in STL –
In Chevy Equinox it is on much of the time due to the known, but ignored problem – and they keep on making making the car year after year – with no fixing of the problem.
They do not acknowledge the problem. If one says they have the problem they will do an “oil consumption test”. Husband thought it great that they had test for the problem when we first found out why we needed to keep adding oil. The test was not fancy test, but what about I had figured it would be. – Pay to have them fill oil, bring car in monthly for them to check the oil level. They note how much oil was lost – refill the oil (no charge for same though) and send you out again to return the following month. AND – Do not take the car on any long trips, add oil on your own …
We finally gave up – check the oil weekly and add more when needed. There have been 2 class action suits (that we know of) for the “oil consumption problem” – no resolution of the problem other than to say to add more oil.
https://www.classaction.org/blog/new-class-action-claims-more-chevy-equinox-gmc-terrain-vehicles-plagued-by-oil-consumption-issue