Category / CIDU

by EditorM

DUST

Is the joke just that there are social distinctions even among these kinds of items? Or is there an aspect that “dustbin” might be more of a British-sounding term and thus carry some cachet for those American cans?

Featured image (at top): “The dust-heaps, Somers Town, in 1836.” From an engraved wood print, circa 1880.
From this UC Santa Cruz site, about Dickens’s last completed novel, Our Mutual Friend (whose early drafts reportedly were titled Dust).

by zbicyclist

Trying to Eke Out a Joke Here

Jack Applin sent this in, with multiple comments;

• A cat is lecturing to people.
• The cat is using a laser pointer, but isn’t chasing the dot.
• “EKEKEKEK”? Not “EEK”.
• The mice have motion vectors; the leftmost is spinning.
• The bottom mouse is dead (x for eye).
• I thought the mice were in/above water, but that is text,
as seen in the bullet points to the right.
• Despite all this data, I have no idea what’s going on.

We are encouraging catty remarks in the comments.

by EditorM

Hagar meets some hooligans

The only joke I can fish out of this might be that we are supposed to know that the kids’ parents are sitting right there in the bar. But that might depend on us recognizing them as regular characters and knowing their families … a bit more than I can muster.

Or are the kids a crossover or tribute from another strip?? Wasn’t there a classic with “Hooligan” in the title? Oh, never mind.

by EditorM

Let’s debate which way would be funnier

You ever think — or find yourself actually writing a comment — that the comic we’re seeing maybe has a point or makes a joke, or maybe doesn’t really, but in any case would be much better off if only some aspect were changed?

We just have to agree with some commenters on the GoComics appearance of this panel in October 2023 that getting a joke from this would seem to require knowing which of the gorillas ordered the virgin daiquiri. Is it the one facing us from the far end of the banquette and looking (maybe) a little abashed? Or could it have worked better with one gorilla and three humans? Or how about …

One original commenter said The joke isn’t about which ordered it – the joke is that the virgin one is simply a banana…. Does that help? Or does it just emphasize that *all* of them would probably want the plain banana?

Okay, sure, the little one is the “sub” woofer because it’s subordinate. I guess. 
— But, but … When it comes to actual acoustic speakers (where the terminology originated), a sub woofer produces even lower pitches than a woofer, and therefore needs to be larger. 
— Okay, that might fix the technicality, but it would ruin the joke.
 – Nah, it would be funnier that way, with the facts working. 
 – Nah, it would be stupid that way. Everybody would say, “But what’s the joke?”

And what do mice know or care, about an MRI scan? Ah, but if it were about CAT scans, then we would understand the issue!

by multipleciduers

Not the Midas touch

This striking but very puzzling Six Chix cartoon by the Friday chick, Maritsa Patrinos, was suggested by CIDU readers travelgirl, bobanero, and Jack Applin; and understanding remains elusive also for CIDU editors and for Comics Kingdom commenters.

(P.S., thanks for letting us know about https://www.usatoday.com/comics as another outlet for viewing King Features / Comics Kingdom cartoons.)

P.S.

Little did we suspect, when writing a title for this post based on the Six Chix comic, that we would almost immediately run across an actual Midas-themed cartoon!

CIDU QUEUE REMINDER

As always — but it needs saying explicitly again now and then — we like to think of this as a reader-participation site, and not just for your invaluable (or anyhow amusing) comments, but for suggestions of comics to run and discuss.

Please share your specific suggestions of panels or strips, in CIDU, LOL, and OY categories, either by direct email to

(that’s “CIDU dot Submissions” at gmail dot com) or by using the handy-dandy Suggest A CIDU form page!