Shark week 2023 began July 23, so when I started this accumulation some months ago I assumed it would be the same week in 2024, and scheduled it for then. But I guess the chaos around the Discovery / HBO / Warner merger confused even the sharks, and shark week was last week.
[2024-07-04 note: This post was originally from last year, 2023, but now bumped up as a republish. One or two strips added to the post proper as of the 2024 republish. Previous comments are retained, and current readers are encouraged to continue the comments thread!]
July 4th is zbicyclist’s wife’s birthday. She had to age a few years before she realized the fireworks weren’t for her.
But that’s not all of the story: On July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, John Adams also died. His last words included an acknowledgement of his longtime friend and rival: “Thomas Jefferson survives.” Adams was unaware that Jefferson had died several hours before. At 90, Adams was the longest-lived U.S. president until Ronald Reagan surpassed him in 2001. (and now Jimmy Carter, born October 1, 1924) Source: Wikipedia.
[This Mutts strip added for 2024. It was just too sweet to resist.]
[This Peanuts is from 1964]
Good morning, Fathers!
I really like the “meta” element in this one, not to mention the fireworks:
For Mothers Day, a bit of both-parental sentiment from Bliss:
Probably obvious, but for the record, it is Susan (the character shown) herself who is trying to give up caffeine.
The Hax advice column this accompanies is here.
TBH, I don’t entirely understand this. I mean, I understand the heartwarming message about group loyalty and generosity — but not whether there was actually supposed to be anything funny.
Wait, could this be heading for an idiom-origins story about “bought the farm”? No? Nah!
Scammers certainly are getting more creative. I got a “reimbursement” from my Jane Doe, the condo property manager, with the email Jane.Doe@propfirm.com, which was suspiciously close to her actual email of Jane.Doe@propfirm.net, and this is a person I occasionally get reimbursements from (luckily as old-school physical checks)
From Dan Piraro’s subscription newsletter, “The Naked Cartoonist“. I’ll conclude with an early collaboration with Wayno; a Bizarro cartoon about red flags in relationships. If only they were this obvious in real life!
The short form deserves a geezer alert, as it was discontinued years ago. There’s a 1040-SR now for seniors — the only difference is that it’s printed in larger type.
https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/extension-of-time-to-file-your-tax-return , the instructions to file an extension, might come in handy if you’re like this woman.
It’s not going to work, Larry.
Actual error message from IRS.gov on the day tax forms (and estimated payments) were due, April 17, 2018. Not funny. Note the difference in the set of dates cited for the outage.
Actual IRS tax tips, if you need last minute help: https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-tax-tips including, for example, ways to pay over time.
This “Barney & Clyde” strip was submitted by Usual John:
I think the gag is that the strip itself does not have (and does not need) a gag, but I’m sure there are other possible explanations.
I went hunting to see if there were any other worthwhile April Fools’ strips, but was sorely disappointed. Almost all of the “standard” setups simply showed one character playing a typically lame practical joke on someone else. The best strips were those few that elevated the humor with some sort of “meta” component. Here are a few examples:
(I especially liked this “Thatababy” strip because this year, my daughter decided to rearrange the silverware drawer as an April Fools’ joke. Unfortunately, it didn’t work, because we all just assumed that she had forgotten the usual arrangement.)
The last two examples are from the great Comic Strip Switcheroo (1-Apr-1997):
P.S. Feel free to embed your own favorite April Fools’ comics in the comments!
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.)
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!
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!
Comics I Don't Understand 