by phsiii

In Memoriam, Bill Bickel

Today is the third anniversary of Bill’s passing. The fact that it’s on a Saturday this year makes me want to say “OY” in a big way.

I expect I had much the same experience as y’all: there we were in the throes of pandemic lockdown, getting the idea that it wasn’t quite going to be piles of bodies in the streets but was still pretty bad, and one of our daily lifelines to sanity just…stopped for several days. I remember feeling vaguely irritated with Bill, while realizing that was unreasonable of me. Then after a few days I started to worry, and then we got the news.

It’s amazing and wonderful that this wee community has continued.

RIP, Bill.

And here’s a link back to Kilby’s most excellent birthday post for Bill, back in July:
https://cidu.info/2023/07/08/birthday-memorial-for-cidu-bill/

by zbicyclist

Comics That Haven’t Aged Well

Syndicate sites like GoComics and ComicsKingdom have a variety of reruns (or, if you prefer, vintage comics). But some of them don’t age well.

These are all old comics which are being repeated. There are certainly a number of old comics that we wouldn’t expect to see now (e.g. the drunken domestic violence played for laughs in old Andy Capp), but I’m limiting this to ones that I’ve currently found being repeated.

Here’s a few examples:

A fire at an asbestos factory (and there are still some) would likely be a major disaster, putting all those asbestos fibers into the air.

Mitch sent in this one, dated 1991.  George Burns was indeed long-lived, and continued performing into his very senior years — which is sort of the joke here, saying he might go on into the distant future.  But then he did die, in 1996 (at age 100).  

Concussions aren’t funny any more.

Hair tonics have historically been marketed as a way to make hair grow faster, but without much evidence. In recent years, there has been a shift towards more evidence-based approaches to hair care, with a focus on products that are supported by scientific research, such as medications like minoxidil and finasteride, which are approved by the FDA for the treatment of hair loss.