Boise Ed sends this in: “Is there a joke here?”
If this was a storyline comic, I would think this was just a setup day for more hilarity in the days following. But that isn’t the way this strip works.
Yes, Indeed
Do the White Thing
Mitch4 sends this in: “I can think of a couple ways a punch line to this situation could play out, but the final panel doesn’t really seem to be illustrating either.
Maybe she’s upset because, as she predicted and the husband said was unlikely, everybody else is already well-tanned. But I don’t see that. The big red exclam would indeed represent her fuming, but we don’t see a bunch of tanned people — just a couple darker-skinned kids among paler ones, and none of them up close or large.
Or maybe the husband is acting-out her (hyperbolically stated) fear that everybody will “have to shield their eyes from the glare” . If that’s supposed to be it, he would be indulging in a mean sort of teasing, and that isn’t usually the dynamic of this couple. And his wincing/squinting seems to be drawn as genuine, which maybe would be from the white pages of his book?”
Mystery Machine
The ever-prolific JMcAndrew asks, “What is that supposed to be that he broke?”
As someone who has used mainframe computers since the early 1970s, I recognize it as a 9-track tape drive, probably an IBM 3420. In other words, it’s supposed to be a computer, from the era when “spinning tapes” meant “computer”.
He adds that the comic is from 1984, at which point the 3420 with its open reels was still state of the art. That’s actually the year the 3480 was introduced, which used a square cartridge instead. As a 3480 looks like a dishwasher with a tape slot, much like a VCR, and you can’t see the tape spin, 3480s and their children never caught on as a way to say “Look! A computer!” in movies and TV.
Be Kind
Due to one editor being on vacation this week, we’re going to imitate the comics by repeating some classics. This one is from June 2018, by Bill
B.A.: Okay, so… a comic about the future that uses what’s already a Geezer reference (Blockbuster/VHS tapes). But I still don’t understand what the joke’s supposed to be.
Though the Cow pinch-hitting for the Squirrel does give us a passable “Oy”.
Not a geezer alert
billr sends:
noting, “I’m guessing some cultural reference I’m missing, or forgot (I’m an old) maybe from some movie I never watched. I know that they’ve been rerunning old comics for TMCM but I don’t see a date on this one.”
I see “2016” on the right, which actually tracks with my guess, but I leave it to the hive-mind to see if they reach the same conclusion I did.
Sunday Funnies – LOLs – June 22, 2025
Boise Ed sends this in: “For years, the doctor has been on Ed’s (no relation) case about his weight. Nothing to do with me, no sir.”
Alt-text: If you think curiosity without rigor is bad, you should see rigor without curiosity.
chemgal sends this in: “For those unfamiliar with the strip, it’s worth noting that she is the mother of the young streaker, and the coach chasing him is his dad. Her very chill attitude contrasting the wide-eyed stared of the other spectators is what made me laugh.”
Saturday Morning OYs – June 21, 2025
A couple of movie-related OYs
JMcAndrew sends this in: “IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes have no results for anything called “The Immortal Weekend”. Does Brutus think this is a pornographic movie?”
Maybe just hoping.
Now some food-related:
On group bike rides, you call out a hazard as a courtesy to the riders behind you so they don’t hit it. So, you might call out “road kill” or “squirrel” or “skunk” … or “lunch”.
JMcAndrew sends this in: “Did someone spike it with LSD? Probably should call 911 if all these people were exposed and exhibiting symptoms.”
What’s in a Shirt?
As these first two strips show, Charlie Brown’s shirt had already become an icon just six months after Peanuts began syndication, and Schulz created a number of gags on the topic.
There is danger in innovation:
Nevertheless, the rewards can be satisfying:
Do clothes make the man?
Mark Parisi frequently uses Peanuts characters in “Off the Mark“, and has produced a number of gags based on Charlie Brown’s shirt.
This one is directly from Parisi’s OtM website, because it predates the archive at GoComics:
Reworking the coloration produces an alternative gag:
As this screenshot from one of the TV specials shows, Schulz was well aware of Charlie Brown’s selection dilemma:
Seashells by the Seashore
Calendar Girls
JMcAndrew surfaced these Beetle Bailey comics with somewhat the same girlie calendar.
“I’ve seen hundreds of Miss Buxley being sexually harassed comics. I’m still surprised that the syndicate let Mort Walker put fully naked woman in the strip.”
Of course, a calendar is pretty useless for telling you if this is Wednesday or Thursday. But he’s just looking for an excuse.
The others JMcAndrew sent in show that same calendar post, but with strategic additions:
It’s curious that the number of days in a week vary across the calendars.
This type of calendar used to be a common site; it seemed every gas station had one hung up. I can’t remember the last time I saw one hung up.
And here’s today’s vocabulary lesson:
JMcAndrew wonders: “Are they watching a cooking show where they make Jello?”
Comics I Don't Understand 