Tag / Ernie Bushmiller

by multipleciduers

Sunday Funnies – LOLs – April 12, 2026

The Berrys, by Walt Ditzen: April 7, 1944. While filling in for Carl Grubert during World War Two, Walt Ditzen grew increasingly tired of drawing the elaborate lamp in the Berry bedroom. This strip was his solution. (Source: Mort Walker’s Backstage at the Strips: 1975).

One of my favorite Cul de Sac comics:

Not really an LOL, but was this a real thing?

by zbicyclist

Fourth Wall Fun

By one definition, “4th wall comic refers to a comic book where characters become aware of their own fictional existence and address the audience directly. This concept, known as the Fourth Wall, separates the characters from the readers, allowing them to comment on the narrative and its limitations.” By that definition, not all of these fit. In some of these, it’s that the cartoonist lets us acknowledge the cartoonist’s existence, while the characters remain unaware. Is there a separate term that should be used for that?

by zbicyclist

A Novelty

Jack Applin sends this in: “Why would Nancy find a get-well card in a novelty store? I would expect a novelty store to contain joy buzzers, exploding cigarettes, and the like. Has the meaning of “novelty” changed since the time of King Arthur, when this strip was first published?”

It’s not a CIDU, since the intended joke is clear. But I remember dime stores, 5 and 10 cent stores (vaguely), variety stores, but I’m not sure I ever saw a Novelty Store.

by zbicyclist

Labor Day: Do Cartoonists Work?

Some examples of cartoonists taking it easy on Labor Day. That’s not accurate, of course, because these comics would have been drawn some days ago.

Nancy steals from the future.

Arlo and Janis hearken back to an older Nancy comic:

Tank McNamara could just put new dialogue into the radio show form he often uses.

Gasoline Alley often just closes down.

by zbicyclist

[E]n[o]u[gh/ff] said

Jack Applin sends in this New Year’s CIDU. “A tepid comic, not much more than “Huh”/“You know it”. Two things: Is 2024’s beard talking? Point that speech bubble toward his mouth!
Also, was I the only person to stumble over “ ’nough said”? I blame Stan Lee for making me so used to “ ’nuff said” so that I didn’t recognize the standard spelling. See https://cbr.com/marvel-comics-stan-lee-fantastic-four-nuff-said/ for a history of that.”

And a big Happy New Year wish for all of us. Here’s a classic Nancy.