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?
Is there a pun somewhere hidden — maybe under a rock?
The following day, Cash indicated these rocks stood for Nancy, Sluggo, and Aunt Fritzi, clarifying her intention a bit.
Janice Rey sends this in:
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?
It’s Thanksgiving Day. So it’s not a bad idea at all to stop right here and think of 3+ things you are thankful for. Go ahead. We’ll wait.
Even Thanksgiving can be prone to scams:
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.
A collection of some fourth wall comics.
Mitch4 sends this one in: “The “fourth wall” aspect is that only we, seeing his shout spelled out, can really tell which homophone he is using, though the other character claims to know.”
Mitch4 send this in: “Momentary CIDU / then OY after you get it.”
I’ll order the Bombe from Acme bakeries.
In other news, Olivia Jaimes has announced her retirement from the Nancy strip after 7 years. (This doesn’t surprise me; in the past months she seemed to have hit a stretch where she was running out of ideas.)
The strip will be taken over on January 1, 2026 by Caroline Cash, who did a few Nancy strips during Jaimes’s 2024 sabbatical (July 22 through August 11, 2024).
This one’s a clear nod to classic Bushmiller gags, one of which I posted a few days ago.
Dan Piraro had this curious take on Nancy a couple of days ago, although it’s not clear this was at all related to the authorship transition.
Some comics from September 11, 2011: 10 years later.
Mitch4 sends in this Sluggo joke without Nancy.
It’s rare to see a Nancy comic without Nancy in Bushmiller’s time, but here’s another:
Not so much an LOL as an Awww! It’s a chance to remember those who helped us along the way.
Usual John sends this in in honor of CIDU Bill:
Comics I Don't Understand 