nah pop, no style

Don’t read too much into this one, kids. Here’s hoping Mary comes back to Jeff so she can do it many more ways.

Also, on an unrelated note, I had a dream the other night that I killed a spider that was having babies and that was carrying two mini pierogies and one spool of thread. (Ironic, I suppose, that a spider would feel it necessary to carry a spool of thread . . .)

A few pointers for you:

• In sad news, those of us into radical organizing and pedestrian newspaper comics lost two heroes this weekend — Utah Phillips, the famed old man of IWW folk singing, passed on Friday and Thelma Keane, wife of Bill and model for the mommy in The Family Circus, shed the world on Saturday.  We’ll miss them both, though one will of course live on in the funnies.
• Tomorrow night, Hedgeman is hosting a show and Penguins watching event at ModernFormations; the band is playing at 7:00  — they’re called One For the Team, and are on The Militia Group and feature Pittsburgh expat Bill Caperton. Game will be shown on the projection screen afterward, and hopefully no one will be taking one for the team at the hand of Oliver Kromwell or whatever that dude’s name is. I hate him on principle, though I’m sure I’d love him if he were on our team.
• Emperor X is coming back on June 14, I’ll have a full post on that soon. Get ready! I love that dude/band.

An announcement on today’s P-G Magazine section notes that “CATHY” HAS RETURNED TO THE COMICS PAGE after a brief hiatus during which “Brevity” was sampled.

I, for one, had the toughest time figuring out what they had chopped to make space for “Brevity” (and I noted this in the email I sent to Steve Massey on the subject of comics). I wonder if anyone else in the tri-state area actually missed “Cathy?”

PS this is a couple weeks old, but while we’re on comics — this “Family Circus” really digs into the heart of Baudrillardian simulacrum theory:

Yes, this made me laugh a great deal.

Also, while we’re at it, witness reason #928301210 why Darby Conley rules it.

Put us out of our misery, P-G! This comic hasn’t been funny in years, and this week even took to using the word “gnostic” where the word “agnostic” was appropriate. THESE ARE TWO VERY DIFFERENT THINGS, MIKE PETERS.

It’s been a while since I made a comics post, but this sage advice from Rex to Niki just screamed at me. That’s what big brothers are for, I suppose.

Welcome to panel one of today’s Amazing Spider-Man.

Seriously, guys, do it. Your wives will appreciate it.

You know the innuendo is getting hot’n'heavy in Mary Worth when a character feels it necessary to say “Wink!” out loud:

(Incidentally, I think “Geez!” is just about the perfect response to a “Wink!”)

And speaking of innuendo, Spider-Man is hard to track down online, but don’t think I haven’t noticed that Spidey is about to be pounced by THE SHOCKER! Methinks that villain needs a new uniform.

This week, we look back at the family’s vacation in the midst of the DC-area sniper attacks.

Not a big deal, BUT — this morning’s Opus comic was really funny, to me. I often don’t think Opus is that great anymore; the grotesque nature, while I “get it,” usually just deters me from enjoying. But I liked this one a lot.