So it's Halloween again.  Have you seen Google's doodle for the day?  Show me someone who doesn't like Scooby-Doo and I will personally beat them up (you have to pay travel expenses though).*  One thing that people loved to do in my area on Halloween was enter a cemetery outside of town that was rumored to be one of the places the Devil rises from to dance with the dead.  It wasn't really that there was anything special about the cemetery except it had a creepy old church standing on a hill looking over the cemetery and town.  People (i.e., drunk college students) would enter the cemetery and report feeling chills or things tapping on their shoulders.  Normally this probably wouldn't be a problem and the town would embrace their weird little heritage but when you start knocking over graves and leaving your beer bottles out there, something has to be done.  The sheriff began patrolling the area at Halloween which kept a lot of people away.  My friends and I went out there several times just to explore the old church, which was the main source of all the curiosity seekers.  The church was torn down in 2002 and the pile of rubble is still there.  The cemetery was the subject of an Urge Overkill song and was used for a battle between good and evil in the fifth season finale of The CWs Supernatural.  I'm never going to get those "ghost hunting" experiences back--I just wish I remembered to take pictures.  Teenage Brian was an idiot.**

*And I probably won't beat anyone up but will cower in the fetal position.


**Adult Brian isn't much better.

And now, comics!!

 My Cage 10/31/10

I read the blog post on mycagecomic.com and it looks like some good things are coming from the My Cage creators so here's hoping My Cage returns in some form and let me tell you that I am kind of interested in seeing what "Jack" is.  I'm a dork for historical fiction.

Todd the Dinosaur 10/31/10

Some of you may remember a few day (weeks?) back where Dagwood was having trouble finding shirts that only had one button.  If that strip hadn't ran, I'm pretty sure I would be confused by today's Todd the Dinosaur.

B.C. 10/31/10

Looks like the Fat Broad owes Linus, Sally and Charlie Brown restitution.

Baldo 10/31/10

Let us not forget that it is also the Day of the Dead.  I wish I could remove my skin, muscles and veins...

Cleats 10/31/10

Are those ghosts supposed to be anyone in particular?  I mean, if you are going to show the ghosts of dead comic strip characters then why don't you show Charlie Brown, Calvin, Dondi, Little Orphan Annie, Little Nemo.  Actually show kids of strips that are no longer being produced.

New Adventures of Queen Victoria 10/31/10

Sounds like Her Majesty needs to get on some type of even-pay/budget billing type deal.

Wee Pals 10/31/10

I hate Wee Pals.  The only reason I'm posting this is to bring attention to the gigantic "10-31" in the last panel.  Why is it so big?

Luckily, manufacturers of "flesh-colored" adhesive strips market to the entire nation, not just your neighborhood.

On a Claire Day 10/31/10

This just made me laugh and since those are few and far between, you just have to post it.

Born Loser 10/31/10

Chip wants to give a shout-out to the Dells, Pates and Smiths.  And a big eff-you to the Barkers.  Seriously, Barkers, healthy treats?  No wonder the neighborhood children egg your house every year and now everyone in the country knows what kind of losers you are.

EVERYONE HAVE A SAFE, BUT SCARY HALLOWEEN!!

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Early Halloween Special

Hey there, everyone. So sorry about the lack of update yesterday. If it makes you feel any better, the Meekrat Entertainment Group hasn't gotten much love from me this week either. To make it up to you, here's comics from the past two days, plus I scoured the Internet for web-comics! Well, not really scoured. Just read the ones I usually read. Here we go:

THURSDAY
Brevity

I'll allow for the irradiated spider still being alive, even though that sucker would be dead seconds after biting Peter Parker. What gets me about this is the fact that the Daily Bugle isn't calling Spider-Man a threat or a menace, and isn't claiming he's in cahoots with the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

BC

I see that BC is just ripping off jokes from Garfield now. I'm not even going to bring up all the things that are stupid and wrong with Friday's strip.

Retail

I believe I remarked upon this strip's costumes last year as well, but it's worth repeating. Waldo (or Wally, for some of you) is eye-catching, to be sure, but the Captain Kangaroo costume is just on a whole other level. I believe that Friday's strip featured the boss dressed as Ming the Merciless, but that's hardly better than Captain Kangaroo.

FRIDAY
Sally Forth

Speaking of costumes, check this out. The Hawks have been getting more exposure in recent years, due to the "Justice League" cartoon and whatnot, but it's still surprising to see them casually referenced like this. Then again, Ted is a colossal geek, so I shouldn't be too surprised.

My Cage

Since I'm not posting tomorrow or Sunday, I'd like to take this opportunity to say farewell to "My Cage". I hope its creators are able to find success elsewhere, or perhaps continue the strip as a web-comic or something. I think they could pull it off, if they wanted to.

Spider-Man

Since this post has so far been mild praises and whatnot, here's today's Spider-Man. It's obvious Mole Man has captured the two of them, but it could be a tentacle demon. Which would mean that this strip is pioneering tentacle rape in the funny pages! Can't wait for editors to get letters about that. It'll be the best thing ever.

Mandrake the Magician

It's always nice to see some of these strip acknowledge their shared universes.

WEB-COMICS
Axe Cop

If, for some reason, you're not reading Axe Cop, here's an example of what you're missing. The real reason I put this here, though, is to point out the questionable message Axe Cop is sending children when he claims that you can take any candy you want because the cops are asleep. The last few panels where Axe Cop comes back with over a thousand pieces of candy and winds up with only eleven are pretty genius, too. You probably can't actually read it, due to its size, so just go to the site and do so.

Oh, and happy Halloween to all of you. Unless you don't celebrate it, in which case... have a nice weekend. Also, November is National Novel Writing Month, if you're into that sort of thing.

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Today is my one year wedding anniversary.  So here are comics for you.

First, I quick mention of two comics who have some special guest stars.
Liberty Meadows and Ink Pen 10/24/10


If I were Cindy Bear I would have a drinking problem too.  I mean they are making a CGI movie of Yogi Bear with Dan Akroyd as the voice of Yogi.  Dan Akroyd!  Oh, well.  I will just let you be the judge of it.

My Cage 10/24/10

I guess it's okay for My Cage to go sappy the week before it comes to an end.  I know how it is to go back to a place you hated to work because you do it for your family.  It sucks.  I hate it.  Luckily, there's alcohol to help get me through it.

Hi & Lois 10/24/10

Look how dark and depressing today's Hi & Lois is.  I know the Flagston's marriage is a suburban nightmare but their depression is attaching itself to casual passers-by as Hi's awful karaoke skills echo in their ears like a death march.

Brewster Rockit:  Space Guy! 10/24/10

Offered without commentary.

Argyle Sweater 10/24/10

Don't worry Mr. Kidney, someone else will want you.  But usually, kidneys are rejected while in the body so does Mr. Spognola's body have its own little universe inside of it?

Family Circus 10/24/10

But Papa Keane spends every night crouched behind the shrubbery........

Born Loser 10/24/10

Maybe...if that was a real thing.

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Love Is... Passive Aggressive

First and foremost, take a look, the Daily Comics Review got a shout-out in Sunday's My Cage:

It's rather bittersweet, since the strip's days are sadly numbered. Now then, onto today's comics. Oh, and you should go to the Meekrat Entertainment Group. There's comics, fiction, and more over there.

9 to 5

I know the rupees they're referring to, but I can't read this and think that they're getting the ones from "Legend of Zelda". My mind's been warped beyond belief, I guess.

Spider-Man

Spider-Man marches on! After a brief flirtation between the Mole Man and Mary Jane (not abnormal, as most villains in this strip see Mary Jane and immediately want her) the Mole Man does the noble thing and abandons his quest for a married woman. A widowed woman, however, is not off-limits. Oddly, villains lusting after Aunt May is not entirely unheard of, though I think this might be the first time the Mole Man has done it.

The Phantom

After last week's poor showing by the Ghost-Who-Walks, he decided that, "Hey, it'd be really stupid of me to check every cell but one." Just wanted to keep you updated.

Committed

Doesn't every schoolchild know the story of how Teddy Roosevelt didn't kill a baby bear, leading to the creation of the teddy bear? I do like some of the alternate names, though. Who wouldn't want a Otmar Bear?

Love Is

Thanks to being a Daily Comics Reviewer, I've been exposed to more comic strips than I actually wanted to be exposed to. While many are good, and even more are passable, there's also the terrible and downright soul-crushing. "Love Is" falls into the latter group, if only for its saccharine nature and creepy naked baby-people. I've noticed something, though. What if the strip wasn't a diabetes-inducing treatise on love, but rather a series of passive-aggressive notes from the strip's maker to their significant other? For example, today's strip is basically saying, "Stop sleeping around, you cad!" Or, let's take a look at last Friday's:

The message here being, "For the love of God, spend some time with your kids!" Or, here's one from god-knows-when:

The message here would be, "Let's do some role-play." I won't show any more examples, since viewing more than three "Love Is" panels in such a short time will upset your blood-sugar levels, but I think it wouldn't be a stretch to say that every strip could be viewed with the filter of "passive-aggressive significant other" and be, if not enjoyable, then perhaps a tad more tolerable.

The Born Loser

I've never hated Hurricane Hattie more than I do at this moment.

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So comics distributed by King Features Syndicate colored a majority of their strips pink today to make people more aware about breast cancer.  If you haven't donated to one of the many breast cancer charities out there then you should probably get around to doing that.  Anyway, here are the comics.

Mutts 10/10/10

Mutts was one of the few strips that brought attention to it being pink.  Like always, Mutts made my eyes roll in their "this strip has so much potential" way.  The few strips to actually mention the pink-ness I didn't really like.  At least My Cage got it right.

My Cage 10/10/10

See?

Todd the Dinosaur 10/10/10

This one made me laugh out loud.  I love how cat and dog food are the foods of choice when someone is poor and can't afford to buy something to eat.  Cat food and dog food are kind of expensive.  You can get a dozen eggs for about dollar or so less than a can of pet food.

The Family Circus 10/10/10

Our last pink comic of the day forces you to think of Thel Keane getting a mammogram.  Go on.  Embroider it on the back of your eyelids.

Dick Tracy 10/10/10

I fantasize a lot about how Dick Tracy will die.  Usually, it's an inside job and Internal Affair refuses to investigate but I never thought 'murdered by hobos' would be part of the equation.

Adam @ Home 10/10/10

My mom made the exact same joke earlier.  Is my mom really the cartoonist for Adam @ Home?  It would make sense except I'm pretty sure she knows pay phones are now 50 cents and are rare.

Ziggy 10/10/10

Why would opportunity knock in the middle of the night.  This is one of the most depressing Ziggys in a long time.

So Ziggy wears pajama pants but not real pants?

Born Loser 10/10/10

I would imagine tea cozy sales would go down during a recession and a bad economy.  I just don't see how being nice will get people to buy more tea cozies though.

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Could Be Better

Hey there, it's another Friday, and therefore another installment of me doing comic commentary. Not much today, but if you're looking to read some things, go to the Meekrat Entertainment Group. You'll find a wealth of things to read. Onward, then:

Loose Parts

Don't they trace the bodies? Isn't that the whole point? I realize that I'm over-analyzing this single panel, but hey, I have to comment on something.

My Cage

It really is a shame that this strip is ending (at least in the newspapers, though probably for good) because it's one of the few strips I look forward to reading. I like how they're going through with using the names of other comics as profanities, which is why I'm spotlighting it today.

Pearls Before Swine

Oh, Pearls, making a vuvuzela joke months after the World Cup ended? I can't tell whether to be ashamed of you for sinking so low or proud of you for bucking expectations.

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Oops.

So, I sort of totally forgot about last week, what with all the fiction I've been posting on my own site and the little bird that's been following me around telling me I will never again know happiness. What you gonna do, though? I'll tell you what: you're gonna read some commentary.

Brevity

Putting a random reference to a superhero in your comic strip is a sure-fire way to get me to at least notice it, but putting Stretch Armstrong in there, too? Well, I have to spread the word about that, I do. Poor army guy, though.

My Cage

It's a shame about My Cage, it really is. Hopefully its creators will be able to land on their feet, or perhaps enter the world of webcomics? As for today's comic, I'd be much more concerned about the fact that Jeff is somehow able to exist outside of water for long periods of time. Is he like Silver Age Aquaman?

Crankshaft

Crankshaft has obviously gone insane, and I might have, too, considering I've never heard this line of "Pop Goes the Weasel" anywhere ever.

Beetle Bailey

It's always fun to see comic strips posting their older strips, because a lot of the time, they're worlds better than what they're running now. I realize that ol' Mort probably got bored and lazy with the strip years ago, and so he'll never do another gag where people actually have to move around, but I think Beetle Bailey could do with a lot more physical humor that's more than Sarge beating the living daylights out of Beetle for unseen infractions. Things more like this strip, where the violence is the punchline.

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