Saturday, February 17, 2007

Huh?


And again, only one. A very slow week, indeed.

Pearls Before Swine by Stephan Pastis

Pearls Before Swine and 9 Chickweed Lane tie this week with two SPPs each.

And what's going on in Get Fuzzy? It could be the joke is simply that silly Satchel says he is so hungry he could eat and the rest of the strip is just a silent trail-off. But, if so, why does Rob look off-stage? This could also be one of those booger-like set-up for a future pay-off. But, if that is the case, why do it on a Saturday? No one will remember what's going on on Monday.

Friday, February 16, 2007

Quick quick quick


Only time for a real quick update. One today:

9 Chickweed Lane by Brooke McEldowney

Frazz comes close, but no cigarillo.

Thursday, February 15, 2007

Shut out.

It looks like a rare day with no legitimate silent penultimate panels.

The closest is Overboard. The panel is necessary for the gag. Sort of.


DemetriosX make a good observation about today's Luann. In many cases, a cartoonist would use an SPP here. Here, Greg Evans demonstrates how to create a comic pause without using the standard SPP cliche.


But, today is a shut out, so:

How did the hammerhead do on his exam?
He nailed it.

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Valentine's Day



Ahh, one lone, special Valentine's Day silent penultimate panel:

On the Fastrack by Bill Holbrook

Pearls Before Swine comes close with a silent antepenultimate panel followed by silent action penultimate panel.


I was about to count up and discuss all the Valentine's Day-themed strips today, but that would keep me here forever. And I just can't say "Sorry, honey, we'll have to cancel the reservations. I've got blogging to do."

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Special friends


Four silent penultimate panels--all beneath the fold of the second page of the L.A.Times comic section. It was this kind of thing that made me start the blog in the first place.

9 Chickweed Lane by Brooke McEldowney
Non Sequitur by Wiley Miller
Pearls Before Swine by Stephan Pastis
Sally Forth by Francesco Marciuliano and Craig Macintosh

Oh, I just love Non Sequitur's Danae and Lucy. That precocious little girl can't stop getting into trouble, and her adorable pet pony can only try to talk sense into...

Wait. Huh? Oh, that's Danae's seldom-seen sister, Kate. And I guess she needs a fantastic friend, too. Should we look forward to every recurring character having a special friend?

Monday, February 12, 2007

Prickly City



We start the week off quietly. Just one political silent penultimate panel:

Prickly City by Scott Stantis


Yes, I remember fondly those childhood years when I never went to school and just jumped around the desert talking politics with my animal friend. Where some political strips are artificially contrived universes of stock political thought, Prickly City is just so natural, it's like a mountain stream of relevance.

Not.

So, just three weeks left of daily Watch updates. Then we debut the most astounding daily blog you have ever witnessed. Stay tuned.

Sunday, February 11, 2007

Dogs, cats


It's a very quiet Sunday on the SPP front:

Herman (reprint) by Jim Unger
Zits by Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman

It's been several weeks now since the L.A. Times dropped the Sunday Heathcliff in favor of Pink Panther. And I've slowly realized that a delicate balance has been lost on the Sunday funny page. The simple fact is, one cannot enjoy Marmaduke's Dog Gone Funny without its counter-part Kitty Korner! My Sunday mornings aren't complete without the irresistible hijinks of both canines and felines.

Either drop Marmaduke or bring back Heathcliff. We need balance restored.