060 – Space Fraud

The weird thing about moving to a new city is getting used to the different slate of newspaper comics. The usual coelocanths are in evidence, of course, but there are a whole bunch of odd ones which DON’T have the names of the creator’s fifty-year-old heirs written in as co-authors. My impressions, based on sort-of-reading a couple week’s worth of strips from each:

Frazz: Seems to have a pretty huge ensemble since it’s almost always different characters every day, although they all look an awful lot like Calvin with different heights and hairstyles. Looks like it’s mostly about a school? I don’t know who or what the titular Frazz is yet, but the jokes have been decent.

Retail: It’s Between Failures for the daily paper. The main character (Marla, upon looking it up) is kind of cute. That’s all I can think of to write about it which is not a terribly good sign, but it’s early yet! Impress me, Retail! I’ll give you a chance and keep reading! Not like I wouldn’t anyway. It’s impossible to lose me, I read them all. I read the fucking Wizard of Id. So actually, feel free to doze off behind the counter.

Cul de Sac: Some kids (who live in a cul de sac, I guess?). For the last few days it’s been about cutting weeds in order to dance on a manhole cover. Do weeds grow from manholes? Do you dance on the covers? Is this an actual thing or is “dancing on the manhole cover” an attempt at whimsy, a modern equivalent to Bloom County’s dandelion-snorting? Maybe it’s tap-dancing.