World Series

Today's Strip

There are times where I wonder If I'm just spinning my wheels on the strip and if I am running a risk of burnout... And then you hit a moment you've been planning for months right out of the park and it makes it all worth it.

World Series

Today's Strip

Of course I find that the true humor of Nancy acting radically out of character is when it isn't just the reader who notices this.

World Series

Here is a rare case of Nancy's good side. Study it carefully we may not see it again for a long time

World Series

I won't ever defend Nancy and say she's a nice person but here she seems to be extremely confrontational.

World Series

In todays strip we return to Nancy's favorite baseball team the Providence Night Gaunts who have just won the American League championship and are about to play the hometown National League champions, the Homestead Pilots, In the world Series.

In case anybody is wondering yes this is more proof that Rhapsodies does not take place in the real world.

Zeppo Marx

I have a confession to make. I’m a Zeppo Marx fan. Feel free to laugh. The general opinion of him is either to brush him off as the fourth Marx brother or ask “Who?” I, however, always saw him as a remarkably restrained talent who served as the liason between the mundane world and the chaos of his brothers. Many critics say he was never successful because he was the straight man, or that he never gained a comic persona that held up against Groucho, Harpo and Chico, but I disagree.

I’ve always seen Zeppo as the necessary glue that held everything together. He always had a knowing smile that said he was in on the madness, and while he was not over the top like his brothers he was always an active participant. Even when he played the romantic lead he always seemed to me to have a subtle subversive streak that bellied the chaos. After ‘Duck Soup’ I sincerely thought the rest of the Marx Brothers Films lost something.

So here is my tribute.

Rhapsodies doesn’t take place in the real world. And before you say “it’s a comic, of course it’s not in the real World!” I will say yes, this is true, but since this is the case I see no reason not to exploit it to the fullest. Usually I stay low key about this, saving it for brand names and state senators. You don’t want to go too far, after all you want the audience to recognize this world and be comfortable in it. But every now and then I like to throw in some things that are blatant. This is one of them: in the world Rhapsodies takes place in Zeppo Marx had a VERY successful career as a romantic lead after he left the Marx Brothers; starting with a big break in 1936 when he beat out William Powell for the lead role in ‘My Man Godfrey’.

Continuity Error

After finishing today's cartoon I noticed what appeared to be a grievous continuity error. Blossom is sitting behind the store counter in a nice cozy office chair when for all of the history of the strip Lysistrata has only had stools... Well it's like this. Along with getting a new employee, Kate used the proceeds from Havana Sunset to get a nice ergonomic chair for the store...


Honest.