The Wise, Prudent Counselor

I guess we're waking up at the Professor's place, and heading straight into the medicine cabinet. Dig deep into that lavender bottle of Aspirin, Professor. It still won't cure the ache of your shame.

Dream Job

Wanted: piano player for some sort of play I guess
Experience required: you have to be roughly as good as my sister
Hours: sporadic, if we get backing
Salary: wish I could pay you more

I'll take it! Ah... there goes 3G's most stable income. Oh well! This should be fun, and I think their apartment must be subsidized anyway.

Happy birthday Casey! This time on the right day. I was pretty close though, and you know I have a weird thing about flipping numbers.

Sweet Aunt Blaze

Does Blaze look super matronly in today's strip, or is it just me? This only fuels my desire to see Blaze and Tommie get together. Would A3G be the first mainstream comic strip to feature a lesbian couple? I mean, this is New York City, let's start acting like it. Tommie, please quit your job at the hospital, become a part of the theater scene, go Bohemian chic, and kiss some girls. Or guys! Whatever, just get interesting!

P.S. Sweet Aunt Blaze DEFINITELY sounds like I'm talking about marijuana.

Whadyaknow, Whadyasay?

Okay, so we didn't get to see Tommie play the piano at all, or see how exactly Blaze is involved in this show, or see what he show is about or what it's called or who the backers are or anything. But I think we can be just as satified to hear the Tommie did a nice job and have that be the end of it. Hmm? Eh? Team? Am I right?

Bless You, Tommie Thompson

And so the cycle of "Tommie acknowledges her boring existence" "Tommie starts hanging out with the theater crowd for kicks" and "Tommie gets distracted and stops hanging out with them" starts anew! This time, I hope there are elaborate costume changes.

Happy birthday Casey! 25/2010. I'm gonna make shirts one of these days.

Occupational Hijinks

Whoa... Blaze. Look. I never pretended to know what you did for a living. Rodeo riding was probably my best guest, but you could've been a rodeo clown, or some kind of Old West reenactor, or... a grocery clerk I guess. In any case, it turns out you're some kind of theatrical producer? Or playwright? Or actor? I don't know, but where is this all coming from? This is more out of left field than even the Professor's turning out to be a licensed therapist. Which by the way, I still don't think he is.

Well Tommie, I hope you can play piano, because I want to see this guy in action.

By the way, reader phoebes-in-santa fe mentioned that Blaze looks like Jon Voight in Midnight Cowboy. I never saw that movie, so I had to look it up.


Hahaha! An uncanny resemblance, though I can't say for sure who wears the ascot better.

Blazin' Back Onto the Scene

ALL RIGHT! Blaze is back! Oh man. This is exactly what this strip needs right now. Blaze is great for many reasons, most of which involve his kerchief. It makes him so easy to identify, plus it distinguishes him as an outsider, much like Ruby's bows. I wonder what Lu Ann's other cousins would wear to identify themselves... Hey Blaze! You might have more luck finding a piano player with craigslist than knocking on doors.

At the Little Restaurant

I saw a movie like this once. It was called "Leech Woman." It was about an older woman in a sad, failing marriage who drinks a lot to escape her problems. Then she goes to Africa and finds a tribe whose queen stays eternally young by killing young men and drinking from their pineal gland with a special ring. So then of course the woman steals the ring, brings it back to America, and has the best damn time of her life. She winds up abusing the ring's power though (duh) and dies a withered old mummy.

So um, maybe it's not so much like this.

Breaking Up is Hard to Do

Professor, you're reeeeally letting Bobbie dictate this conversation. I thought this was going to be your big stand! Your scramble to the moral high ground! What happened to the uncomfortability? And what is this "you need to keep up your strength" business?? Now I definitely think you had sex between Monday and Tuesday, which is just a sloppy way to end things. Clank clank clank phhsss indeed, Professor.

Look, honestly, I don't have a problem with Bobbie's marital status if that's the kind of relationship she has with her husband. It's more that I think she's deeply crazy, and that come on, the Professor has way too many hang-ups to go through with this.

The Chuckle Hut

Clang! Clang! Clang! Phhhsss.... That's what she said? Or something. There's some kind of sex joke in there.

Anyway, where's Bobbie's arm coming from in the last panel? Her stomach? That's going to make it pretty hard for her when she goes to slap the Professor across the face, which I think we all know (or hope) is coming.

Desirable: the Bobbie Merrill Story

Did he, Bobbie? Did he seem comfortable? When? Was it when he looked on grimly while you carressed his shoulder, or when you physically prevented him from talking and made him kiss you? Maybe it was when he was frequently interrupting your tour of the apartment with mild put downs and half-protests--that's what I do when I'm comfortable! Okay, sure, he was momentarily distracted by the beauty of the radiators. We all were. (you can see one gleaming in the corner even now... ah.) But it's a weak argument anyway, the Professor has been visably ill-at-ease the whole time.

Unless...

Unless an unspecified amount of time has passed since yesterday's strip! Ah! How long have they been making out??

Zip It!

Bobbie's always telling the Professor to hush up! I wonder if Bobbie means talking ruins everything in general, or when the Professor in particular talks, he ruins everything. She'll probably mean it more specifically when he comes out with his whole "I can't smooch a married woman, no matter how crappy the marriage is" bit, which must be coming any day now. Right, Professor? Right?? Don't make me question everything I think I know about you.

Sunday Lovin'

WHOA WHOA WHOA I don't normally post on Sunday, but I had to today. The suggestive tie tug in the penultimate panel is definitely the sexiest move I've seen in this strip since Eric Mills' "We still have tonight" line. The Professor can't help but bobble in response!

This is much hotter than Thursday's depiction, which traded the tie tug for a dazed shoulder clasp, with the Professor looking on grimly. Sometimes, Sunday makes all the difference.

The only thing that kind of ruins it is that Bobbie's turtleneck looks so much like a neck brace.

Bite Your Tongue, Girl

Ah, Lyle. Isn't that just the perfect name for this guy? Of course I'm just picturing Lyle Lovett, but that's probably not far off the mark.

They've been dating since about Thanksgiving, right? Look, Ruby. I'm not going to be like square 1950's Tommie over there and wonder when you guys are going to set a date, but I would like to meet the guy. I didn't get to come to your Christmas party, I didn't get to see your date at The Pork Pit: Barbeque and More, and... I just miss you. That's all.

P.S. Are we ever going to hear about callbacks for I Dressed in the Dark?

Back in the Saddle

Hi everyone, I'm back! I know, it was a sort of long hiatus, but it's been very busy. As someone in marketing, I can tell you that the recession has only made our department more desperate. We're basically chasing anything that moves. It's a busy time!

But I've denied my girls for too long, and there've been so many good times in my absence, so without further ado:

The Top Five Moments Over the Holiday Break!
(in case you missed them)

1. This Year Sure Sucked! 12/28/09
Hey ladies! I think that we can all cheerfully agree that we had a disastrous year. Lu Ann dealt with her depressing family and lingering grief over Alan, Margo had her fiance die, and Tommie hasn't had anything interesting happen to her since Joe flipped out on her in March. Plus I'm pretty sure Tommie is the only one who's making any money these days. Well, let's black out until the new year begins! Here here!


2. Talk to the Box 1/5/10
This wasn't that great or even very surprising that Margo's still in somewhat dramatic mourning, but it did make me giggle a little to see her staring at that box like it's Eric Mills himself. "Eric, this is all your fault! Why did you make me love you so much? Be a man and answer me!"


3. Go to @#*%!! 1/8/10
Hahaha! If Bobbie is getting this upset about the Professor not having time to flip through paint samples for her apartment in the middle of a workday, imagine how pissed she's going to get when the Professor introduces his moral quibbles about dating a married woman. When did Bobbie become this unstable, by the way? She used to be so jaded and sardonic. Now she's erratic and mood swingy. And I like it.


4. WHAT KITCHEN?!?! 1/9/10
More surprising than her secret marriage is the fact that Bobbie has been keeping a kitchen from the Professor all this time! But forgive him his fear of kitchens: a kitchen killed his parents when he was very young.


5. Hot Hot Radiator Action 1/13/10
Shit's about to hit the fan, Bobbie, but can we first take a moment to admire these handsome radiators? God they're beautiful. And the Professor looks simply DELIGHTED about the prospect of a fireplace! Don't get too excited, it's probably electric.


Best Panel of the Holiday Break: The Jealous Gods 12/27/09
Shut your face Ari, the jealous gods will hear you. You know, the jealous gods! That's an expression! Lots of people say it! Gods get jealous, okay?? It's a thing.

Worst Letdown of the Holiday Break: No Christmas party with Ruby in Queens! I know there's only so many strip in a week, but that was a really tantalizing morsel that dangled right in front of our eyes before getting yanked away. I'm telling you, that party must've been wild.

I'll be back on the regular from here on out. Here's hoping 2010 is as great/tragic as 2009!