Sounds Fishy to Me

There's something so cute and sad about Tommie's look in the second panel. It seems to say, "Hey guys! I'm friends with you too, right? We're all friends? It feels good to be part of the gang!" Ohhh Tommie. When did your makeover start making you look so much like Christopher Robin?

As a Matter of Fact...

Paul, please! No one likes a desperate piano mover. E... Except Lu Ann.

On a positive note, I think this is the first time we've gotten such a good look at Lu Ann's baby blues! She looks very nice, a little Brenda Starr-esque.

Twinsles

"Remember me, Lu Ann? Paul Linski? The guy with the aggressively blond hair? Hi. I just got this new thing called a 'cellular phone.' I'm not really sure how to operate it yet. I think you grip the top half and then yell into the bottom. What do you think, Lu Ann? Lu Ann? Are you there? I can't hear you! Say something, Lu Ann!"

Thank... Goodness

After ONE WHOLE GRUELING DAY of inconvenience, Margo can't wait to ditch that piano, and hopefully Tommie's icky dreams of stardom with it. You'd think, being the day after Thanksgiving, there'd Margo would make some cute joke about how it was hard to cook Thanksgiving dinner with the couch in the kitchen, or how she was giving thanks that the piano will be gone soon, but everyone knows Margo doesn't cook/gives thanks.

Guys, God is buzzing in again. Do you guys share a land line? Cute.

Happy Thanksgiving, Prissy!

OK, so Prissy doesn't even appear in this strip, but I wanted to wish her a Happy Thanksgiving since she's our new favorite A3G character. I figured since I'm the west coast exile who's not caught up in family madness this holiday, I'd take blog duty today. You're welcome, Maggie and Megan. You should be thankful for me.

Now on to today's strip. Obviously, they're just setting up for generic blond-haired dude #451 to come back into the picture and sweep Lu Ann off her feet, for a little while, until he dies a tragic death or gets transferred to move pianos in Kenya, or something. But to me it just feels like Tommie is looking for things to worry about. Really, after all your problems resolve themselves, you're concerned that you might not find a piano mover? I mean, you do know that you can just Google "piano mover," right? Oh, wait, this is A3G. You do know that you can find a piano mover in the Yellow Pages, right? (Probably.) This is like the anti-Thanksgiving strip. Quit whining and be thankful that you don't have to deal with the piano, Aunt Iris, or Prissy. Geez.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! (Unless you're Canadian, then Happy Thanksgiving last month. And if you're from somewhere else, stop being so ungrateful.)

The Talented Ms. Prissy

Taser Lady, I grow more and more disenchanted with you each day that passes without you producing a taser. However, your cat is filling your place in my heart. In panel two, is Prissy...

1. ...being held at arm's length by Aunt Iris?
2. ...climbing up Taser Lady's chest?
3. ...floating in midair?
4. ...standing on her own super-stretcho legs?

I'm hoping for option 4. In any case, she appears to have doubled in size since yesterday. She really is something, isn't she?

Prissy the Wonder Cat

Normally, an unusually affectionate cat would be depicted rubbing against someone's calves in a figure eight pattern. However, since this is the A3G Universe and it's illegal to show your legs at any time, Prissy has evolved into some kind of supercat that can and will leap onto Aunt Iris' shoulder like a parrot on a pirate. Just be thankful you're not wearing Prissy as a hat right now.

Riddle Me This, Iris!

Wow, love the oversized yellow question mark hanging over Aunt Iris' head in the second panel! The bobble alone is usually enough to convey surprise or confusion, but today it's just not enough. She's probably just wondering why they went to sleep in their clothes last night, because you know there's no question that some one named "Aunt Iris" will love cats.

Follow up questions for Aunt Iris will include:

• How do you feel about moving the piano into my neighbor's apartment?
• How do you feel about cats that play the piano?
• How do you feel about carrying a taser?
• At all times?
• ....Did you start dying your hair to look more like me?
• Not cool.

The Piano Has Landed

Well! I'm eating my words immediately. That's not such a bad drawing of a grand piano. I have no idea how it fits in the room, or if they have a concert hall in their apartment, or what, but there is no longer denying the existence of the piano.

Are You There God? It's Me Margo

Gerard, we are never going to see this piano. Unless they start making pianos that look like desk lamps or blazers, we're just never going to see it. I don't see why Aunt Iris didn't get an upright, it'd be much more size efficient and waaay easier to draw.

How did the girls hook up their doorbell/callbox to sound through the ceiling? Unless that's God buzzing in. Is that why you're upset about the piano, Margo? You're afraid God has planted it in 3G like some kind of holy Trojan Horse? You're so precious.

Go Sleep on Your Piano, Jerk

First of all, I'm not sure why Tommie thinks Margo wants to know about her horrible day and how tired she is (does she ever?). Additionally, I'm not sure what kind of job search Tommie is even going on (does she go door to door asking if people need vocal assistance?) or why she thought it wouldn't be disastrously difficult.

But what I am sure of is that I really enjoy the smile on Margo's face in panel 3. If she's smiling, that has to mean she did something terrible to Tommie's piano, right? Wait, is that her index finger bending backward at an impossible angle? Agghhhh! Nevermind everything else I wrote. What's going on there? Did she injure herself while destroying the piano?

Couch a l'Orange

That space near the refrigerator? Hope you guys don't have a galley kitchen! I can just see Margo in the kitchen with an oversized chef's hat on, sauteing large pieces of the couch in a big frying pan, and then shoving them in Tommie's face.

There Will Be Blood

That's more like it! Margo looks exquisite in panel two, gritting her teeth, spitcurl coiling defiantly, immediately exasperated and cursing. I probably would be upset too if I had to squeeze a baby grand into a Manhattan apartment with two other roommates. I think her distressed look in panel three is meant to communicate: do I have the strength to throw the piano out the window and kill the guilty party in one night? Only if it's a full moon, Margo.

Long Day with the Lovebirds

Wasn't Lu Ann hanging out with the lovebirds all day too? Or else, what does she do all day? I guess since she owns the building, maybe she has to stay on call all day. Someone's got to! At least three floors, at least seven rooms a floor.

Anyway, does Margo really get that mad when a package arrives and it isn't for her? Or maybe it's because Lu Ann's getting ready to date another blond guy in a blazer. And we all know how that ends: drugs and murder! Chuckle chuckle chuckle!

Special Delivery

So orginally I thought, "Oh that wacky Aunt Iris just can't stop spending, she went out and got Tommie a piano so she can keep working on her showtunes or whatever." But nowwww I'm thinking that she just went out and got Tommie a male stripper, because no delivery person on earth wears a shirt and jacket on the job.

And Lu Ann, poor, naive Lu Ann, you're going to sign for this "package," aren't you? You think you're bobbling now, wait until he starts unloading and assembling!

Salvation Goods

Looks like in addition to boater hats, this place sells wedding veils, Chinese calligraphy, and apothecary bottles. Maybe this place is some kind of Salvation Army/Home Goods hybrid. I just hope Aunt Iris isn't buying the wedding veil for Tommie, although she doesn't seem like the type. I'd go for the bottle!

What's on Sale?

Did I say Aunt Iris insists on hemorrhaging money? Because I meant she insists on HEMORRHAGING money. Jeez, Aunt Iris, get a grip, can't you not spend money for twenty minutes?? Then again, as long as you're just window shopping for boater hats, I guess you can't get into that much trouble. Prove me wrong!

CALL ME!!

I like LogopolisMike's prediction that this bike-on-car pile up is basically just a way to get fresh meat into the apartment. I also like that idea that Aunt Iris will inevitably worm her way into whatever budding relationship she is the catalyst for. Based on Bike Guy's speedy escape into oncoming traffic, I'd say she's not welcome. But once she starts paying his hospital bills, he won't have much of a choice.

Meanwhile, Uptown

Saturday November 6, 2010

Monday November 8, 2010

Holy mackeral, does anyone know what's going on here?? Let's try to take this step by step.

1. Aunt Iris concentrates on the world's smallest map of New York City. Mark Trail lies in wait on his pink bike.
2. Bike guy runs his pink bike into a random matching pink car in such a way that the front half of the bike disappears entirely. Motion lines abound.
3. Bike guy is gushing invisible blood. Aunt Iris assumes it's all her fault, therefore exonerating the car that actually hit the guy. Car drives away quietly. License plate number is never jotted down. Civil lawsuit opportunity is lost.
4. Aunt Iris insists on hemorrhaging money while visiting the city, but Bike Guy is having none of it.

Where on earth is this storyline going?

Her Name's Not Taser Lady?

I am pretty psyched that Margo (who begins this strip looking like she's straining her face trying to smile) mentioned the taser incident!!! That's awesome! I also thought when she said "I have a no-cats rule," she was going to play the "we own this building and don't allow pets" card, but alas, that seems to be a separate thought. Do you own the building or not??? Whatever, at least we get to see Margo throwing her weight around. "You owe taser lady, but I hate animals, so forget that."

And I am really genuinely curious about where this guy getting hit by car storyline is going. I know this means it's going to be really, really lame.

Surprise?

How can Tommie even muster up that bobble or surprise? Whenever someone mentions an upcoming vacation and a beloved pet in the same conversation, you know how it's going to end.

Now is the time to negotiate. How many dollars a day are we talking here? Do you get unlimited use of the taser? Is it okay if you eat all of her Doritos? etc. etc.

Breaking the Rules

You're lucky, Taser Lady. Old Tommie would've turned you in to the landlord in a heartbeat. But new Tommie knows that rules are for squares! New Tommie will also shirk her responsibility to your cat and foist it on her fishy Aunt Iris, so you know, watch out. We should start taking bets on how dead/missing this cat is going to be in three weeks.

UPDATE: I just learned from the Comics Curmudgeon that the Lovely Ladies of Apartment 3-G own the building? Wow, that really NEVER comes up. Maybe that's why Tommie can afford to knock off the nursing and pursue her dreams of a singing career. If she plays her cards right, Prissygate could be lucrative in and of itself...

The Many Faces of Taser Lady

OH MY GOSH, Taser Lady is back!! SHE'S BACK, EVERYONE!! I knew she'd come back for us if we just believed hard enough, and now she's here!! She's really here! Although it sounds like she's just about to leave us again... aw. At least she'll leave Tommie (read: Iris, obviously) in charge of Prissy, which I can only assume is her pet name for her taser.

But what's a Taser Lady without a taser? It's obviously quite upsetting for TL. So upsetting that her face keeps mutating. We've all been there before, haven't we?

The Ol' Dusty Trail

Well Tommie, even though you're my own flesh and blood, you still haven't invited me to stay here, so I guess I'll check out the hostel situation in New York. I blew all my money on deli food, there's no way I'm shelling for a real hotel. No no, really, that's okay, you don't have to put me up, I understand... but could you please wait until I'm gone to look so relieved?

Gone Fishin'

Nice, Iris. Reeeeeeeeal subtle. "Oh, I just had this really weird dream where all the bright lights in the big city said, Hello Aunt Iris! Welcome to our fair city! Why don't you kick off your shoes and stay a while, stay in a nice comfy apartment with sweetest, prettiest niece in the world, stay stay stay oh please oh please Tommie LET ME STAY!!"

Unfortunately, Tommie is more obtuse (or much more clever) than I suspected, so you're to have to lay it on even thicker if you want an invitation to stay at 3G.