To My Dad!

I've been struggling to find something to say about this all day, but I'm going to stop trying now. Have a great weekend, everybody!

Thelma and Margo

I don't pretend to understand much of what goes on in this strip, but I am preeettyyyy sure that the last week or two have been part of some kind of fever dream. I'm assuming Margo came home and went to bed after her encounter with the mysterious stranger, and the whole Tommie/Lu Ann coming home shower sequence was her subconscious reminding her that she is, in fact, the center of the A3G universe. This whole Thelma situation I'm not sure about, but they went from being strangers at some kind of outdoor "café" and are now apparently back in 3G with a bowl of dinner rolls, chatting it up like old friends, which is the kind of thing that would definitely happen in a dream.

Or maybe Occam's razor would have it that this whole damn strip is a dream, because that would make everything much easier to understand. Maybe this whole thing will end Newhart style. Or ooo, maybe more like St. Elsewhere. Ah, who am I kidding? THIS WILL NEVER END.

Food is Ready

So much for New York's premiere winter al fresco diner experience. Did Thelma lure Margo inside with a bowl of chow? That's how I'd describe what's in that bowl. Chow. It's all in there, Margo. Eggs. Toast. Pie. Clams. Baked beans. Marshmallows.

Does what's happened thus far in the "plot" merit recap and rehashing with Thelma the waitress? I mean, really? The only way I would say "yes" would be if this waitress was actually played by classic character actress Thelma Ritter.

I'd watch anything she's in!

Humble Brag

"I'm Margo Magee...I own this town.  Now, get me a bran muffin."

I know that we here at the blog have been known to give Frank Bolle some grief about the quality of the art, but I think we really need to give a big WTF to Margaret Shulock for this storyline.  I'm sorry, did I say storyline?  I meant series of disconnected vignettes with random incidental characters that seemingly has no point.

Healthy Appetite

New York's culinary scene isn't just competitive, it's cut-throat. Some restaurateurs will do anything to get an edge on their competition, including hiring thought police to rush out onto the street and take orders as soon as someone even thinks the word "breakfast." Unfortunately, the thought police almost always forget to ask "white or wheat?"

Early Riser

Margo Magee got up without an underling to rouse her with a steaming cup of coffee and made her own bed?  I think Diana Devine has put a curse on her.

Don't Forget to Wake Up Margo!

Of course it's someone's job to wake up Margo. Probably a good idea to have a cup of black coffee and a raw steak on the table first.

Spinning Her Wheels

No touching!

Lu Ann, yes, duh, this is why we love Margo. Because she has wild ideas and spins her wheels and obsesses. I can't figure out why Margo having to talk to her mom about her fortune teller pal has translated into Margo having a sudden passionate interest in planning her mother's wedding, even though a few months ago she couldn't stomach the thought of helping out in the least—but hey, it happened. And now we have neurotic obsessive Margo to look forward to. And the world is a little brighter.

No Problem—Get Some Sleep

I'm totally gobsmacked. We're extending this 2:00 a.m. chit chat story-padding into the next week?? Margo got dressed after her shower to talk about being sleepy with Lu Ann? Who then replies, "No problem," like there might be some kind of problem with going to bed at two in the morning? Just... where is this going? What's the end game? A Margo-takes-sleeping-pills story? A Margo-takes-cocaine story? Or the more likely Margo-takes-frequent-naps-to-catch-up-on-some-Zs story? There's not even a deer in the apartment to break up the monotony of these scenes.

Hot and Cold

Um, is Margo supposed to be acting like an insane person or is this the curse of Diana Devine?  Who takes a shower at 2 AM?  Even if you need to take a shower at 2 AM, you just pass out in whatever state of grossness you are currently in.  Maybe you wash your face/brush your teeth.   If you feel like it. 

The apparent timeline of this strip indicates that Tommie and Lu Ann were out on the town until sometime after 2 AM?   NONE OF THIS MAKES SENSE!

Brrr...

These throwaway strips are getting downright bizarre.

To everyone who ever wanted to see Margo without her clothes on (you sickos): looks like she has the same raw sex appeal of a naked Barbie doll. Specifically a Barbie you played with in the sink and now her hair is permanently ruined.

To everyone who ever wanted to see Tommie audition for a Snuggies commercial: well, here you go.

Suspiciously Running Water

First New York City roommates ever to be concerned that lights are on and water is running at 2 AM. Like, you should just be glad she hasn't drunkenly burned the place down. I'd take that.

Go to bed, Margo, didn't your mom ever tell you nothing good happens after 2 AM? Or was she too busy with the psychic friends network?

Good Sense

Meanwhile, with Plain & Plainer LLC... Wait, what was Lu Ann worried about? The deer thing?? That's so 2014. I'm not even willing to go back and check what month that ended, but seriously, move on, ladies! Plenty more fish in the sea for you to reject and/or die on you.

Hung Up

Apartment 3-G, ladies and gentlemen! Thrill as Margo calls her mother at 2:00 in the morning pretending to have ideas! Reel as her mother immediately hangs up on her like a normal person! Gasp has Margo wipes her ear grease onto her shoulder! This strip truly has it all!

Two in the Morning

Hey Gabriella. Don't hate the mental playa, hate the mental game. I love Margo for the logic that compels her to call her mom at two in the morning after making the excuse that she was too sleepy to visit her after dinner. I guess that cold shower woke her up! Or cocaine!

Flights of Fancy

Uh, unhappy exceedingly plain turquoise-clad Marlo Thomas? Can you just... can you just back up out of the shot for a minute? Margo is thinking.

Imagining Things

Yesterday was one of my favorite strips in recent history. How can Greg Cooper/Clark Kent/ghost-who-walks/the wandering tickler be gone already??  I think he tickled her further into the past... I usually get a 1960's buttoned-up watered-down Mad Men vibe from this strip, but I think I see Spanky, Darla, Jimmy Olson, and a young George Bailey in the background today. Gee, this is swell! Chin up, Margo. Maybe a strawberry phosphate will make you feel better?

Deep Thought

I love how Margo's version of taking care of the Diane situation is thinking so deeply about how she is just too tired to deal with that crap that she falls in the street. Never change, Margo.

I'm going to go ahead and assume that the mysterious stranger is someone like Greg Cooper, since there has been such an effort made to cover up his identity, and not just Sam walking out of the restaurant after Margo. The best part is that the effort to cover up his identity in a monochromatic outfit and eye-shielding hat was all for naught, because there's no telling who any given man in this strip actually is until someone refers to them by name.

Run Along

If my boss—or any adult, actually—ever told me to "run along," I think I'd die inside, and possibly outside. Also I would definitely expect my boss to pick up the tab, especially if dinner was her idea. Sam is her employee, right? Is this wedding planning his only responsibility? He he saying he's taking a week of PTO to recover from Diane Devine, snake-charmer and flim-flammer? I don't understand any of this!

Fight!

Here it comes!  In one corner, we have Maniac Margo Magee weighing in at 75 pounds of pure, tightly wound torso.  In the other, the unknown serpentine challenger Divine Diane Devine.  It's going to be a fight for the ages.  Buns will become unkempt.  No amount of flim flam can force Margo to plan her own mother's wedding. 

Quit On Me

I've never been clear on whether planning Gabriella's wedding was a part of Sam's job responsibilities or whether it's just a super fun extracurricular, but it sounds like Sam might be quitting altogether! Oh no! This is terrible! We've all grown so attached to Sam, haven't we gang? We've all been there with him through so much: the ups (ordering steak) and the downs (talking about Diane Devine). This is just so sad to hear about. Can Margo possibly find anyone like Sam to take his place?

Snake in the Grass

Am I the only one picturing Diane as a snake wearing a turban and caftan?  Kind of like a female, gypsy Sir Hiss from the animated Disney version of Robin Hood? 

According to a quick search on Google, fortune-telling for purposes other than entertainment is a class B misdemeanor in New York state.  I'm just hoping for some class A flim flam hijinks.

Diane Devine

Thursday January 1, 2014

Friday January 2, 2014

YES YES YES I knew it I knew it, it's a flimflammer storyline!! Featuring not just a psychic, but an alliterative psychic! How simply... devine? Hey wait a second, that's not how you spell divine. Boo. The name isn't as spectacularly corny as I had initially thought. But whatever, this is still going to be great. Let's guess what Diane's wacky get up is going to be! I'm guessing she'll have a silver blue fauxhawk and wear and shawl/tablecloth over colorful zebra-print jumpsuit. Eh? Guys? You think? OR, maybe she'll have a modest bob haircut and a white Oxford shirt, buttoned to the neck.

By the way, thank you to Barking Monkey for pointing out the brown suit flash mob setting up behind these two. I can't wait to see their hilarious antics, set to the irresistible rhythm of Taylor Swift's "Shake It Off"! That's New York, baby!