Now we have more questions as the scene shifts to the stands. The girls are having some ice cream or candy and discussing Keri’s parents being opposing coaches. Hey girls, why dont you watch the game? Its so intriquing that the Milford stands are urging on the team with a defense chant. Would love to know if someone scored but thats for tomorrow. I was dying to find out if the two creators figured out they had the wrong team with the ball near the goal line.
I see noise but I dont see it performed. P2 and P3 are almost identical save for Keri’s head being turned forward instead of sideways. They have moved under the stands where they could easily be kicked by one of the mens feet, or both. The one kid is looking at his phone so it wouldnt be hard to kick back and give Keri a black eye.
Its chopped?? Guess thats modern slang for ‘its complicated’. Ol Hank trying to impress us again huh? Nah. More actual sports mule.
Anyone else notice the comments on GoComics are not shown, presumably unless you subscribe to the site? No more getting the vibe before I write.
Besides yesterday’s much-lauded Chicago Bears win over the Eagles in Philly, there were a handful of college football games played, including several rivalries. One of those, the annual renewal of Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate, saw Georgia extend its winning streak over rival Georgia Tech to a record eight games. Today’s strip reminded me of that rivalry, not just because there’s a Tech involved but also because the scoreless tie reminded me of that famous Erk Russell quote I referred to here once: “If we score, we may win. If they never score, we’ll never lose.”
Let’s just call today’s strip what it is: a complete screw-up. But who did the screwing up? Let’s break it down.
Milford’s QB, wearing number 2, is Carte Jones. He was introduced while Merrill was drawing.
“Pedro” could be, and probably is, referring to Pedro Martinez, son of Milford assistant coach (and former VT head coach) Luke Martinez. We really haven’t heard from Pedro since his sperm donation except that he and Keri somehow ended up as “bros.” Then again, we haven’t heard anything out of Tech in ages besides Emily getting the job there. No Pedro, no Korean Nightmare, nothing. For all we know Coach Kim (who was also named AD; see that last hyperlink) may have bailed once Emily got his job. I mean, I’ve been assuming Kim is the coach on the sidelines with Em and Coach Doyle, but he hasn’t been named outright this season, has he?
As written, then, this should be VT with the ball. Even if Barajas didn’t tell Mills that Pedro was the VT QB, then the dialog for the last panel should’ve clued Mills in that VT had the ball. Is this one on Mills, then? Or did Barajas spend too much time trying to work pop culture phrases into snap counts and not enough time informing his Guest Artist who the players are and for which team they play? For all we know this could be more effort to generate clicks and “engagement.”
Come back on Monday to find out whether the artwork matches the dialog.
Playing to a scoreless tie at halftime, both Milford and Valley Tech need to make some adjustments to get on the scoreboard. The VT coaching staff, ducking out of the locker room early so that their players can’t bother them, returns to find an empty stadium. All the better to hatch their secret plans…
… which turn out to be not so secret. Barajas appears to only know two plays: to use “the AI playbook” and the “Thorp Special,” which seems simply to be a forward pass to a receiver. (Psst, Henry – you can always fall back on the Delaware Wing-T!) How might that AI playbook work? Here’s a thought.
Coaches Kim and Doyle are practically begging Emily to use the playbook since Gil is as predictable as the Detroit Lions playing today. Coach Doyle even throws up the biggest of softballs for Coach/AD Clover to hit over the fence. Emily already used this tool! Got two kids and all the coaching experience she’s ever had out of him.
Nope, Emily knows Gil likes the Wing-T, the Thorp Special, and three-minute, missionary position sex stiff Old-Fashioneds. She thinks she knows what’s coming and exactly how to stop it. That haughty, cocky look (again, more kudos to Mills for capturing the subtleties) and closed-off body language says it all. Now it remains to be seen how Gil and the Mudlarks make Em eat her words.
If you’re celebrating Thanksgiving Day today, I hope you’re having an enjoyable one. I’m thankful to still be here to be able to write for TWIM (a little over five years ago, I thought I might not be) and for the encouragement from you gentle readers to do so.
First of all thanks to teenchy for producing Joan Rivers Week; however it was that tdrew couldnt make it to the post either, I dont know, but that was a load for you, and you answered the bell and then some. No wonder Johnny Carson only wanted to work 3 days a week in his contract. When you have Joan Rivers as your backup you have it made in the shade! Well done!
I had a nice time out on the mother road; that section between Lebanon MO and Chelsea OK was almost all main highways and some country roads with sojourns through some neighborhoods thrown in. No interstate 44 on the route at all. I had great weather aside from Thursday when it rained enough that I didnt do the last 50 miles to Tulsa, (100 miles round trip) so I got home Saturday afternoon and caught up. Loved seeing the Arch in St. Louis, and the 13-mile Kansas section was great, with a lot to see in the little corner of that state. My motel hosts were all very welcoming and the places were unique. Its still a long drive doing sections at a time, so its good to get home and not face the highways for 5-6 hours a day.
So I guess we’re finally back in 2025 and we have… Mimi vs Gil in football?? Doesnt Gil shake hands with the head coach, not the AD? And yes, AFTER the game not before?? Dont the cheerleaders have uniforms?? Sweatpants are for lounging around in your house. I know Kit is a better artist but my god, get some sense of reality here. More to being an artist then artwork lady.
Everybody and their mother? You mean the moms of the students knew a generation ago when they may have grown up somewhere else entirely that this future showdown was coming? The stands are nowhere near the cheerleaders either. Girls, the game’s over there! And Im nitpicking, but theyre supposed to FACE the stands, not the field. Ive seen enough games. No pom pon squad faces the field when theyre cheering.
Marty is facing sideways in his booth, turning his head to view the proceedings. Uh, (like a broken record) the announcer faces the field. Yes Kit I’m talking to you again. Wow me with your art all you want. These panels get an F. Cripes, he cant even see through his own glass. How’s he gonna call the game?? Maybe its so cold the windows fogged over. Its almost Thanksgiving you know. Bout time we played a damn game. Im sure Marty appreciates the cold; gives him an excuse to bring some hooch to keep warm.
So how long is this game gonna take? Place your bets in the comments. I say they shake hands again on December 1 with Gil coming out on top. Then theyll play 3 games in a week to wrap it up. The more things change the more they stay the same.
teenchy here again, filling in for tdrew, which gives me the opportunity to follow through on yesterday’s minor cliffhanger.
The off-panel interloper from yesterday turned out to be Julia Duffy, straight off the set of Newhart. Her daughter, who may or may not be played by Molly Ringwald, wants her picture taken with the pioneering Milford girl gridders. By the time Julia can whip out her Polaroid two of the three have disappeared, leaving only Emily to pose with the youngster. What ensues can only be described as a seminal moment, albeit one not involving semen.
The last panel begs for thought balloons.
“I want to be just like you when I grow up.” “Sexually confused and abandoning my family?”
“I hope I have a daughter like you someday.” “Well, the spiky hair and huge earrings are easy enough to come by. The sexual voraciousness, PTSD, eating disorder, and anger management issues, that’s on you.”
What else could Emily and her young admirer be thinking? Have at it in the comments.
Dear Lord, what a cluster. Let’s just try to break it down.
First half: Weird pads outside jerseys. No helmets. Pads in pants. Hillary Clinton headband on Emily.
Halftime: No pads, outside jerseys or in pants. No helmets. Hillary Clinton headband still on Emily.
Second half: Weird pads outside jerseys. Weird microcephalic helmets. Period correct face masks but what in tarhooties is going on with the Milford player’s face in that second panel?
How about that playcalling, then. Take the snap, drop back to pass, then call out the signals? Name drop a future coach years before she’s even been thought of? The receiver, wearing fingerless gloves like she’s in a U2 video, calls for the overcooked potato chip like she’s an outfielder? Has the Thorp Special always been just a pass to a receiver?
Earlier today, I commented on Rob’s post that “Henry Barajas’s Gil Thorp is to classic Gil Thorp what Mindy Kaling’s Velma is to classic Velma.” That was a hot take to be sure but the more I’ve thought about it, the more I think it’s on target. Kaling’s version of Mystery Inc. went over like a lead balloon, alienating critics and audiences alike, and the show was cancelled after two seasons. This review from The Atlantic‘s Shirley Li summed it up pretty well. If it’s paywalled, my apologies, but the summary could just as easily have been written about this strip:
“Mature updates of venerated cartoons can work. HBO Max itself houses one of the best: Harley Quinn, a colorful extension of the DC animated universe that follows the titular comic-book character striking out on her own. Like Velma, the show is violent, packed with meta jokes, and concerned with depicting a female character’s journey of self-discovery. But unlike Velma, the series has a clear reverence for the original franchise; it treats Harley with respect, prioritizing her development even amid rapid-fire jokes. Velma, meanwhile, emphasizes its shallow humor, yielding a project that struggles to be playful and misunderstands its protagonist’s appeal. No, reboots shouldn’t be carbon copies of their source material. But neither should they dismiss it—or sneer at the viewers who care.“
BTW, y’all know what “I got it” is in Spanish, right? Right! Perfect time for a musical segue.
We’re getting spoiled for quality artwork lately (what are the odds Guest Artist Kit Mills gets to drop the “Guest” before long?) so I’m not gonna nitpick the relative position of the players in the first two panels. I’m not even gonna nitpick the “BOOM!” that usually accompanies a hard hit in full pads. Let’s just chalk it up to successive plays and the cumulative effect of those successive plays.
What cumulative effect, you ask? The one Emily’s feeling under Roxanne’s weight. That same feeling she had when she sat on the washing machine that one afternoon when Coach Thorp asked her to do the team laundry after practice. That same feeling she had after Coach Thorp caught her sitting on the washing machine, excused himself, bolted back into his office and slammed the door shut.
That’s where Barajas’ retcon is taking us: to a place where Emily has always played for the other team (at least part-time) and, in his confusion, Gil thought she was playing for his. It’s still not crystal clear that Gil is a student or faculty or what the age difference is between Emily and him. After today’s strip, though, it’s pretty clear that he served her in a facial hair capacity.
This Week in Milford 
