Tom the Dancing Bug by Ruben Bolling for February 07, 2020

Sorry Dinkle, that position has been taken.

The riff on Magritte’s pipe that is not a pipe also references a classic story about a depressed man, a therapist, and Pagliacci. There are several versions of it. Alan Moore used this one in his graphic novel “Watchmen”….

Heard joke once: Man goes to doctor. Says he’s depressed. Says life seems harsh and cruel. Says he feels all alone in a threatening world where what lies ahead is vague and uncertain. Doctor says, “Treatment is simple. Great clown Pagliacci is in town tonight. Go and see him. That should pick you up.” Man bursts into tears. Says, "But doctor…I am Pagliacci.”

Punchin’ Jesus? Man, that’s some Clockwork Orange level darkness. :-)

Dinkle is a great example of the average “MAGA” person!

The beach strip is a faithful rendition of those of my youth, if you leave out the Jesus bits.

And now for “Origin of Barely Competent with Machine Gun Man”!

“Catharsis Joe” strip, ca 1999:

Joe’s rappin’ with Jesus about the footprints in the sand, and asks why there’s only one set during his worst times. (“A glass eye costs HOW much? Never mind, just gimme a patch.”) “Those were the times you were too weak to walk, my son, and so I carried you.” Joe persists: “How about where there’s one set of prints with a wavy line in between?” “Those were the times you were too heavy to carry, so I used a wheelbarrow.” “And how about where it’s just a series of big dots?” “Pogo stick.”

Thanks for confirming what I always suspected about Ms. Knightley.

“But Lord… why are there only one set of footprints?” “Because the Sand People always walk in single file to conceal their numbers.”

Keira Knightley looks more like a recycled Renée Zellweger image.

I’ve always wonder how Particularly-Good-At-Archery-Man got started, but was too cheap to buy the back issues of his comic book.

“The Origin of Particularly Good at Archery Man” … isn’t that just Marvel Comics’ Hawkeye? Ruben Bolling you better be on the lookout for a lawsuit of copyright infringement.