Pibgorn by Brooke McEldowney

Tags: cookies, Crisis?, succubus, in, blue, musical chairs ... when the music stops, see who sits in geoffs lap, Oh Dru...Love hurts?...Mojo backfires?.... Add Tags

Comments (194) Jump to Comments Form

fear-ciuil said, 8 months ago

If you would like to ‘favorite’ the strip, (and maybe the sketch, too), simply log in and click on the ‘Favorite’ star directly above the strip. Mr. McEldowney very kindly asked for us what purpose is served by favoriting, and this was the answer:
I asked my editor at Gocomics about the purpose of “favoriting” a strip. Her answer was this: “‘Favoriting’ allows people following you to see what comics you like. ‘Favorited’ comics also show up under your profile, and allow us to see what comics people are enjoying.”
Basically, I think it provides a method for spreading the word.
Brooke

ccdesan has been kind enough to provide several resources:
Pibgorn in-depth background info, strip history, synopsis of story arcs, etc.
• http://home.comcast.net/~ccdesan/Pibgorn/Pibgorn.html

9 Chickweed Lane in-depth background info, strip history, synopsis of story arcs, etc.
• http://home.comcast.net/~ccdesan/Chickweed/Chickweed.html

GoComics comments posting guide to special formatting: italic, bold, indents, large fonts, etc.
• http://home.comcast.net/~ccdesan/Pibgorn/StyleGuide.html

fairportfan has samples and a guide for converting 2D comics to 3D and for “flicker” comparisons:
3D conversions of a couple of Pibgorn panels, go to:
• http://electronictiger.net/stereo/dru.htm
How to Commit 3D - quick-and-dirty guide for stereo images:
• http://electronictiger.net/stereo/demo.htm
Index of “flicker” images:
• http://electronictiger.net/avail/flick/
Flicker Picture Tutorial:
• http://electronictiger.net/avail/how2

Joe_Minotaur has a number of fan fictions based upon Pibgorn and TV police dramas:
• http://home.earthlink.net/~joeminotaur (start reading at the bottom of the page!)

Free registration to participate in a forum dedicated to Brooke McEldowny’s work:
• http://www.talkaboutcomics.com/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=568 [link to forum]
• http://marmoe.livejournal.com/34590.html [for registration assistance]

Brooke McEldowney info at:
• http://officialpibgorn.livejournal.com/ [Brooke’s Pibgorn blog]
• http://chickweedcafe.blogspot.com/ [Brooke’s Chickweed blog]
• http://www.wuky.org/tonicarchivesvisual [WUKY NPR interview (audio)]
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brooke_McEldowney

Come one and come all, de-lurk and join in!
Add your own voice to our great, joyous din!
Just one bit of wisdom ere joining our game:
Read the comments! All of them! Or you’ll miss something! (Shame!)
(No trolls need apply.)
And please do not feed the cuisine-challenged bridge substructure symbionts.
http://picayune.uclick.com/comics/pib/2002/pib021218.gif
http://chickweedcafe.blogspot.com/2009/02/on-return-of-loons.html

Today’s 9 Chickweed Lane can be found at:
http://www.chron.com/apps/comics/showComic.mpl?date=2009%2F3%2F2&name=9_Chickweed_Lane
An index of old 9 Chickweed Lane strips, 2001-present, can be found at:
http://www.comicstriparchive.com/9_Chickweed_Lane/
Margueritem said, 8 months ago

All I see is the sketch. What has happened to Dru?
Sisyphos said, 8 months ago

Nothing up yet in my part of the Central Time Zone….
Gweedo Murray said, 8 months ago

Dru looks like she might toss some cookies, and in color here.

EDIT: More like tossing a broken heart.
Fairportfan said, 8 months ago

Dru seems to be collapsing.

I wonder if the Pib/Geoff/Dru triangle is coming to a new resolution.
Sisyphos said, 8 months ago

Now they’re up!
Fairportfan said, 8 months ago

From “yesterday”:

Sisyphos says:

“Oh, my ! I hope the Master hasn’t been done in by his viral crud! Maybe that’s why Sunday’s 9CWL was a rerun?”

No - the Sunday 9CL strips are done well in advance; i already said, but i’ll repeat, that i suspect that the rerun was to get the Sundays and dailies back in synch for some big payoff at the end of this week.
TennesseeD said, 8 months ago

fairportfan: Thanx for the Wapsi tip. I gotta get a Monica statuette!
fear-ciuil said, 8 months ago

God natt, Minotaureans.
Sisyphos said, 8 months ago

Pib has come to fuller understanding of the Triangle through her time with Dru…. Dru’s transformation scene in panel 3 is hot, hot, hot! But what is her problem? Has all her super-activity sapped her humanoid strength? Or is she emotionally overwhelmed? Saddened?
…Guess what? –I’m CONFUSED! Just let me slump into the Couch for a while and try to think this through…. Sigh….
Sisyphos said, 8 months ago

9CWL: Edda in panel 3 is looking and sounding wifey, IMO. I am, however, surprised that Amos found a plastic ring–whatever it is!–in an elegant and upscale Brussels jewellery store!
Phoenix_Ascendant said, 8 months ago

It’s so sad to see Dru in frame five (bottom-right). She looks like she’s utterly destroyed… I really hope that things don’t blow up for her because that would just suck. (I guess I’m a fan of the “Dru-Geoff-Pibby remain as a threesome” scenario but I highly doubt that will happen.)
3Xp4t said, 8 months ago

Looks like someone could really use a hug.
Fairportfan said, 8 months ago

Sisyphos says:

“I am, however, surprised that Amos found a plastic ring–whatever it is!–in an elegant and upscale Brussels jewellery store!”

Well, it’s a store that apparently handles antiques and such stuff =- maybe it’s a Little Orphan Annie or Captain Midnight Secret Decoder ring from the 1930s?

(Except that one of those would be brass, come to think.)
Sisyphos said, 8 months ago

I remember mail-ordering a couple of such rings when I was a kid: a Lone Ranger ring with a six-gun atop that allegedly would strike a spark (like a lighter’s action) and a Captain Video signet-ring. But I was a little too late into that stage for the great decoder rings.
Fly Guy said, 8 months ago

Just think how we all would feel individually if we didn’t have this common
couch of confusion to mull things over. Its going to take months to tie up
the loose ends with Satori/Roger, Lena/Igor, Pib/Dru, and what ever happened
to the fighter pilots (Dru has never treated human life causally).
AND IS Mrs. Egg still waiting for the kids to come for supper?
Frida Bonita said, 8 months ago

This is not the dance of the 7 vails but it’s going to reveal something just the same
Sisyphos said, 8 months ago

Given Master’s common use of parallellism and ring-construction (pun intended), Pibgorn’s serious approach to Geoff about the Triangle (which she and Dru discussed 16-17 February) would suggest that Dru’s malady in panel 5 is something akin to heartbreak as she comes to terms with such unfamiliar qualities as compassion, selflessness, acceptance of unwanted reality…. Geoff loves Pib (she–Dru– had the concept before, but her psychic sharing with Pib must have reinforced the realisation as never before). But now what will Pib ask of Geoff? There is going to be some shuffling in the Triangle, I think!
Fairportfan said, 8 months ago

Sisyphos says:

“Given Master’s common use of parallellism and ring-construction (pun intended), Pibgorn’s serious approach to Geoff about the Triangle (which she and Dru discussed 16-17 February) would suggest that Dru’s malady in panel 5 is something akin to heartbreak as she comes to terms with such unfamiliar qualities as compassion, selflessness, acceptance of unwanted reality…. Geoff loves Pib (she–Dru– had the concept before, but her psychic sharing with Pib must have reinforced the realisation as never before). But now what will Pib ask of Geoff? There is going to be some shuffling in the Triangle, I think!”

Actually, as i recall the situation, Pib could see Dru’s thoughts and memories and emotions, but Dru could only hear Pib’s “voice” - remember, Dru had to ask who was in her head.
Sisyphos said, 8 months ago

But, in any case, fairportfan, they both verbalized their thoughts 16-17 February….
Sisyphos said, 8 months ago

Right, charlie37133. But I hope it’s for greater inclusiveness, sharing, compassion.
txmystic said, 8 months ago

I’m guessing Pib has to clear up the whole thing about Dru’s love for Geoff. please don’t tell me she’s trying to break up with him?? After all they’ve been through…it’d be worse than Gabriella taking off for Stanford while leaving Troy stuck with his basketball scholarship at UofA…or will he follow his new dream to study drama and music at Juilliard?? But what if Sharpay succeeds in rigging the selection process in her favor, alienating both Ryan and Kelsi??? Or should Troy follow his heart and try to get into a college close to Gabriella even if it might sabotage his Bromance with his BFF Chad????

Wait…that’s HSM3…sorry, my daughter has commandeered the DVD player for several days with that one…
txmystic said, 8 months ago

Now regarding Dru, she’s still assimilating the evil mojo, and it is clearly affecting her ability to assume her red-dress-wearing human form…remember the last time she did this she ran Geoff through a wall, now she’s staggering…methinks the entropy is rising and will get to a crisis point soon…
gimmickgenius said, 8 months ago

Glad to see a bit of time has passed; at least enough for Geoff to collect some of his own wardrobe! No, wait! That’s ROGER’S outfit, see:
http://www.gocomics.com/pibgorn/2009/02/20
Huh?
WoodGracie said, 8 months ago

Is that melancholy Dru is exhibiting? Beautiful, panels 3&4!
All the comments made so far are possible, it seems.
Make room on the couch! I just need an arm to slouch on, oh and I brought some basics, Cape Cod white cheddar popcorn and their chips and Leinie’s Red, nothin’ fancy tonight.
9CWL: Huh? Wha?? Plastic? My expression mirrored Edda’s in the last panel!
Fairportfan said, 8 months ago

*charlie37133 says:

“Sisyphos ### but does this new inclusion mean a threesome swive (lovely archaic intransitive verb means BLEEEP) or a sharing of geoff, like a timeshare. that would give pibby geoff monday, wednesday, friday, and dru gets geoff tuesday, thursday, saturday. and the seventh day, sunday geoff rested.

Pib has always had difficulties with dealing with certain social mores. For isntance:
http://picayune.uclick.com/comics/pib/2004/pib041027.gif
Story Teller said, 8 months ago

charlie37133 says: “i feel a film version with live actors like henry potter series would fail to capture brooke unusual enviroment. but an adult cartoon would like brooke bring his special lack of scenery (like a stage play) into effect. so who would be a perfect voice over from the last hundred years. …. voice for geoff, i choose very english voice of Robert Morley. voice for pibby i like the sing song voice of Billie Burke. and voice for dru is the broken english of either Ursula Andress or Ilona Massey.”

Interesting choices. Going for a vintage feel, eh? “Pibgorn” as done by Disney before they went over to the dark side…?

You may be right that an animated treatment may be the only way to do the Master’s vision justice. Still, with the state of technology today, a live-action version is certainly possible.
The Old Wolf said, 8 months ago

Looks like an interesting week coming up. Pib’s going to have a “relationship” talk with Geoff, and Pib seems to be suffering from a mojo-overload…

Seminar’s finally over - but I’m exhausted!

Have a good night and a great day!
Story Teller said, 8 months ago

fairportfanPro says: “Pib has always had difficulties with dealing with certain social mores. For isntance:
http://picayune.uclick.com/comics/pib/2004/pib041027.gif

Ach! It’s always the church pianists!

Actually, that sequence cemented something that has been nibbling at me for some time, but I could not put my finger on it. Oognat reminds me of a young lady I used to know, save that this gal did not have the natural fur suit and was considerably larger in stature, but her face and her unruly (head) hair just reminded me of this former gal pal of mine. Pib’s lack of shame reminds me of her too. =)
SirMirom said, 8 months ago

Geoff is in Roger’s clothes? Nah, must be a coincidence… right?

My guess: Pib is gonna dump him because their Fight Against Evil is too dangerous, you know, all noble and stuff. A little Harry-Ginny action, if you know what I mean (sans the Hungarian Horntail tattoo).
…
…
And as for 9CWL, I see a fist colliding with Amos’ face soon. You do NOT give a fake ring in a real closed ring box (fake = anything but an engagement ring), something my husband learned when I almost walked out on him on our fourth date (he had a piece of paper inside that said ‘Gotcha! Now can we slow down?’. I almost killed him. I still don’t know why I didn’t, except we’ve been married almost 10 years now… :)).
Fairportfan said, 8 months ago

I get bored. I do another one.

Check at http://electronictiger.net/avail/flick/theme_index.htm

Look for the red “UPDATE” indicator.
aerwalt said, 8 months ago

42 Early today. Perhaps the series is ending. (Arrrrrgh!)
3Xp4t said, 8 months ago

fairportfan says:
Pib has always had difficulties with dealing with certain social mores. For isntance:
http://picayune.uclick.com/comics/pib/2004/pib041027.gif

Respectfully disagree. It is not Pib experiencing difficulty … ;-)

No matter the resolution, the entire relationship is doomed to deep sadness and tragedy. Pib & Dru are not nearly so mortal as Geoff. No matter how long Geoff lives, no matter how much time either Dru or Pib get with him, it will not be enough.

Dru & Pib, however, face centuries together (at the least). Their bond of love and friendship is strong, so long as they realize it. Dru seems now to be facing her own internal demons without a veil of self-denial or deceit; Pib now seems to understand how selfish she’s been.

And Geoff. He’s about to get a smackful of insight into his own selfishness. Dru has told him directly that she’s in love with him, but he’s rather brushed that off. Perhaps it’s hard to take such a statement seriously from a succubus, but he’s about to face that it’s real, and he’s caused a lot of pain. Time for he & Pib to be there for Dru.

God bless Dru. She’s been a hero. Here’s hoping they can work it out.
fatuncle said, 8 months ago

Frida Bonita

This is not the dance of the 7 vails…

Tell me, was that pun deliberate? Because, by golly, it is one of the most apropos comments in some time! Dead on!
KalahariNight said, 8 months ago

Repeating here a comment I justmade over on 9CL:

This morning, instead of the sun coming up, a very large, luminous, snowflake-studded word appeared over the horizon from the direction of Maine… it said “GOTCHA!”

I just had my own flight of fancy - wouldn’t it be droll if the ring is an original 1960’s MOOD RING?
JosephR4570 said, 8 months ago

I really HATE it when someone I really care about says, “We have to talk.” =8^O
KalahariNight said, 8 months ago

Poor Dru… I suspect her little heart-to-heart with Lena has brought all her memories of Henmellyn (and the emotions therewith) to the fore.
JosephR4570 said, 8 months ago

KalahariNight, I think mood rings were made of pot metal, not plastic.
paciii said, 8 months ago

I was thinking… Pib attached herself to Geoff when he thawed her out and “saved” her. Do Dru’s actions within this whole story-arc count as the same?

If so, is Pib going to tell Geoff that [his] claim has been replaced/trumped by a claim by Dru? If she isn’t happy about it, it may explain Dru’s attitude in the last panel (if they are connected.) We don’t know how close Geoff is to where Dru was with the Eggs. Surely in relatively close proximity, so Dru’s Pib-sense might be picking up Pib’s sadness about the change in relationship??

9CwL: It’s a Ring! (yeah!) It’s Plastic!! (huh?) It’s Old and Valuable!! (Yeah!) It’s PLASTIC! (HUH???) Bakelite? Neoprene? Vintage from wartime during WWI or WWII? We’ll find out, but… the waiting OH the waiting…

So much detail, so little to go on… Confusion Rules!!
atajayhawk said, 8 months ago

9CWL Go, Amos!
kcboomer said, 8 months ago

Does anyone think this might be the start of a new arc??
KalahariNight said, 8 months ago

9CL: was there ever a female superhero that looked anything like Superlative Girl? One for whom there might have been rings?
Lazarus Long said, 8 months ago

Anybody reckon that Dru is suffering from Bad (Spinky) Mojo Poisoning. If somebody doesn’t do something she just might Ralph all over her pretty dress.
RockHouse said, 8 months ago

charlie37133

The Dot and the Line: A Romance in Lower Mathematics reminds me a lot of the piece Miss Cone from Ken Nordine’s Word Jazz

Ken Nordine’s Word Jazz Web Site and Podcast - Home

http://tinyurl.com/c7d4jb

Many are familiar with Down the Drain. I especially like You’re Getting Better and Reaching Into In.

A collaboration of Ken with Neil Gaiman might be most entertaining.
atajayhawk said, 8 months ago

I must be over simplistic: I assumed that Amos had the antique ring and was just saying plastic to jar Edda out of her role as the ultimate tragedienne. Still think it’s a possibility.
pschearer said, 8 months ago

I’m delighted that such a brilliant strip has become so popular, but there is no way I’m going to read 52 comments.

(GEEZ!! In the time it took me to write the above there were two more! Madness, I tell you, madness!!)
fatuncle said, 8 months ago

pschearer

Ah, but such a divine madness.

We average four to five pages for each day’s cartoon - sometimes more over long weekends. Go back and look at the comments for the last two weeks or so.

No fewer than three pages each day, and once nine, over a long weekend.
aerwalt said, 8 months ago

58 atajayhawk; I think the ring is a real diamond engagement ring. Amos is pulling Edda’s chain.
RockHouse said, 8 months ago

FWIW, Liberty Meadows is rerunning its sequence on its characters visiting a local comics convention. Brandy gets mistaken for Wonder Woman and Xena.
Nabuquduriuzhur said, 8 months ago

Maybe it’s an old Bakelite ring from the 30s, when the stuff was being used for jewelry. Bakelite was a breakthrough material, was “NEW” and thus used for all sorts of “ultramodern” uses back then.