Am I disappointed the new character is not Bob Dole, but some yahoo named Mike Yasso? Heck yes!
But as we are quickly learning around here, what should we do when a character with a distinctively non-Milford sounding name shows up? That’s right: Google it to see what acquaintance of Neil Rubin it might be! So who is Mike Yasso? Well, there’s a few of them out there, but I sincerely doubt it’s a coincidence that one of them is a Junior at Harrison High School in Farmington Hills, Michigan, and member of the 9-2 2006 Hawks varsity football squad! Here’s looking at you, Mike Yasso! Congrats on joining the ranks of named-but-not-accurately-drawn real people in Gil Thorp.*
So what’s ol’ Mike up to? Well, I think he probably suffered severe brain damage from the car crash, as his project seems to consist of having painted a section of his monitor black and writing today’s date in the corner. So is his wife just humoring him, or does she really think it’s good work? Maybe they did some research on Stormy, and determined he must be technically retarded, so they can give him a trashed, bizarre-looking monitor as a thank you gift and he’ll absolutely love it.
Speaking of retarded Stormy….uh, here’s retarded Stormy in panel 3! Suffering from MMES and looking generally idiotic, the only compliment I can give him is that he’s not wallowing in self-pity too much at the moment. But I have a feeling that won’t last.
*OK, I guess I’m just assuming that a high school junior doesn’t resemble a lumpy-headed Bob Dole-like stroke victim. Mike, if you do look like that, I’m really sorry…
That’s a particularly nasty case of MMES ol’ Stormy has there. Either that, or his mascara ran when he was having his postgame “moment” with Coach Kaz. Hearing a football coach trying to belt out a Broadway tune (”The sun’ll come out tomorrow… bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow…there’ll be sun!”) can have that effect on an otherwise hearty young soul. Or perhaps Stormy’s dad is right, and whipping was involved.
Three thoughts on Mike Yasso’s computer hijinks…
a) He established a Stormy Hicks Hero Fund scholarship at State U.
b) He sent a letter to the President, nominating Stormy for the High School Footballers Medal of Honor.
c) He set up a Flickr file of Stormy’s head Photoshopped onto the bodies of Great Men, like Winston Churchill, the Pope, Superman, Mahatma Gandhi, and Jesus Christ.
This definitely turns up the heat on the Stormy’s-fake-heroism storyline. Unfortunately, it’s the lamest of all the half-dozen or so storylines that have been trotted out this fall. I’d much prefer Eddie/Jason vs. Sean, Ted Pearse’s struggles with homelessness and 70s clothing, Bill Ritter’s unrequired mancrush on Stormy, or Stormy vs. Mrs. Ritter. Heck, I’m pining for the halcyon days of Marty Moon/Lanny the Grifter, or the duck-jokes-at-the-gymnastics-meet. Oh well… soon it will be basketball season.
Comment by johnw — November 10, 2006 @ 7:35 pm
Wow, Stormy has pretty much had a full-on nervous breakdown in today’s strip. Can’t wait to see Jas’s comments on this.
Comment by luke — November 11, 2006 @ 4:46 pm
As previously established, Mike Yasso’s iMac came with the monitor’s face installed to join with the articulating arm for some reason. As a result we can’t possibly see his fine work today.
Mr. Yasso’s post-explosion skin grafts are tightening as we watch. In panel 2 his receding hairline is actually traveling before our eyes, and his cheekbones are sharpening. Quick, Mrs. Hon, spritz the man with the spray bottle the doctors gave you.
Comment by Ianscot — November 11, 2006 @ 8:04 pm
This may be horrifically picky, but I just went back and looked at the strips of the rescue (10/16, the notorious Sean-breastfeeding-accident-victim panel), and the victim looks nothing like Mike Yasso. He’s only shown from behind, but he looks like a much younger man. (Indeed, at the time I speculated that it might turn out to be Eddie Galvan.) The victim also doesn’t have the manly chin or receding hairline of Mike Yasso.
But in the 11/10 strip, Mike Yasso says he was the guy pulled from the flaming vehicle. I’m tempted to suspect that some kind of major surprise plot twist is to follow, but the most likely explanation is slipshod artwork.
Comment by johnw — November 11, 2006 @ 11:17 pm
Face transplant.
Comment by Cash — November 12, 2006 @ 10:35 am
Is Stormy speaking out of his tracheotomy?
Comment by Ian — November 14, 2006 @ 1:10 pm
I’m that mike yasso :)
Comment by Mike Yasso — November 16, 2006 @ 5:04 pm