Only three days into the summer storyline and we’re already chock-full of awesomeness!
First, we get to check out rockin’ Gail Martin. I can’t quite peg who she looks like…perhaps the love child of Janis Joplin and Willie Nelson? Though I’m sure the reason she’s so popular is her awkward clapping and the fact that she spends the entire concert singing into a baked potato. But I’d guess the high-tech Fisher Price “My First Sound System” is provided by the Central City concert hall. Perhaps they advertise every concert as “one night only” since every act storms out of there when they see how crappy the equipment is.
Then…conflict!! It’s drunk yelling idiot concert-goer versus Kaz the uptight concert-goer. Let’s breakdown the match-up:
Drunk Guy Pros:
- Knows the name of Gail’s biggest hit and can yell it.
- Probably drunk enough to not feel pain when Kaz breaks his spine in half.
Drunk Guy Cons:
- Doesn’t know how to properly cup his hands around his mouth to amplfy his yell. Instead prefers far less effective hands-over-ears method.
- Badmouths opera.
Kaz Pros:
- “Ease up, friend!” is easily the best sentence the big lug has ever uttered.
- Has body of He-Man action figure, capable of destroying all who oppose him.
Kaz Cons:
- He’s that tool at the concert who doesn’t realize he should just ignore the drunk idiot. Ease up, Kaz! Trying to engage the drunk guy in logical conversation never ends well.
- He’s managed to piss off his girlfriend who immediately recognizes he’s being that tool.
Now we just have to cross our fingers and hope for a violent resolution to this. One thing is certain: Those Hanna Barbara background characters are gonna look the same no matter what happens.
I thought sure Gail Martin was going to look like a nightmare version of some 1950′s singer. I’m still trying to figure out who or what she looks like. Janis Joplin and Willie Nelson’s love child is close enough. That being said, she looks like something out of Woodstock, not from the eighties, when she had her first hit. When I saw the drunk dud yelling “Tarzana Nights”, the first tune that came into my mind was Glen Campbell’s “Southern Nights” (Thanks Neal, now I’ll have that horrible song rattling through my head all day at work.) I’m anticipating tomorrow’s panel, when the fight breaks out between the drunk dude and Kaz and it spills onto the stage, which will probably be more exciting than the concert.
Comment by Regina — July 11, 2007 @ 9:02 am
Wow, what an awesome strip! There’s so much going on here, but my favorite is that tiny, antiquated speaker behind Gail Martin. It looks like the kind of thing that used to sit on secretaries’ desks. I can almost hear the boss’ voice: “Miss Johnson, come in here and take a letter!”
Second best is Gail Martin’s hair — almost as excellent as Androgynous Mullet Person. To me, she’s half Library Lady and half Aging Hippie. I also love the super-cool dude on guitar, and the profusion of Jack Elrod signature-bubbles in the background. In fact, there’s nothing I don’t like about panel 1.
And then there’s the potential KAZFIGHT! KAZFIGHT! Drunk Guy will take one look at Kaz’ earrings, and assume he’s dealing with a girly-man… not realizing that Kaz spent the entire spring baseball season working out with Gil at the YMCA (while Clambake coached the team into mediocrity). Kaz is gonna take this guy down with one punch. And then get dragged off to jail. The story will hit the local papers (“High School Coach In Rock Concert Melee”), and there’s a very nice summer storyline. Now, how will Neal Rubin screw it up?
And as much as I love this episode, I still wanna know whatever happened to Thorpstock!
Comment by johnw — July 11, 2007 @ 9:03 am
I just figured out the secret of Gail Martin’s ponytail. It’s a hair extension made of hemp!
Comment by johnw — July 11, 2007 @ 9:04 am
Oh yea, and “Ease up, friend” is going to be my new saying to everyone that says something stupid.
Comment by Regina — July 11, 2007 @ 9:06 am
And as much as I love this episode, I still wanna know whatever happened to Thorpstock!
The real one or the softball team’s one? I saw some webshots of the Louisville Thorpstock. I think a bunch of folks that hang out at The Bucket went to a minor league ballgame and the track. I still want to know if the Bucketeers like Gil in a non-ironic fashion of if they mock the strip like we do here. The problem is, that forum they have looks unnavigable.
Comment by Ennui, Willie Keeler — July 11, 2007 @ 9:17 am
I recognized Gail Martin right away. She’s clearly related to Bib Fortuna, or perhaps Fortuna himself in disguise. In any case, this is the most excited I’ve been about this strip since Marty Moon killed that guy.
The only thing I’ll re-hash today is “Ease up, friend!” This is the most fantastic line of all time. If you ever see a guy, and he’s NOT saying, “Ease up, friend!” to friends and complete strangers alike, then you are not looking at me. (Another way to tell if you’re dealing with me: Just say “Coach Kaz” aloud, and if the guy doesn’t start laughing, it’s not me.)
The other thing I wanted to point out is that I think Neal Rubin has taken a page from the playbook of whoever writes Dick Tracy, and has his protagonist in disguise. That’s right, if you look closely, you can see that we’re not dealing with Coach Kaz at all, but actually Gil Thorp disguised as Coach Kaz! Notice that his face has gotten significantly more creased and stoic today. Notice also that his trademark “Lion-O meets the Heat Miser” hair has taken on the shape of Gil’s signature flat top. There are two key questions here: First, when did Gil and Kaz make the switch? Second, why the hell is Gil going on a date with Kaz’s girlfriend while disguised as Kaz? Actually, there’s a third question to be answered: Are those clip-ons, or did Gil actually pierce his ears to make the disguise more effective?
Comment by Cash — July 11, 2007 @ 9:25 am
Cash – Is “Lion-O” the Thundercat whose name I’ve been trying to think of for three days? If so, thank you! I’ve been trying to think of that for three days. Sure, I could’ve Googled “Thundercats” and found out in about three seconds, but I like a good challenge.
Because what’s wrong with Kaz’ hair (the musical question I posed a couple of days ago) is clearly that it looks like that one Thundercat’s. Fine for a Thundercat; horrible scary on a high-school coach.
And finally: I’ll go along with “love child of Janis Joplin and Willie Nelson” for Gail Martin. I like the braid-on-the-side look she has going there. And the totally double-jointed wrists! Too bad she’s here for one night only! (Fortunately, a night can last three or four weeks in Thorptown, so she’s not leaving just yet.)
Comment by jules — July 11, 2007 @ 9:34 am
#1 -
The first tune that popped into my head was “Hollywood Nights” from Bob Seger. And I see that Tarzana is a location in Los Angeles, somewhat near Hollywood.
Comment by James G — July 11, 2007 @ 9:37 am
“Gail Martin” is clearly Elton John with hair extensions.
Comment by B — July 11, 2007 @ 9:38 am
Knowing how this strip goes, the first panel of tomorrow’s strip is going to be Kelly looking shocked and saying “Kaz, I can’t believe you pummeled that guy for ten minutes straight!”
Panel two will take place in Gil’s office with Kaz announcing his resignation “after weeks of scandal.”
Panel three will be Kaz coming into a friend’s house with a backpack on while his friend says “how were your three months in Arizona?”
Comment by Matt Ramone — July 11, 2007 @ 10:03 am
3rd panel, 2nd background guy (the one without the cap)- THAT dude looks SERIOUSLY pissed. Like he’s just about to throw DOWN on the mofo.
Frankly, I’m a little scared…
Comment by TCM — July 11, 2007 @ 10:25 am
TCM: Good call on 2nd background guy. And if you’ll notice, somewhere between the second and third panels, he lost a heckuva lot of volume in that hair of his. Maybe Kaz’s withering stare actually caused him to lose some hair.
Comment by Scott — July 11, 2007 @ 10:51 am
PANEL 1: Billie Jean King, in a blonde wig, awkwardly holds an 18″ cruller near her neck as she freaks out on acid. Behind her is a desk with a 1950′s intercom speaker atop it. In front of her is an electric rock propped up on a thin pole. Behind her, to her right, her friend (man? woman? who knows?) strums the guitar. He or she is freaking out on acid as well.
PANEL 2: Judging from the guy’s body language, “Tarzana Nights” is a phrase which means, “Stop it! You’re killing me! Aaaurgh!” Coach Kaz, meanwhile, cannot mind his own business.
PANEL 3: Coach Kaz’s head has suddenly grown wider and shorter. He may turn into the Incredible Hulk. His girlfriend, having sunk nearly out of the panel, implores Kaz to let go of something (her arm? her privates? her pocketbook?) lest she sinks completely out of view.
Comment by sir douglas — July 11, 2007 @ 12:58 pm
#11 and #12, that looks like The People’s Eyebrow. Maybe Dwayne Johnson is a Gail Martin fan.
Comment by Ennui, Willie Keeler — July 11, 2007 @ 1:06 pm
Some of us have said it before, and I really believe it’s true: they switch artists between panels 2 and 3. Not only is Kaz’s face different, he’s wearing a different shirt – check the collar. Also, the guy closest behind Kaz has lost the hint of a part in his hair.
Comment by dale — July 11, 2007 @ 1:28 pm
#10 – you’re right, of course. I seem to have mixed up “Gil Thorp” with “Rex Morgan MD” – Gil is the one where all the stuff happens off-panel and everyone rehashes it later at The Bucket, and Rex is the one where one day lasts three or four weeks! Or longer. See, I knew that. It was all wishful thinking; I’m not ready to bid farewell to Gail Martin without hearing “Tarzana Nights”! I’d better ease up.
Comment by jules — July 11, 2007 @ 1:53 pm
I’ve been using the hands-over-ears method for years, to no avail. You say there’s a better way to amplify my yell. I’ll believe it when I see it, buddy.
Comment by Andrea D and the Grandstanding Oddballs — July 11, 2007 @ 10:38 pm
In 7/12 Kaz has changed shirts again. Panel 1 is like panel 3 of 7/11, except we now see 2 buttons at the top. In panel 2 he’s back to the pressed, dress shirt collar of 7/11 panel 2.
Here comes the fight. Why does the wasted guy from the concert want to kiss the middle-aged fellow at the right?
Is Kelly being facetious about spoiling her? They’re standing in front of a place that says Cafe.
Comment by dale — July 12, 2007 @ 12:34 am
That’s the Moonlight Graham looking character from The Pub! The Curmudgeon thinks that he looks like Walter Cronkite but I think that he has more of a Ray Walston thing going on. Speaking of The Pub, I’m bummed that Marty Moon wasn’t there.
Comment by Ennui Willie Keeler — July 12, 2007 @ 4:49 am
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