OK, so yesterday’s attempt at a “joke”, the one about how Curley-Horse’s house didn’t move, was so lame, it slipped by me as merely bizarre nonsensical jibber-jabber. Today’s joke, on the other hand, strikes me as infinitely hilarious. Everything about “kid stuck in tree” is delightfully insane. Let’s make a list, shall we?
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The drawing itself. Yep. An oddly proportioned kid wearing a snappy sweater-vest stuck in a tree. You don’t see that in the comics too often! Luckily he didn’t get stuck in a kite-eating tree or he’d have even bigger problems.
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The fact that when Andrew arrived on the scene, he felt the best course of action was to take a video of this poor child. Help the kid down? Nah.
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The fact that the local newspaper more than likely paid him money for this video and posted it on their site as an exciting local story. “Do you know where your kids are? If not, we have a video that may shock and amuse you! Note: Wacky splatting sound effects added in post-production.“
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The fact that the local fire department sucks so much they probably never even showed up to help the kid out of the tree either. I’m pretty sure he’s still up there right now.
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The chance, however remote, that Curley-Horse did actually toss the child in the tree to create such an amusing spectacle.
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The mystery of how in fact this child got stuck up in the tree. Sure, you say “he climbed up it.” I say, no this is Milford, where strange shit is always happening. Perhaps Valley Tech teens placed him there as a prank. Notice his sweater vest is painted with Valley Tech’s colors (“Both colors, and three cans of each!”) Or maybe he’s not a kid, but a well-dressed midget protester, trying to save the local forest. Or just a Keebler elf out on his smoke break.
In any case, “Kid stuck in tree” has made my day.
Oh and it turns out that Andrew seems cool that his ex is as crazy as a barrel full of rabid beavers. Crazy attracts crazy around here, doesn’t it? Hope these two nutjobs can patch things up. ‘Cause we need a looney-tunes couple to rival last year’s masterful psychos, Tyler Jay and Brynna Blake.
Great commentary, Jason! This one made my day too.
Milford has a fire department?
Comment by Gil'sBarber — February 6, 2008 @ 10:33 am
Oh that’s right, the clambake look-alike in the vintage outfit. My bad.
Comment by Gil'sBarber — February 6, 2008 @ 10:35 am
Geez. Maureen… if you really thought Andrew was an arsonist (and a kid-tosser), was it wise to confront him when there’s no one else around. If he actually WAS a criminal, he probably would have strangled you and stuffed your body in a steamer trunk.
And then waited around to film the cops discovering the body, of course.
As for the kid: Thalidomide victim, definitely.
Comment by johnw — February 6, 2008 @ 10:38 am
I don’t think panel 1 is her confronting him, I think it’s the other way around- He found out about her psycho-ness and confronted her about it. I’m surprised she didn’t deny it though…
Speaking on buildings not moving, I like to think in panel 3 that the 2-story building on the left is talking to the 3-story building on the right. “Stop stalking me!” That’s a lot more amusing than thinking of Curly-Horse saying it.
Comment by Ian — February 6, 2008 @ 10:46 am
Milford has a fire department?
Actually, they just have DEPARTMENT.
Comment by Tybalt — February 6, 2008 @ 10:49 am
I also love the insanity of kid stuck in tree. I love how the panel is supposed to represent a recollection of one of Curley’s award winning videos, but it’s just a kid sitting in tree, not kid being rescued from tree or kid bouncing off of rescue trampoline and then landing on his head. What is shown is the least interesting part of a kid stuck in tree incident imaginable, ie the sitting in the tree part. Bravo Gil Thorp, you have outdone yourself.
But now, what if Andrew is throwing kids up into trees? Wouldn’t that be a good way to distract the fire department so that he could set his fires and get them good ‘n flamey to get some compelling video? If he can flip a minivan on its side, he might be able to fling a child into a tree. Maybe those children he was cavorting with at home are his tree tossing practice kids. They look like they may have had a few close encounters with tree bark.
Comment by Ned Ryerson — February 6, 2008 @ 10:52 am
Speaking of award-winning videos, it’s a shame CurlyHorse didn’t cash in on the one
where the fist grew out of Maureen’s neck last night.
Comment by Gil'sBarber — February 6, 2008 @ 10:59 am
I haven’t been able to keep up with the comments much lately, so I apologize if someone’s already said this.
I for one don’t think Andrew sets the fires. Neal always telegraphs the most obvious suspect and then pulls some batshit insane left-field twist (Cliff Wrobeck, anyone?).
Although, they did go to the trouble to point out that he has younger siblings that he adores. Maybe he’s being blackmailed?
Comment by Matt Ramone — February 6, 2008 @ 11:08 am
Ok, having just posted that, I just thought of something? what if it’s Curly-Horse’s identical twin, Tyler Jay, who’s behind the Milford blazes?
Also, aren’t fire departments obligated to do at least a cursory investigation to determine if there’s any reason at all to suspect arson?
Comment by Matt Ramone — February 6, 2008 @ 11:10 am
Panel Two is a future Random Amusing Panel O’ The Moment Hall-of-Famer.
Comment by El Santo — February 6, 2008 @ 11:30 am
What I love most about today’s strip is the proud Gil Thorpian disregard for comic story telling convention.
Instead of the standard cloud edged panel (for denoting past or imaginary events) we have the jagged tailless word balloon that (usually I think) denotes the speaker is in the general area but off-panel.
In other words, Andrew filmed the kid in the tree and then just left him there where he waits still. His hope has run low these hours? days? weeks? but he has faith. He really believes the kind stranger with the camera who told him to give the ‘thumbs up!’ sign for Milford will be back some day … he has to …. right? …. right???
Comment by michael farris — February 6, 2008 @ 11:50 am
Hey CurlyHorse, how ’bout some cocoa for the dehydrated, starving, half-dead kid
you left in the tree last Fall?
Comment by Gil'sBarber — February 6, 2008 @ 12:13 pm
It just occurred to me that Curly’s waiting for the kid to croak so he can video his skeleton sitting in the tree. That ought to fetch a buck or two!
Comment by Gil'sBarber — February 6, 2008 @ 12:16 pm
Dear god, panel 3 shows that Curlyhorse has lured Pimpastic Coat Maureen into the school incinerator! “You want to see how fires start, my freaky stalker princess? HARHARHARHAR!”
Tomorrow’s strip: Milford residents think they have a new pope.
Comment by julienne — February 6, 2008 @ 12:51 pm
“Kid stuck in tree” is pretty funny…but the part that made me laugh right out loud was Andrew’s offer to make cocoa for his loony stalker ex-girlfriend. Ha! He’ll be stirring some tranquilizers into that cocoa, presumably!
Comment by jules — February 6, 2008 @ 1:01 pm
I think Kid Stuck in the Tree is setting the fires.
Oh, like the real explanation is going to make any more sense?
Comment by sourbelly — February 6, 2008 @ 1:02 pm
Matt Ramone, your comment made me think, which is usually a bad thing. Is there anyone beside cranium deficient Maureen who thinks the fires were deliberately set?
Meteorites. Encasing alien zombies, who lurch out of the fires and into Milford High. You’ve got to listen to me, people!
Comment by julienne — February 6, 2008 @ 1:28 pm
How about Fred Koteskey as the arsonist? He was the student-newspaper advisor in last winter’s storyline who openly talked about not really giving a damn anymore because he was retiring at the end of the school year. Well, now there’s a bitter old man in Milford with a lot of time on his hands and nothing left to lose. Sounds like a suspect to me.
Actually, the most likely outcome is that no arsonist will ever be identified. Either the Fire Department will formally declare there was never any reason to suspect arson, or else Neal Rubin will simply leave this plot thread hanging, as is his wont.
Comment by johnw — February 6, 2008 @ 2:31 pm
3 – johnw
When people who think they are smart do stupid shit and get burned, that can be funny – cut off your leg with a chainsaw or beat yourself bloody with a stick.
But a Thalidomide joke? Way out of bounds for anywhere.
Comment by dale — February 6, 2008 @ 3:06 pm
The A-Train didn’t toss that kid into the tree – it was more of a gentle finger-roll.
Comment by Sed — February 6, 2008 @ 4:31 pm
Some people call it “stalking”. Maureen calls it “love”.
Comment by tom — February 6, 2008 @ 4:50 pm
I see a double date in the future: Maureen and Andrew, Brynna and Tyler.
Comment by Don, the Rebel without a Blog — February 6, 2008 @ 4:55 pm
Maureen is emerging as the biggest nut in the storyline – after Andrew was way ahead for a while. Remember that kid on a bike in the pouring rain that she had to photograph? He looks a lot like the kid in the tree, no? Maureen is turning into Hadley V. Baxendale Jr.
Comment by RobM — February 6, 2008 @ 5:57 pm
Please excuse, why first panel take place in Enterprise transporter room?
Comment by Borat Sagdiyev — February 6, 2008 @ 8:17 pm
Jeez, I never thought I would say this, but: I would KILL for some badly drawn, physics-defying basketball right now. We’re due for a strip with 5 games in 3 frames. Please, anything but this lame Scoop vs. Scoop lovematch.
Comment by Sean N — February 6, 2008 @ 8:29 pm
curley didn’t have to rescure the kid … the DEPARTMENT was already there. all he did is film them shooting the kid with a tranquilizing dart and catching him when he fell out of the tree.
by the way, that same kid will be featured in a strip on 9/23/2010, when the same kid gets noticed by gil when he climbs a tree to retrieve a football.
Comment by lester — February 6, 2008 @ 9:07 pm
Who knows what sort of creeepy shit Gregory has taped – my guess it involves candid shots of Maureen and her … study pal.
Comment by Sgt. Saunders — February 6, 2008 @ 10:00 pm
My thought is CurleyHorse put the kid up in the tree to win America’s Funniest Home Videos. Unfortunately, nobody’s told CurleyHorse that the show is no longer on the air.
My guess is the Valley Tech pranksters have been setting these fires.
I think he should offer Maureen some quaaludes instead of cocoa.
Comment by Regina — February 7, 2008 @ 7:59 am
I misread panel 1 as: “You’re tellimg me you think video killed the radio star?”
Which would’ve been a lot funner…
Comment by Freezair — February 10, 2008 @ 12:46 am
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