Detective Work?

What does Mimi’s question in Panel 1 mean? Is she asking if Gil can hold Ryan out of a game without letting anyone know that they know what the protest was all about? Ryan knows that Thorp knows but who else will know if Ryan doesn’t make the trip to Central? Shouldn’t Gil discuss that with Ryan and his parents? Gil should swing by again so they know what the heck he is doing. Ugh, this plot.

How long is Mimi’s right arm? Is Gil a little peeved at the hand on his shoulder? (Maybe he’s confused about who this lady with the long arm and the face like a clenched fist is. Panel 2: phew, it’s Mimi with a levitating lemonade. )

Okay, Skip Farrow is a totally new name here, as far as I know. Who is he and why does Gil need him to do detective work? Is he an actual detective or just a friend of Gil’s who enjoys wearing fake moustaches, hanging around hotel lobbies and peeking in windows?

Skip Farrow is the best name for a detective since Richie Brockelman.

 

Blooper Reel

Daftpunk can’t run her precious little hit piece on Ryan, so she quits the school paper.  Ryan gets rattled when Central girls troll him about an event that (according to his parents) wasn’t all that, so he loses his mojo and quits on the mound. Now the rest of the Milford baseball team quits all around him and the season goes down the crapper. Gil’s quit on his team too: relying on hope and working on his grilling technique, he could give two shits about the rest of the season. Yo Gil, out here in the real world, winners eat steaks, losers eat franks and beans. (By the way, what the hell is Gil wearing on his wrist? Is he talking to Dick Tracy on that thing? Maybe he’s talking with that talking baseball with EES in P1. And what the complete hell is with his hand with integrated spatula?)

Even the color monkeys phoned it in on this one: they didn’t color the Jefferson player or whatever it is Mimi’s got in that pitcher (and don’t tell me it’s straight Everclear). I’m beginning to get the idea that the Whigrub brain trust has run out of ideas on how to wrap this arc up; not saying they’ve quit on it yet, but it’s starting to feel that way.

I’ve been on the road all day to Bakst country and just arrived only a few minutes ago.  I almost quit on this post for today, so I hope you’ll forgive me for its brusque nature.

 

Oh Well. Wanna Grab A Milkshake?

We’re really drawing this out now. Maybe Dafne can put a missed connection ad in the Trumpet. “You: Three unusual fun girls with a sign at the Milford baseball game…”

I wonder if Mimi even made a sound of protest or if she’s saving it for later. Maybe she doesn’t care at all. Almost no one does.

Also, Dafne’s jersey sprouted sleeves since the previous strip. Weird

What It Is Ain’t Exactly Clear

Ladies and gentlemen, today’s strip offers classic laissez-faire Thorp coaching at its finest.  Ryan “Hurricane” Van Auken is getting rocked like a, uh, well, you know, while Gil leaves him in there to twist in the wind.  This prompts random Milford guy – is it the same one who answered the phone in the Journalism Office? – to run and tell Dafne, who’s at softball practice. (Interesting that there are ads on the practice field outfield fence; must be a lot of marketing money to spare floating around in Milford.)

The now elfin Dafne, looking a bit the daughter of Namor, suddenly finds herself incontinent drops everything and runs off to see what’s going down.  Does Mimi even acknowledge Dafne’s defection?  Hell no!  She doesn’t even look so much Dafne’s way! Mimi needs to grow a pair like that Coach Dawes and tell Dafne to go do what she loves but never darken a softball field again.

Sisters Are Getting Bored for Themselves

As the Argonia High activity bus rolls out of the Milford parking lot in a cloud of dust, Mimi wins the Captain Obvious award. Carrie’s had the better part of a year to hone her skills and grieve the unexpected loss of the team’s star pitcher. What she hasn’t been able to do is to pull herself out of the misogynistic mire at Milford High. Perhaps I’m being too harsh here; after all, people have been feigning interest in the interests of those they’re attracted to since time immemorial. Nevertheless this week’s strips feel like they’ve taken us down the path to another Bechdel Test failure.

Dafne “Dafuq?” Dafonte may be trying to break that fail streak singlehandedly. First, she made an enemy of Casper “The Friendly Brain” Heenan by exposing his profligate spending. Now, she’s alienated several members of the track team by dissing their efforts as boring to their faces. Who else will Dafne piss off before the spring arc is over? Time will tell…

How Much Variability In The Number of Lettermen Is Typical?

P1: In case you missed yesterday’s strip…

P2: Is Dafne performing some sort of interpretive dance while she spins her tale?

P3: A new kid, eh? Can’t wait to see what personality defects he has and how that will completely crowd out the Dafne arc.

Cruel Parents?

Dafne Dafonte is a shoo-in for the Milford Hall of Name.

I have to wonder if sharing details of your ‘killer story’ with someone tied into the Milford administration is sound journalistic practice.  Then again, looking at Mimi’s meathook in panel two, I would do my best to keep her on my side…

A Concern

Gil tells Mimi that Aaron is a concern, not a problem but a concern. So he continues his own investigation into Aaron’s erratic performance. Where could he get clues? What does Aaron do most days? He goes to school. Where does he go to school? Milford High School. Hey, wait a minute, Gil works at Milford High School too. How lucky!

Gil visits a replica of a classroom from the 1950’s complete with chalkboard, globe and desks designed to shield students from atomic bombs. The teacher confirms what we already know. Aaron has good days and bad days. Now we’re getting somewhere!

Is the teacher wearing harem pants?