Cul de Sac by Richard Thompson for November 11, 2020

wow

Eventually working at Woe-mart will do that to anyone, even without having your head shoved in the scanner.

Weirdly, in an inversion of the cliché, the employer is the disgruntled party.

The ex-employee is still entirely gruntled.

Whew! That was one incident short of provoking a arm gnawing panic, right, Petey?

As a retail worker, I empathize with Fearmonger and offer myself as his first henchman.

Does he have any super-powers other than his profound understanding of how any existing system can be used to cause the maximum amount of obstruction and frustration?

Does he need any?

Andre is too easily impressed; Petey gives it the proper critical treatment of a comics connoisseur.

Never mind all that! Did you see what that machine did for his hair! There’s a fortune to made here, folks!

Too bad Mr. Thompson didn’t live long enough to see the rise of “No mask Man” who gives everyone his opinion on why he doesn’t have to wear it!

When I saw the name “Gruntles” and the word “dis” in the first panel, I was sure the joke was going to be something with the word “disgruntled”… Oh, well, it was good anyway… ☺

My superpower is my red stapler.

I think the nickname, ‘the merchant of menace’ works better. Oy-Vey!

Richard Thompson was such a genius.

I can see why the Joker doesn’t use this version of his origin story.

Love seeing Goons in my daily comics!

Fearmonger! —A name to be reckoned with, the greatest new supervillain since [whoever the last one was]. Norm Gruntles was doing his duty, not taking the stapler back without a receipt, when he was assaulted and mistreated.

His fearsome motto: Let the Buyers Beware!

I would like to see some of his future vengeful malefactions….

There’s too much gruntling in this strip…

Garrison Keillor used to advertise the Fearmongers’ Shop on the radio. They sold (or hoped to sell) everything for the paranoiac, including the latest in redneck home security and some old primitive standbys too.