Frazz by Jef Mallett for June 12, 2022

Me either

Another bad assumption. You’re driving along and you give billboards no more than a quick glance if you do even that (for safe drivers anyway).

Can’t we just get Pastis?

No, we have to bat around. It’s the pitch.

Nicely crossed over. Or is that “shoelaces tied together”?

Another great one, Jef! [Kudos to Stephan for putting up with his buddy Jef the Cyclist.]

It would be funnier if Rat were holding a mallet …

Pearls before Frazz is a dish best served cold!

Yeah, Frazz’s comedy and Pearls Before Swine’s comedy is remarkably different, but I love them both.

It’s genius on the part of Reagan Outdoor Advertising or someone else like YESCO. You can generate 10 times the advertising dollars from a single location, with minimal operating expenses. For the advertisers? Not so great, for the reasons Caulfield stated. Expensive and largely ineffective, like most advertising. It takes megadollars to generate just a few conversions from views to sales.

CROSSOVER! Pastis makes a surprise visit……

Crossover event: See Mr. Burke and Mrs. Olsen on Pearls before Swine:

https://www.gocomics.com/pearlsbeforeswine/2022/06/12

(or maybe not)

Why is Rat so crossover this??

I love it!

I don’t get it, either…and, if I see a rat with a bat, I’m grabbin’ my gat!

The Lady Bird Johnson Highway Beautification Law of 1958 federal law prevented having billboards within 600 feet of interstate highways. 2 amendments refined that rule and, according to sources, the amended bill still applies. Its purpose was to present a view of America’s natural beauty to travelers. There is little of that roadside beauty left to view, given the spread of subdivisions, shopping centers, and general sprawl.

It was a nice thought in a time before one president was assassinated, another was cast out of office, a third was almost fatally wounded, and our congress gradually became a mass of shouting, insulting, inept, and venal personalities. C’est tragique.

Electronic billboards probably have Ladybird Johnson rolling over in her grave.

First I though this was supposed to tie into todays PBS, but the I realized it’s what Caulfield said about the Billboard “changing to an entirely different display, and one you’re usually not interested in”

I think that I shall never see,

A billboard lovely as a tree,

To cover up God’s handiwork,

Well, that’s a sin and you’re a jerk.

Well played sir.

That took me a minute but it’s a funny one.

Is Mallett “the” Jef the Cyclist??

What would have pushed this from merely funny, to masterful, is if Mallett had gotten Pastis to do the same over on Pearls.

Clever meta-strip, but I’m also a fan of “Pearls”, so Caulfield’s point doesn’t really apply. Jef should have gotten Pastis to pen one of his “Cathy” or “Family Circus” panels.

most excellent

Cute. When I got to the last panel I had to double check the strip’s title because I wasn’t sure if I had just read a Frazz strip that ended as Pearls or a Pearls strip that started as Frazz.

Oh! I hate that! Billboard: flashes a picture with product and/or service not immediately apparent. Me: “Wonder that’s about,” as I prepare to give Billboard a second glance. Billboard: immediately changes to new product and/or service completely unrelated to previous picture. Me: " … and now we’ll never know."

Those things are annoying. Uh… the ads, not Pearls Before Swine. The ads are too much distraction when people really need to pay a LOT more attention to their driving instead.

Nice crossover.

Anyone else notice that in frame 6 he looks like an older version of Calvin?

Now, in many fast food restaurants while I’m scanning the 46 entries of sandwiches, fries, drinks, desserts, breakfast menu, etc., the menu changes and I’ve got specials and more choices. Meanwhile, the counter person is asking me what I want and the people behind me are getting impatient.

The same thing applies to pop-up ads here. When I see one that looks interesting, it disappears before I can shift my attention.

Yeah, kinda like that, all right.

Just watch out for the Oompa Loompas in that last panel …

Fun crossover here.

Good point. But I thought he might be leading into “distracted driving” (sans telephone).

I’m offended by this comic

“Pearls Before Swine” crossover!

CROSSOVER! Love it!

Did Jef Mallett do the Pearls Before Swine illustration? it looks just like it!

Last week, my family was driving into Boston to see the Cirque du Soleil show, and sitting in the passenger seat I see one of those electronic billboards advertising the show. So I’m like, “Hey, that’s where we’re going!” – just as it changed to an advert for the Stone Zoo.

My sister was very confused.

Most states regulate how bright they can be. Here, not so much, they’re blinding, and one of my kids spent two years recovering from an accident after the speeder coming up behind on the freeway got distracted by the sign and rolled their car.

lol This is brilliant!

One day, I’d love to see a billboard that says “If you can read this, then you missed the truck about to hit you.”

An overly boring roadside can also be hazardous.