Gil Thorp by Henry Barajas and Rachel Merrill for August 31, 2022

Told ya!

That kid’s a LEGEND OF THE OVERFIEND fan!

Oh know, the endless comments I expect about Keri.

One thing—are zines really still a thing??

I’m assuming Keri is wearing the “woke” sweatshirt somewhat ironically, given that the term has been weaponized.

P1: With that line to Jami from Mimi who says it’s not softball season?

I’m done. Gil, you had a nice run.

P1 Why would Mimi be worried about Jami staining his pants? Gil resists joining the 21st century by using his film-consuming SLR camera, I wonder where he goes to have the negatives to be developed, how long he has to wait for prints and how much they cost?

P2 Pants stain question answered in code. Jami is a Hentai addict.

P3 Keri, Keri, Keri…

What’s with the white O-rings attached to the kids’ collars? RFID trackers? Are the “O’s” the centering circle in the view finder of Gil’s antiquated camera in an attempt to tie Gil’s old ways to the modern way of summarizing and defining one’s self on that new fangled social media thing?

Yay. Woke comes for Mark Trail.

Is bringing politics to Milford an easy way to create story lines? C’mon Henry you are better than that…I hope.

Gil finally got what he deserved. Hilarious.

P4- Now everyone in the Grandpa van and off we go to school. Sigh. MemoriesLight the corners of my mind.Misty watercolor memories.Of the way we were.

I’m confused. For 1520 years that hasn’t been a single mention of the kids kids, and now the kids are back.. Is this a series of flashbacks or is this the new normal for Gil Thorpe? I’ve been a regular reader for almost 30 years and I’m not sure what the heck is going on now.

P3: Living in a New England state, you would figure that Keri’s a Patriots fan. Wait… that’s not what it means?

I’m not sure about these new Thorp kids. Stain your pants? The Linda Lindas? I liked them better when they were a dim memory, working their fingers to the bone in a Southeast Asian sweat shop.

We’ve been unusually successful in keeping political arguments out of this comment section, but now we will be sorely challenged.

P 1.5: “…huh? …did you just say ‘who cut the cheese?’…?”

Coaches Held Hostage: Kaz, Day 68 of 94. I was Class of ’68 in high school. What a year! MLK Jr. and RFK assassinated. The Democratic Convention in Chicago wit da mare comin down hard. Nixon elected President. The White Album.

Just noticing this now, but does Jami have a stink eye?

In all reality, what’s going on ? Is this a complete tear down throw away of all the past years of Gil Thorp Comics ? Inquiring minds want to know.

Jami’s world will be shattered when he comes upon a cache of empty Banquet, Stouffers and Marie Callender boxes.

subject: how to ruin a long-running comic strip

I’m kind of torn. I really do like the new tone of the story, but fear our long-standing declaration that these comments are a “no politics zone” will be hard to stick to. I’d prefer to retain a positive feeling about you guys based on our mutual love of sports (and sarcasm) than having things devolve into angry factions, so may retreat to the sidelines for a bit.

They/them? Who exactly do you think is the primary audience for this strip?

If I remember, Keri was in gymnastics, swimming, & tennis. . Last time we saw Jami, he ran away because he did not want to Kalamazoo College. He wanted to play on one of his dad’s teams when he got older.

I do not believe these kids have any interests in sports. Just an observation.

Daddy’s Girl, Moma’s Boy

Since you might not have seen the Thorp kids a lot (or possibly ever), let’s take a break from the soap opera storyline to introduce you to them…

I, too, like Kurt Vonnegut. Can’t say about the anime as I may not yet be old enough to watch it.

Carry on.

There you are, Henry. You read the blog long enough to see we didn’t like the weirdly trite story-lines, but not long enough to pick up on our rule about keeping it politically neutral. We’re a diverse group who share a strange sense of humor while only occasionally getting on each other’s nerves. Like the song they added to Jesus Christ Super Star for the movie, can’t we just start all over, again?

OMG!! We’re in Riverdale?? Or is it Smallville?

P-1: While Gil struggles to take a selfie from 2" away, Mimi admonishes her son for doing something right in front of her and his sister.

P-2: Apparently, Jami got something in his eye.

P-3: We learn Keri carries a grudge, and dislikes her old boyfriend’s garage band, the Patriarchy.

I read Gil Thorpe for 30 years for a simple silly sports comic, but now that it is turning woke, I will be turning it off. Good bye…….

Dad’s assistant coach? Yay! I was afraid I was uncool and hated sports.

Surprised that Gil hasn’t pink slipped Kaz, with free (former sweatshop) labor available!

I figured today’s strip would cause a commotion. And based on the 128 comments preceding this one, I was right. Heaven forbid someone reflects current society. And speaking of current, Mopped Up Thorp can be current, but it can also be dated. Or intelligent. Or juvenile. A lot of juvenile in fact, that’s probably the majority of it.

https://moppedupthorp.wordpress.com/

Gil and Mimi on the outs, Marty becoming Gil’s confidant, the kids coming back, Keri’s coming out….it’s all a bit much to handle at once. Seems it would have been better to meter some of these changes out rather than nailing us with the fire hose.

Keri: Sorry, old farts!

The Thorps are allowing “they/them” pronoun BS??? He really is a cuck.