Doonesbury by Garry Trudeau for January 12, 2012

Maybe this will knock Jeff back to reality, if only temporarily.

Where’s Pops? At the end of the line? Humbly? Grasping the “Red Rascal” in his hot hands? Frenetically searching for something to feel superior to?

“Wanna bet?” Taking a bet like that would be too much like stealing from an infant.

PTSD: the new literary inspiration.

Obama’s gonna eat Romney’s $12,000.00 +tax +tip per plate din-din at the Ritz.

 PTSD = Pathways Through the Secret Door http://www.acronymgeek.com/PTSD

I am so crushed!!

Rick: “You deserve these people.” Does Rick think Jeff deserves their money too?

Quite relieved Jeff evidently does know Rascal is fictional. Poor ‘seal’ – left flopping around without a leg to stand on.

Wow…. me too!

I wouldn’t go so far as to say I’m completely relieved,

but it’s the first time I’ve been pretty sure Jeff has any grip, however tenuous, on some bits of reality.

Jeff, don’t look a gift horse (or SEAL) in the mouth..Too bad the Blue Poseur wasn’t in earshot.

Jeff and Alex should hang out. Both have a tenuous grip on reality.

Delusional? Have you checked out your side lately?

In that case, Jeff’s completely sane.

is why Mister Rogers (now cancelled) made a clear distinction between the Neighborhood and the Neighborhood of Make-Believe……….that borderline no longer exists.

I wonder if this evidence that Gary Trudeau may realize that there is a real world.

Rick has probably headed home before he felt compelled to tell his son that he is actually proud of him for finding his element and true calling.

“Uh – Life Imitates Art?”

Jeff did maybe save himself a little by admitting in public that it’s all a fantasy but doesn’t that kind of kill the joke?

Wow, Jeff does realize it’s not real.

In a way Jeff is like Ian Flemming. He did just enough of the real stuff (albiet, badly) to give The Red Rascal’s adventures just enough verisimilitude to sell.

Obama delusional? You bet! He actually believes that reason and pragmatism can still triumph in this country over ideology and fantasy.

But Obama’s delusions pale in comparison to those of the GOP candidates. I wish one of them would speak as though he knew this is the 21st century, and “a horse in every stable” just doesn’t cut it any more.

Avatars are for the birds. Wait… no… that’s aviaries.

In the background of the first panel, is that somebody dressed up like Jerry Siegel and Bernard Bailey’s Spectre?

A lot of “wannabes” only make up their stories. A scary thing about PTSD is, to years later, find out that events you always tried to convince yourself were only in your imagination, were REAL! Sometimes “self defense” is self destructive.

Nobody has yet commented on the possibility (probability) that Jeff’s latest reader may be a fake SEAL. After the shootout at Abbottabad, public interest in the SEALs boomed, and many wankers have been outed wearing Golden Trident badges and bragging about their SEAL careers, iIncluding clergymen.Jeff may not be the only fantasist in this strip.

What’s wrong with you people? Most comic readers are trying to escape reality for a little while. Must you always analyze everything to pieces or start a political debate or insult fictional characters?

“That’s because seals don’t HAVE legs, silly!” Good one! Susan. Your remark should spike Mona’s false assumption that readers cannot BOTH enjoy a comic strip AND analyze it. Besides, some analyses are a crackup.

Sooo, troodough the coward, attempts to show US NAVY SEALS as “unbalanced”!!! Typical “frog” tactic!!!

It would be interesting if the guy really was a Navy SEAL and started having a PTSD episode at the book signing, only to have Jeff/The Red Rascal freak out because he doesn’t know how to handle the situation.

Indyvice, you do know that Jeff is Alex’s uncle, right?

Delusion cancels out delusion. How one wishes that would happen in real life.

Jeff does have half an anchor in reality; it’s Zipper that is in cloud cuckoo land.