Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Mary Worth 1,185

I think I'm losing my memory. I can't remember the plot of this story. Can someone help me out?

Today's Full Strip

29 comments:

Paul said...

Police break into a storage unit rented by two hippie criminal thugs and find Mary's purse, Mary's memory, and Emily Smith.

J. Morrison said...

I thought Giella was offering us a glimpse of the real Mary, a Mary who looks more her age. But instead I think this story is about the aging brain and how it holds on to expertise. It's cutting edge science, actually.
New findings indicate that aging is not a mild form of dementia, as previously thought. We can take comfort in knowing that a meddler's nose, like a composer's virtuosity, remains intact throughout life.

Punky said...

Oh, that's easy. It's about a missing girl. And a sweater. And a stolen wallet. And a casserole. And a disappearing cake dish. And all being connected on the planet.... OK, Wanders, I give up too.

Elaine said...

O.M.G. Please tell us this whole story is not going to be one of Mary's long-winded discourses on the trials and tribulations of aging. Please!! Moy, if you have any feelings for your fans....

heydave said...

I need a colon cleansing double helping of Kelk, that's for sure.

TeacherPatti said...

I just had a great thought! Maybe this is going to go like Garfield and have a picture of Mary, alone in her apartment, slowly starving to death. Then it will go back to "normal" (i.e. some ages long story about some inane person we've never heard of before)

Anonymous said...

Moy has fans?

Shmoopie said...

This is brilliant, BRILLIANT! Serving up these fractious stories teaches us what happens to the aging brain. (I don't know about you all, but Mary Worth would be the first place I'd consult for matters of neuroscience.) A misplaces sweater becomes as important as a missing child or a scalding hot casserole touched with bare hands or credit card vigilante-ism. Perhaps this is Moy and Giella's way of apologizing in advance about THEIR aging brains and what is to come. You'll be wishing for story lines that took months to resolve! Welcome to the new age of micro stories! Tomorrow's tidbit: Mary is looking for her orthopedic inserts, which will prompt her to say something along the lines of walking a mile in someone else's shoes (because it's deep!), then she takes a nap.

phoebes in santa fe said...

Silly Wanders. There is no "plot". There is NEVER a true plot, just a series of vague images that try to mimic a plot.

With the latest couple of weeks, I think Moy is back to hiring a staff of typing monkeys to write this stuff.

Toots McGee said...

Which one of you crumb-bums stole my pudding cup? It was in the Mary Worth and Me communal fridge and now it's not there! It was right next to my FKT (Flak, Kelk and Tomato) sandwich...hey wait, that's gone too! I just put it in there and now one of you fancy pants gangsters took it! I think you guys are conspiring against me! You want me gold and me strawberry ice cream! I just knows it!

E-flat said...

Is Mary being visited by the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come?

Anonymous said...

I think the overarching plot for the past month is Nice Guys Finish Last. Mary only does nice things (in her mind anyway) and people she helps leave without saying thank you or good-bye, Dr. Jeff just wants to marry her for her cooking/money, people steal her wallet - stealing her identity and buying gift cards - the police don't help her, Emily (asumption is she is nice) is abducted, Mary makes FLAK casseroles but nobody ever gives her one, she volunteers at the hospital without any appreciation, she forgets her sweater at the diner but, even though she has spent $100's on coffee there, they don't make any effort to get it back to her, etc.

I see it clearly. Soon she will crack and go on a horrible rampage. Or she will buy a Wii and play virtual bowling 24/7 as a recluse.

meg said...

This is the beginning of the Charterstone Glee Club, featuring songs made up by Mary. Instant classics will include:

"Where is My Sweater?"

"Who is that Strange Bearded Man?"

"Why is he Staring at Me?"

"I Want to go Home Now."

"Where is My Sweater?"

Anonymous said...

Mary Worth looks on in mild revulsion as Mary Worth gets manhandled from behind by aging Paul Simon. "It's more a matter of holding... holding on... Why am I short of attention?"

Chester the Dog said...

Why is that old man staring at me? He just stares and stares...wait he is blinking his eyes...Morse code? "GET ME OUT OF THIS STRIP"

tim shanahan said...

Holy Crap! It was on Thanksgiving that Mary's panel said " ... We must never forget".

Dave in Parma said...

Ha ha--for some reason as I read Meg's post, (the Charterstone Jukebox UNapproved) "The Sweater Song" by Weezer started running through my head.

'If you want to destroy my sweater, pull this thread as i walk away....'

Petunia said...

That's not an elderly lady passing by. It's Emily Smith, who's aged 70 years during Mary's contemplation!

Or, maybe 70 years have actually passed. You never know in the Worthiverse.

--Beagle Vet

Thorpnotized said...

Is Mary hallucinating - staring at the "Mary Worth of the Future", with "Dr. Jeff of the Future" standing behind her? Same earrings...

Tony said...

The elderly couple Mary looks upon with pity actually stimulate their minds occasionally by dressing as Sonny & Cher and stealing old ladies' wallets.

tuffenuf said...

WHERE THE HECK IS THE "MISSING POSTER" FOR EMILY SMITH???

I have grown so attached to it!

KitKat said...

Today's comments are all so hilarious, I am speechless! (Too bad Mary isn't also.)

Anonymous said...

i would rather enjoy it if the next week of panals was mary doodling to get her brain function back .

shanghaishrimpo said...

We just could not get past Joe Giella's freaky illustration (once again).
My hubby commented, "isn't that just Mary with a pair of glasses on in the foreground? There's like only 4 different kinds of people in Santa Royale!"

I have to stare at the panels some more... too disturbing...

Amanda Kate said...

I like how Mary is more concerned about her memory than she is about a missing, possibly kidnapped little girl. That's so Mary.

hia5 said...

I think that Giella has discovered the surest sign of aging. When you're Mary's age, your head leans toward the right. As a result of aging, you head leans more and more to the left.

Incidentally, did no one notice that Mary has a full four-finger (or even five-finger!) face touch in the first panel? This rare but classic face touch is known as the full left-handed look-at-my-earring face touch. Beautifully executed!

Anonymous said...

OK, try to follow along...Mary had a little girl hidden in her wallet, next to her credit cards.

One day, might've been a week ago or a month ago, Mary was having an unidentifiable meal at an unidentifiable eatery. While deep in platitude-filled conversation with professional miniature clown-painter Toby, a couple of neatly attired, yet surprisingly suspicious no-goodniks walked by Mary and lifted said wallet (and little girl hidden within) from the purse she had carelessly left gaping open on the back of her chair.

After three days using the phone, Mary went to the store and saw a poster of the little girl. Mary can't remember where she misplaced her so is quite distressed and now blames all old people for being forgetful.

The End.

James in North Dakota said...

I think I'll speak to everybody when I ask: "Where's Toby????"

But seriously, folks, all of this jumping from one storyline to the next at such a rapid pace is enough to give a guy like me whiplash. First, her credit cards are stolen, then Mary becomes obsessed with a missing child, and now she's going on at length about forgetfulness. And let's not forget the fact that Karen Moy is chucking new characters (Amy, the laughing nurses, Palmed Plant #1) at us like there's no tomorrow!

Is there a link here, or did I miss something?

tuffenuf said...

December 7, 2011 - A day that will live in infamy.

We see the short-haired Emily Smith with her captor- Hungy, Grouchy Guy.