Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Mary Worth 1,392

We're lucky that the sinking of the largest cruise ship in history, killing dozens of passengers, has created strong buzz. This will really sell a lot of advertising. Including ads for blue hair dye.

Today's Full Strip

14 comments:

fauxprof said...

At least the word "disaster" is being used instead of "incident"; but to talk about it creating a buzz shows that Wilbur and Editor have the same delicacy and restraint that Karen Moy does about profiting from the misfortune of others.

Wilbur's tie appears to be made of flexible mesh window screening.

...and in panel two: on the positive side, somebody finally says "tragedy"; on the negative side, prepare for a truckload of Worthian Platitudes; on the mundane side, Mary has got really terrible posture, or the wrong chair for online work.

Anonymous said...

It's so nice that the tragedy and prospect of exploiting it for the purpose of increased readership causes such mirth for Wilbur and his editor. I can visualize Moy and her editor having a similar conversation. Sick puppies all.

Anonymous said...

"If only I had the foresight to exploit 9/11! Oh well, maybe Hurricane Isaac will produce some wonderful destruction and grief for my next story line. Oh victims, your tears taste soooo good!" ... Karen Moy

Mike in Cleveland said...

Gee, Santa Royale has a lot of philosophically needy newspaper readers:

Dear Wendy,
What can be learned from tragedy?

Dear Wendy,
If superior beings exist, how would we know?

Dear Wendy,
What happens when an irresistable force meets an immovable object?

Dear Wendy,
I've been wondering, what are the relative merits of the different economic systems in use throughout the world?

Dear Wendy,
What is the ideal relationship between the individual and the state?


[Meg, jump in anywhere here...)

Thorpnotized said...

Finally, the lessons we should glean from the Westons' experience (according to Mary) have begun. I have to wonder, how many days will we be subjected to her repetitive ramblings until she gets it out of her system?

KitKat said...

Mike in Cleveland @ 9:28 AM, how I wish that Wendy/Mary would be compelled to answer the questions you posed. I read Dear Abby every day, and no one ever asks her deep philosophical questions. In yesterday's column, a woman wrote that her boyfriend says that "he loves me in many different ways. However, he says there are no wedding bells in the future." Well, maybe that could be construed as a tragedy by the letter writer.

Wilbur's recounting of how he and Dawn ignored the little "Aiuto!" girl should generate plenty of buzz.

Nance said...

Wilbur and Editor should work for TMZ.

Today, since The Media has gotten involved, the Incident has bumped up to A Disaster and A Tragedy, one which we can not only learn from, but one which we can package and exploit for profit and "buzz." That is called Marketing.

(I'm not sure what that odd phalange of Wilbur's is called in Panel One. Urk.)

Readers can certainly discern that Mary is replying with massive concern and gravity in Panel Two. Her shoulders are hunched, her face is furrowed, and her hands are covering the entire keyboard. She must be using some stats because it looks like she's hammering away on the number keypad, too.

heydave said...

I'm looking forward to a nice throwdown between Mary and Wilbur when "Wendy" realizes just what a fame whore her sammich eatin' buddy really is. From the high ground far above, she shall kick butt!

Mike in Cleveland said...

@KitKat, of course nobody writes general questions like "What can be learned from tragedy?" to a column for the lovelorn. As Thorpnotized indicated, this is just a set-up for Mary to dwell on Wilbur & Dawn's story. I fear Wilbur is actually going to go ahead and rehash the "incident." And with Mary busy platitudinizing, Moy is going to milk the Concordia disaster for every drop.

Sandi Ego said...

Looking at the hands Giella draws invariably makes me look at my own to see if it's possible that hands can really look like that.
Wilbur seems awfully jolly about this whole disaster incident.

Brick said...

Philosophical Reader,
A very important question; I'm glad you asked. First, we must remember that publicized tragedies are events that have happened to real people who have been affected by them. These people have been wounded; torn. And if we handle these events crudely or indelicately, we might injure those who have already been victimized.
(delete...delete...delete...delete...delete...delete)
Depend on the kindness of strangers.
-Wendy

Thorpnotized said...

Sandi Ego @ 12:38 PM - I'm glad I'm not the only one. Sometimes I go to a mirror and contort my hands (as best I can) to see if I can match the ones in the strip. The most difficult ones are the six-fingered hands, though...

Punky said...

I've actually been caught contorting myself in a mirror to see if a position that Uncle Joe has drawn bears any relation to the actual human figure. Being caught reminded me of that old column from Reader's Digest: Was My Face Red! Because just try to explain....

Not Worthy said...

Please let this be the last week for his story.

Guess it won't happen. Should we start a pool on the next plotline start date? Will it be before Thanksgiving?