Friday, April 19, 2019

Mary Worth 3111

I admire Arthur Z for playing this through the endgame. Unfortunately for him, Detective Toby Cameron, P.I., is on the case now, and this gives her one more opportunity to do Research.

34 comments:

MDMaryTed said...

The falafel is thawed! I may be dumb but even I know that it can't be re-frozen!

I have everything ready is the first thing she thinks of saying? Are we sure her husband died? Maybe he just left and Estelle is just too dim to figure out the difference.

Nance said...

Today's Boldface Haiku is titled

"AZ Phone$ Home".

Sorry, paid! Problems!
Won't!
Need! Ready!

fauxprof said...

Estelle, just tap the FaceTime icon on your phone. It’s the one that looks like a little TV camera. You can even do it by accident, for mutually horrifying results.

KitKat said...

Estelle’s reacting like flying from Malaysia to Santa Royale is a three-hour trip. “But...but...dinner’s almost ready! I just have to dry off the bread - the broccoli got it wet.”

Does Libby EVER sleep? Will Mary and Toby intercede before Estelle wires her beautiful man more bucks?

Anonymous said...

Estelle, my love, if YOU could pay me, I'll reimburse you when I get paid! "I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today."

Chester the Dog said...

Even Libby, based on her one eyed glare, is thinking "what an idiot". How long can this go on? Those guys she had dinner with are looking pretty good now.

Anonymous said...


Annnnnnd BAM! Artie's not taking a knee, he's going for the throat! Stupid but impressive move on his part.

I think this is the first time we've seen Libby not wearing her cloying little grin. I just assumed that she's been high on catnip this entire time, but she's definitely coming down today.

-- Scottie McW.


Sandi Ego said...

Estelle isn't a Golden Girl, she's the Goose Who Laid the Golden Egg Girl. Arther might show up if you lay another 10 grand on him. Go on, Estelle, give it a try!

Steve G said...

Having flown to Kuala Lumpur - the shortest flight to Los Angeles is 18 hours.

Arthur at least saw that you can leave in the morning of April 19 and arrive in the afternoon of April 19 - but missed that Malaysia is 15 hours AHEAD of Santa Royale and would have had to leave KL yesterday afternoon Santa Royale time.

Which has always bothered me.... during their two-a-day calls.

Their morning call
Estelle: (8 AM) What are your doing right now Arthur?
Arthur: (11 PM) Eating breakfast.
Estelle: Me too! We're so alike!

Their evening call:
Estelle: (6 PM) What are you doing right now Arthur?
Arthur: (9 AM) Eating dinner.
Estelle: Me too! Can't wait to have Falafal with you!

But why should I let reality distract from the story?

LouiseF said...

She "needs" him? Only one way to fix that. Bring on the cash.

KitKat said...

SATURDAY
Alternative questions Estelle might consider:

"Oh Arthur...why don't you check Priceline? It was endorsed by Captain Kirk!"

"Oh Arthur...why did you wait until the last minute to make your &}%#$!! travel arrangements?!"

"Oh Arthur...since you're so beautiful, can't you earn money by modeling?"

Bill the Butcher said...

Just five thousand? Arther is slipping! In fact he already slipped and landed on his back! Although with another five thousand he might be able to afford a shave and lights that are not green. So there’s that.

Also it’s nice how the flies keep hovering over Arther’s head. It’s the little details, I tell you.

Anonymous said...


Is the fog slowly, finally, beginning to lift?

@Kit Kat. Good questions. Here's another: "Oh Arthur, how can you have the money to pay me back as soon as you get back to the States if you don't have any money now?"

-- Scottie McW.

TimP said...

So I did a search for Elderly Dating Website Fraud and the first hit that came up basically was a set of bullet points that more or less outline Arthu(e)r's scam. Curiously, they don't mention typographical errors when signing one's name as a warning sign so I presume KM came up with that one on her own.

On a side note, I agree with others that this latest gambit is rather poorly thought out by our scoundrel as Estelle could easily buy him a ticket directly.

Anonymous said...


When Estelle hesitates, I hope Arther gets miffed and says, "Oh, so you don't trust me, is that what you're saying? You think I'm not a good person? Well, if that's the way you feel, Estelle, then I think we should seriously examine whether we want to continue this relationship."

And, of course, Estelle will break into tears and sob, "Oh I'm so sorry, Arther, I DO trust you. Please forgive me. It's just that Mary put some crazy thoughts in my head. Arther, I need you now. I'll run right out and wire you the money this minute."

Artie grins and takes a long pull on his PBR. "That's my girl!"

-- S. McW.

Jared the Medical Office Temp said...

I am peeved about Arthur scamming Estelle. But I'm really peeved about the official Mary Worth website disappearing and being replaced by the Comics Kingdom site! On the official MW site, you could read old MW strips from the 1990s up until today, all for free! Now, you can only see the last week's worth. If you want to see anything older, you have to fork over the cash. Is life imitating art, or is Art/Arthur imitating Comics Kingdom? ... Probably, like Estelle, I'll just fork over the spinach. Luckily, a lot fewer zeroes are involved!

Anonymous said...

ComicsKingdom has also gone out of their way to flood the site with more advertising. Additional "incentive" to go the paid, "advertising free" version. The Comics selection list is all the way at the BOTTOM of the entire advertising stream page, so you have to scroll all the way through the ads just to select Mary Worth.

LouiseF said...

The only thing I like about this Comics Kingdom takeover is the little rotating gold crown while waiting for the strip to load.

fauxprof said...

Knock wood on this one, as anything may disappear on the morrow: I subscribe to the Washington Post, and their comics access is totally easy, with no need to go through Comics Kingdom. (Good crossword puzzles, too, with three available on Sunday, including classic Merl Reagle puzzles.) Oh, yeah, and the national news and commentary suit me, too. I’m not totally frivolous—just mostly frivolous.

Martin said...

Is it possible that Estelle is giving Arther serious side-eye over the phone? I certainly hope so!

Bill the Butcher said...

“I’ll pay you back with interest! I mean, I’ll literally be interested in seeing how much I can make you pay!”

Bill the Butcher said...

"I have $12 million in a safe deposit box! We can line in luxury on it! Uh....did I mention that the box is in the First National Bank of Burkina Faso and there's a convenience charge of $20000 to access it?"

Bill the Butcher said...

Now I'm Googling for that!

KitKat said...

SUNDAY
First, Happy Easter and Happy Passover to Wanders and my Worthiverse friends!

And on to today’s installment of “Estelle Faces Life (and Risks Becoming Less Comfortable),” that dog may be a dealbreaker for Libby.

fauxprof said...

SUNDAY

Oh, June is having a wonderful time today. There are at least three stellar panels. We have the lovingly detailed depiction of the water-damaged trailer and rusted-out pickup, both of them up on cinderblocks. Then there’s Libby, looking to to the heavens with an “Oh, spare me” expression. Finally, Arthu(e)r himself, eerily green-lit, reclining on his disgusting pillow. Are those just dirt stains, or cigarette burns?

Actually, the dog is the most respectable thing about all this. It probably belongs to a neighbor. I can’t imagine Arthu(e)r bothering to feed a dog.

Anonymous said...

So apparently Arther must be putting his cashflow aside into investments for his retirement years. He's certainly not spending it on upkeep. His neighbors must really love having him live nearby. And what is that cat doing up on a food preparation surface?

Regina Wolfe-Parks said...

When I saw this mess, I pictured Arthur/er saying "Just think Estelle, all of this can be yours".

You would think that Arther/Arthur would have used that 10K to clean up himself and his living situation, but alas, he spent the money on champagne and eating food with no utensils. I would love to ask June why she draws him in a green light. Is it to make him more disgusting and slimy than he already is?

I hope Estelle grows a backbone and says no, but Arthur/er will probably pull out his book of "cribbed" poetry and she'll be wiring that 5 large in no time. Libby's thinking "Why the heck did I leave the shelter with that old busybody? This dummy is spending all of our retirement dough on this dodgy guy."

I love the dog, he's a nice touch, but I agree with you fauxprof. The dog probably wandered into this portal of hell. I too can't see Pigpen having the ability to take care of a dog. He can't even bother to clean up the hovel he lives in.

Oh Happy Easter and Passover to all of my fellow Worthies!

Jared the Medical Office Temp said...

Libby is so cute and fluffy! She's also the character with the most sense in this "plot." (I'm LOVIN' this awesome scam plot! I also think that the last panel is a contender for panel of the year.)

I can't figure out what the Plato quote ... "A good decision is based on knowledge, not on numbers" ... has to do with Estelle and "Arthur"? Their relationship is based solely on numbers ... on cold, hard cash from Estelle's bank account! Maybe the quote means that their relationship is destined to remain permanently platonic?

LouiseF said...

If I were Danny DeVito, I'd be threatening to sue June B right about now for defamation of image.

LouiseF said...

Thanks, fauxprof, for the WP suggestion!

mr_darcy said...

Is it worth 5k more to avoid telling Mary she was right? Estelle should just write off Arthur and tell Mary he died in a bizarre sushi accident.

Bill the Butcher said...

“One of my two brain cells is screaming at me to check the cost of an economy ticket from Kuala Lumpur! I’ll get back to you as soon as I manage to get it to shut the hell up.”

Anonymous said...

Arther only flies First Class. And then there are the tips for the luggage porters.

fauxprof said...

Is there an idea struggling to form in the void that passes for Estelle’s brain? Or is there a primeval, lizard-like instinct that is telling her, “go run this by Mary Worth.”?