Well, it turns out that it wasn't the head of Wayne the Kidnapper (severed as Bill the Manager assisted the police with his kitchen cleaver) in Mr. Smith's bag after all... Just some fruit. Of course, Bill, Bree and Ronnie didn't get as large a fruit basket as Mary Worth got. They each got only a pear. So all is right in the world.Today's Full Strip
"We're friends now. That's why I feel comfortable having you over while I've got this beautifying mud pack on my face."
ReplyDeletePromised (and cruelly denied) a dish of rainbow swirl ice cream many moons ago, Emily is forced to make do with what Mary tells her is a "kelkie."
ReplyDeleteIt's nice to see that Mrs. Smith is adhering to the Santa Royale Women's Dress Code of monochromatic wear. But how in the heck did Mr Smith's shirt color change from green to white in the next panel? Is he some sort of magician or warlock? That would certainly shake things up a bit...
ReplyDeleteThis ad nauseum display of Marywonderfulness really puts that "ack" in "gack."
ReplyDeletewv: vingra... no, too easy.
Wow! Thats like the Pope saying, "Just call me Joe".
ReplyDeletejmernl @ 7:51 AM, maybe drinking Mary's tea makes your clothes change color. Or, the tea was so hot that Mr. Smith removed his green shirt and stripped to his undershirt between panels (though he did put his jacket back on - hmmm).
ReplyDeleteEmily seems to have recovered well from her ordeal. It would have been more entertaining if Moy had used (okay, plagiarized) O. Henry's "The Ransom of Red Chief" plot. Wouldn't it have been more fun if Emily had made Wayne's life such hell that he was happy to give her the boot? Of course, then there would have been no need for Mary's heroics, and no fruit basket with a miniature banana.
Good Lord, that Emily is sure on a sugar rush. Look at her eyes rolling to the back of her head.
ReplyDeleteMy WV: "brang". Emilys parents "brang" some old fruit to Mary.
What a cheezy thankyou gift. A sackful of bank would have been a lot better. Oh, but I forgot Mary already rejected the cash reward - so maybe fruit really is fine with her.
ReplyDelete@pheobes: I bet at Mary's age, prunes ARE money!
ReplyDelete*rimshot*
wv: hambo... Why, yes, I am!
It would be great if the Smith's hit Mary for some money, and let her know that they made up the reward story. Would Mary still be their friend?
ReplyDeleteKitKat @ 8:59 AM; Even more disturbing than the change of Mr. Smith's shirt color is the change of Mary's apartment decor from one day to the next. On 1/23, as Mary rises to answer the doorbell, there is a large picture and a sofa just to the right of the door. On 1/24, these are replaced by two smaller pictures and some sort of table with a flower arrangement on it.
ReplyDeleteContinuity...continuity...
WV: "scant" (an actual word!)
I had to laugh as it looks as though Emily is holding her tongue in panel one. And Mr. Smith looks a lot like Kurt... or perhaps he is just wearing Kurt's jacket, tee shirt and jeans.
ReplyDeletePass the 'kelkies', Punky! :)
Someone should tell Mary she has necrotizing fasciitis before her face falls off.
ReplyDeleteMr. Smith's shirt will turn orange next, and then the only part of him, including his hair, that doesn't blend in with the sofa will be his trousers.
--Beagle Vet In Orange From Goleta
WV: yeasomed. Maybe that will fix Mary's face problem.
Somebody call 9-1-1, Emily must be going into some sort of shock! All of this saccharine sugary sweetness of these platitudes would be enough to give me a seizure as well, kiddo.
ReplyDeleteAnd maybe Wayne was her "uncle" (my VW, no foolin').
This strip is one of the WORDIEST I have ever seen. The word balloons are so loaded with verbiage that Emily's name has to be split with a hyphen to fit! Moy and Giella could do with a good editor today. . . Why repeat the names of the people who work at the diner as if MW doesn't know them? Also wondered if MW asked them to call her "Mary" because she was irked that they addressed her as "Ms". Looks like she needs some work on her boundaries if she thinks she's their automatic friend. Aaak! I've caught the "wordy" disase too!!! Help!
ReplyDeleteI'm impressed by Emily's Wilbur-Weston-like eating technique. And at such a young age. Keep going the way you're going, Emily, and maybe you'll get promoted to a regular in this strip!
ReplyDeleteEmily looks like a little monkey. I hope Mary will break the news to her gently that she's not model material after all. And, I hate to be the one to mention this, it being a FAMILY FRIENDLY blog and all, but where the heck is Emily's mom's hand?
ReplyDelete"poicanti" - Mary should have served poicanti sauce with those kelk chips.
I am a little concerned about what Mrs. Smith is doing with her right hand. She's sitting on her left. But she does seem happy.
ReplyDeleteI was right about to post the same question Cheverly. I had to yell at my 5 year old yesterday for sitting like that.
ReplyDeleteAm I reading too much creepiness into the shadowy Mary head stating "we're friends now?" It has a bit of a "...and there's nothing you can do about it" vibe to it.
The safe money on the plate of cookies leans Lorna Dune or Nilla Wafers.
ReplyDeleteWV: "favor", as in "please do me a favor and get on with the next plot"
Eeash, I went back to the strip to see Mrs. Smith's right hand (now REALLY, lady!) and noticed that a banshee is materializing from Mr. Smith's mug. What kind of tea is that, Ms. Worth?
ReplyDeleteYeppers, the kid has been kidnapped and been through god knows what and the first thing they do is stop by Mary's place....with a basket of fruit no less. I understand that Eliabeth Smart and her family did the same thing for the biker who spotted her kidnapper and alerted police. Obviously Goleta is in the Worthiverse.
ReplyDeleteLet's just hope Mrs. Smith has a private itch. Those can be quite maddening. The harder you try NOT to think about it, the more intense it gets!
ReplyDeleteTry Gold Bond anti-itch cream- it's like having a pair of invisible fingers.
ReplyDeleteWatch what happens to those faces when Mary starts thanking Wayne. Remember, it wasn't long ago that Mary was feeling rather helpless and depressed. And, not long ago, she was also spouting Zen philosopy. So now, she may go into a long monologue on the yin and yang of the universe, that nothing is either bad or good - only thinking makes it so, and that without Wayne she would not be feeling so empowered as she does now. That would be fun.
ReplyDeleteThe Smiths are thinking, "Hmmm, this ole gal is a wealthy widow with no family...Bet she would love to have an honorary granddaughter...Yeah, that's the ticket, butter ol' Mary up, and hope for the worst, followed by the best!"
ReplyDeleteRun, Mary, run.
Speaking of hands, where's Emily's left hand? Is she channelling Napoleon? Or does she just have an abnormally long forearm?
ReplyDelete--Beagle Vet from Goleta
I was under the impression you were supposed to bring a hot dish as a thank you for saving your child from a kidnapper.
ReplyDeleteEmily? This isn't "home." This is Mary Worth's house. You don't live here. And stop eating all the kelkies.
ReplyDeleteI hate to say it, but we haven't yet been treated to a series of PSA cautinos to help us protect our children. i mean, we were told how to protect our credit cards, so...
ReplyDeleteI just love Mary's remark to the Smiths that "it's wonderful to see Emily with you." As opposed to them leaving the little tyke home alone, I guess. Maybe that explains how she was kidnapped in the first place.
ReplyDeleteEven though Emily is snarfing down those kelkies as fast as she can, the platter is always overflowing. A magic kelkie platter - another Mary miracle!
I looked at the strip again and noticed that Mr. Smith changed positions between panels. Is he going to try to grab some kelkies for himself?
ReplyDeleteIs Emily's response,
ReplyDelete"I'm...glad to be home,"
a bit tepid? Could she be thinking about the rainbow swirl ice cream Wayne would have bought for her?
wv: inessemi
ReplyDeletethe word that came to mind: incessant
Emily must have devoured half a dozen kelkies already, which were plain the other day but now have chips or flecks in them. "A moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips!" You'll never become a model if you keep this up, child.
ReplyDeleteKitKat @ 9:06 AM; I think Mr. Smith moved to the other side of Emily to prevent Mrs. Smith from getting any of the pile of kelkies (now new and improved with fleks) which seems to be growing...
ReplyDeleteMy wv is "noubat"... same as the old bat.
ReplyDeletewell alrighty then... Fruit basket delivered, Mary has been properly thanked for bringing Emily "home", Mrs. Smith has scratched her...itch. The kelkies were SCRUMPTIOUS but, whoa! Look at the time! We must be scurrying off to Emily's therapy appointment now.
ReplyDeleteNext story, please!???
My wv: "sillio" as in silly me!
WV: "luslity".
ReplyDeleteMr Smith's shirt is green again!
ReplyDeleteI'm calling it now- Two more days of the Smiths scarfing down Kelkies at Mary's, Charterstone pool party on Sunday, one final recap of the Emily saga for Toby, and a long overdue ''Meanwhile...'' on Monday.
ReplyDelete@Maude - do your friends consider you an over-the-top optimist?
ReplyDeleteI think Mary turned down the reward money in hopes that the money would instead be used to erect a statue in her likeness in Goleta. At least life-size if not taller. With a plaque describing her incredible deed of shaking/scaring a waitress, dialing 911 and standing in a doorway for a few seconds.
Not that I wish for another minute of plot prolongation (if that is even a word), but I do think we as readers are owed a bit of explanation as to why Emily was kidnapped. Most kidnappers either want money for ransom (or did that go out with Patty Hearst?) or frankly, have more nefarious thoughts in mind. All we could see Thuggy McMomJeans do was drive around and stop for grub. Think we'll ever find out? Or should I just have another kelkie and wait for my "Meanwhile"?
ReplyDelete