Friday, October 1, 2021

Mary Worth 3740

Today's strip is the perfect opportunity for me to say, "I'm going on vacation!" I know I'm going to miss a lot of exciting adventure and animal hijinks this next week, but I'll be having fun of another sort. Whoosh!

67 comments:

Sue said...

Have a great vacation!

KitKat said...

Have a fine time on your vacation, Wanders! We’ll endeavor to maintain the whooshing through the week.

Pierre seems to be getting a lot more action than Wilbur. I wonder if Pierre has been neutered. Reputable shelters take care of that, but Animal Shelter seemed like a very lax place, to put it mildly.

There’s a full-service bar/dog park (indoor and outdoor parks!) in Cleveland called Taps & Tails. I am not telling Wilbur - he’s persona non grata here.

Fiendish Man said...

This is where Mary Worth turns into a Pepe Le Pew cartoon -- with dogs.

Vince said...

Bon voyage, Wanders. Now is a good time to break from this low, perhaps lowest ever, point in the Mary Worth Era. As it's been said, the malaise is palpable.

Garnet said...

Have a good vacation!

Garnet said...

Also, why would you take a dog you don't know anything about to the dog park to be let off leash? I'd want to get to know the dog first to be sure he would come back when called, get along with other dogs, and not jump all over other people.

Tim said...

Yep. Wilbur hasn't given Pierre any time to bond with him or to learn to respond to a command to come.

meg said...

Wilbur: Pierre, Pierre, Pierre! It’s always about Pierre! What about Meeeeeeeee?

Wanders, you have chosen your vacation time wisely. With luck, you will return at the end of the Wilbur redemption arc, just in time for Mary’s victory lap.

tkraft said...

Best Wishes for a restful, engaging vacation to our Mary Worth Majordomo!
If Pierre (and we readers) are lucky, the little guy has just exited stage right out of Wilbur's control forever and on to his own restful, engaging life. A guy can hope...

Bill the Butcher said...

Magnetic chick sighted!

Is that Margo's mum from Apartment 3G?

Bill the Butcher said...

Unfortunately, apparently it's Dogs Are Good time again.

fauxprof said...

SATURDAY: Wilbur is rewarded for his bad behavior. He has met an aging version of his own daughter.

meg said...

fauxprof: she looks like she could be Brandy’s (aka Babe) mother.

KitKat said...

Bingo, meg, I immediately pegged her as Brandy’s mother. I don’t recall if Brandy’s mother is still among the living, however.

meg said...

KitKat: Babemom was spoken of in the present tense as of 9/23/2020. She lives!

Lord Flatulence said...

Wilbur Weston (in the Lando Calrissian voice): Well hello! What have we here?

Anonymous said...

meg; fauxprof... Isn't this woman supposed to be Asian? I think this is Karen Moy and she has finally decided to come out as being married to a short, fat, creepy, combed-over dude.

HelenClark

fauxprof said...

SUNDAY: Well, at least Estelle and Libby are off the hook. Poor Carol, however, is advised to take a cue from Pierre, and go “Whooosh”!

KitKat said...

Even the dog park has a blah-blah bench. Sigh.

No fences, no other dog owners in sight. Dogs must be running wild all over Santa Royale.

MissScarlet said...

Looks like fauxprof was able to read todays strip. So far I haven't found a site that's working. glad to know her name is Carol.

meg said...

Miss Scarlett: Try the Washington Post! Worked for me.

meg said...

Oops! Their legs are crossed in opposite directions. According to some body language experts, that’s not a good sign.

KitKat said...

MONDAY
Put his shoes away? Buy chew toys? Despite this introduction to the supremely clueless, self-absorbed Wilbur, I expect that in true KM fashion, Carol will stick with him instead of grabbing Sophie and fleeing the dog park pronto.

Toots McGee said...


It looks like the new Sunday strips will go immediately behind the Comics Kingdom paywall.

I was able to find yesterday’s (Sunday’s) thanks to the tip here. I fear alternate avenues will dry up now that the syndicate has made this move.

Sigh

Garnet said...

No, Carol! Run!

How can you not know what a dog chew toy is?

LouiseF said...

Uh oh.. Their first date will be to a pet store where not only will Wilbur buy a pet store, but also an impossibly cute polka-dotted coat for Pierre. Blech. Glad for M Wanders, enjoying a Wilbur-free vacation.

LouiseF said...

Darn, I didn't intend to predict that Wilbur might buy a pet store, although now that I think of it, that WOULD ensure a constant supply of magnetic chicks coming through his door. And then maybe he would learn what a CHEW TOY is.

fauxprof said...

The Santa Royale Penny-Saver Shopper must pay really well. Wilbur seems to be able to afford unlimited trips, the support of a layabout middle-aged daughter, emerald rings, large bottles of scotch, and scads of hot steamy shower water during California droughts. I have no doubt he could buy a pet supply shop. Maybe the money comes from the sales of his self-published audio-book “Survivor Stories”, read (and sung) by the author. I’m sure listeners love his renditions of “I Will Survive” and “Stayin’ Alive” between chapters.

MissScarlet said...

Thanks Meg. I'll try the Post.

Toots McGee said...

Maybe I was wrong about Sunday strips. I’ve been able to view them. Comics Kingdom is making me crazy. I need a chew toy or I’ll destroy some wingtips!

Anonymous said...

Comics Kingdom is currently showing the Sunday strips as "Premium Only" At least for me.

Anonymous said...

TUESDAY

The pet supply store? Brilliant, Wilbur! I was thinking you might try the auto parts store, but your idea is much better.

Poor Wanders will never forgive himself for missing this exciting development.

HelenClark

KitKat said...

Look, two other people in the distant background.

I’m so bored, I can’t even muster a halfway snark.

Vince said...

Pierre and Carol's French bulldog seem to have a thing for each other.

I'm really starting to see that, if you want to make a connection, you had better get a dog. Not only do they connect among themselves; they also have the ability to connect members of other species. Luckily for Wilbur, dogs have shown time and time again that, when it comes to humans, they are not too picky, so they may assume that Wilbur is actually viable as a companion for another human. On the other hand, Pierre already seems to have grave doubts about Wilbur.

LouiseF said...

I'm thinking that Carol is possibly Native American. I can't wait for Wilbur to ask her, "Where are you from? No, where are you REALLY from?"

Wool Worth said...

I thought this storyline was going to serve as some kind of warning to the general public to only adopt a pet if you really want a pet and have done your research about said pet and to not adopt a pet during a pandemic (or any other time) just because you are bored or in Wilbur's case, want to meet women. But no. Instead, we are treated to the Dog Park of Love where everyone falls in love including the pets. This strip is so aggravating.

Anonymous said...


"So Wilbur, what do you feed your dog?"

"Feed?"

-- Scottie McW.

Bill the Butcher said...

Carol looks Hispanic to *me*. I'm Asian*, and she definitely doesn't look Asian from where I'm standing.

*by which I do not mean East Asian.

Darth Curt said...

In my world, we buy stuff for our pets at the Pet Store (or Walmart). In Santa Royal, is the Pet Supply Store right next to the Pet Store, or is it a block over?

Anonymous said...

WEDNESDAY

Wanders is going to have to stop assigning each dog a label of their own on his list of archived panels. He's going to run out of space.

BTW - I think Wilbur may have neglected to ask Animal Shelter Worker if his new dog was male or female. From Panel 2, it appears a better name for the dog might have been Brigitte.

HelenClark

Bill the Butcher said...

That must be a really tasty fly Sophie and Pierre are jumping for simultaneously.

Also, Sophie and Pierre have sticky fly-catching tongues? Like chameleons or frogs?

KitKat said...

Fingers crossed that Carol isn’t thinking that Wilbur is adorable. That would make me pound my head against a wall.

What happened to yesterday’s people in the background and the other cavorting dogs?

LouiseF said...

Well, I notice Carol is not "recommending" they visit the pet store together. Perhaps she has a chew toy product sheet in her car. I am relieved that Carol is not wearing a bow tie that matches Sophie's. Instead I think she is wearing a necklace of stones that repel idiots. At least I hope so for her sake.

Anonymous said...


A fire hydrant! Don't know if this is brilliant or cliche.

Wilbur's gotten over Estelle awfully fast. But she's been living in dread that he'll drunkenly show up outside her window at midnight singing the "The Jellicle Ball." So in that way, he's still managing to annoy her.

-- Scottie McW.

fauxprof said...

Sophie and Pierre seem to be posing for salt and pepper shakers, or some other cute matching knickknacks.

Bill the Butcher said...

I'm not a native English speaker, but Weelbur is asking Carol which toy she likes to chew on, right? There’s no other explanation for this, right?

tkraft said...

Thursday's strip:

Congrats June and Karen! Guinness Records just called and today's strip now holds the world record for use of the word 'chew' in a 2-panel comic. (Such scintillating conversation, btw.) Chew on this vocabulary feat, all you comic strip author pretenders! I'll be leaving now, I have to catch an early morning chew-chew train for the city.

Ian Cameron, PhD said...

What a plot twist! All along I thought the moral was going to be Dogs Are Good, and suddenly here we are with Chew Toys Are Good.

“So, what do you do for work, Carol?’
“I’m a saleswoman in the chew toy department at Pet Supply Store. It’s not my dream job, but the commissions can be surprisingly lucrative when you find the right sucker. Say, did I mention my cousin is opening an outlet store specializing in emerald rings?”

Anonymous said...


Wilbur returns from Generic Pet Supply Store and makes an unpleasant discovery: "My Timex! It's missing!"

-- Scottie McW.

hmmm said...

Has Wilbur finally met someone who’s shorter than he is?

LouiseF said...

I'm hoping Wilbur haplessly buys a squeaky toy. Can't wait to see JB's illustration of Wilbur with a pillow over his head while "SQUE-E-EK!" emanates from the next room. At least his shoes won't be gnawed over. There, I managed to get through this post without using the word "chew"..

KitKat said...

“Well, Wilbur, I enjoy a nice quiet dumpling-shaped chew toy. Sophie prefers a squishy, squeaky dumpling one.”

Bill the Butcher said...

Friday:


Eshtelle, naturally, is stunned into silence at the thought that any woman might be rash, blind, and stupid enough to even walk beside Weelbur. “Should I warn her?” she thinks. “No, she might just be out to scam him out of an emerald ring! Or a chew toy, to be more realistic.”

Anonymous said...


FRIDAY

If Estelle goes crying to Mary over this, I will bounce my head off he nearest wall.

-- Scottie McW.

Yahoonski said...

@Scottie: Brilliant line yesterday re the Timex!

Vince said...

Estelle may be thinking, "There but for the grace of God..."

hmmm said...

Stunned silence. Interesting phrase. So if Estelle hadn’t been stunned at seeing Wilbur with another woman, would she be experiencing jumping up and down silence? Or if she was stunned, would she be exhibiting singing Hallelujah in place?

Estelle said...

HMMPH! How charming! NOT!

Ooops, I accidentally yelled that across the street instead of thought bubbling in stunned silence. Oh well, c'est la vie!

Ian Cameron, PhD said...

My story arc prediction is:

Carol turns out to be already attached or romantically uninterested, having simply wanted to platonically share her passion for chew toys. Despite having known Carol for 15 minutes, Wilbur is crushed and enters his 8th morose self-pity spiral of the year, culminating in problematic Kelrastian stalking of Estelle with plenty of boom boxes and caterwauling (sans Libby). Estelle, however, is bitter and HMMPHy due to seeing him speak to a human female after she dumped him. Mary understands that their repellent personalities mean they are meant for each other, and A Variety Of Muffins are deployed. Wilbur slips one to Libby (Gram's secret ingredient is Fancy Feast!) and all is forgiven. The end, April 2022.

hmmm said...

Can you remind yourself, Estelle? This is the guy who threatened to throttle your beloved cat. Why are you not dancing the happy dance down the street like Fred Estaire?

Yahoonski said...

SUNDAY: I forget whether it is June's husband who does the lettering for the strip, but if so, you have to wonder if he ever loses it and cries out: "June, for the love of God, will you tell Karen that nobody talks like this since the Coneheads went back to Remulac!"

KitKat said...

Yahoonski, I think June’s husband, Roy, was previously the colorist for MW.

So it’s a generic “Pet Supplies Store” but KM names two actual chew-toy brands today. Is she hoping for a cornucopia of Kong and Nylabone toys to be delivered to her home?

I’m glad Wanders took a vacation but I hope he’s back soon. I miss his hilariously pithy remarks, plus over 60 comments is a lot to scroll through!

Garnet said...

Wilbur is like George Constanza only not funny and more pathetic.

Estelle should warn Carol what she's getting into.

MissScarlet said...

I don't think green is a good color for Estelle. And I can't CAN'T believe she would feel that way about Wilbur. Even for Moy, this is too much.

Lord Flatulence said...

Aren't our dogs cute? Their names are Cut and Paste!

hmmm said...

If you’re going to suggest Nylabones, Carol, perhaps you can also recommend a good source of doggie dental insurance. Those things are awful. Besides, any dog would much rather have a bully stick.

Thunderheels said...

I get the feeling Estelle is an idiot that has to have a man in her life. Maybe she should get back with Wilbur and save some other woman from him. The two are a match made someplace.