Curtis: Remember, the Brengir is still out there.

And thus ends this year's Kwanzaa-Curtis. On the plus side, I actually understand the moral of this year's story (as opposed to last year's). I also enjoyed the inclusion the mythologically traditional trickster character. And I'm glad the dog came back to life, because I'm a sucker for happy endings.

On the other hand, the lack of COMPLETELY INSANE SHIT was a pretty big disappointment. If a talking yellow mouse was the wildest part of Kwanzaa-Curtis, then it just hasn't been a very exciting Kwanzaa-Curtis. It also seemed a bit shorter than usual.

In any event, I look forward to next year, when I will almost certainly became VERY, VERY EXCITED about it for no discernible reason again.

Curtis: Andrew told Lila of his risky idea.

OK, seriously, how in the fuck is this plan even remotely risky?

Curtis: It was risky, but it might save her son, and everyone else!

Given that Andrew has already managed to destroy humanity (with the exception of himself and big-eyed, time-traveling Lila here), I'm curious as to what sort of idea would still qualify as risky.

Curtis: Andrew reacted to the Brengir in anger.

Shit just got real in Kwanzaa-Curtisland, my friends.

For those of you who for whatever reason haven't been paying attention, Andrew here was visited by a glow-y mouse that turned out to be a Brengir. The Brengir granted Andrew a single wish. Andrew--apparently a former Miss America contestant--wished for peace on Earth. Shockingly, the wish didn't go as planned, and the Brengir promptly wiped all of humanity from the planet. And now Andrew wants to take it back, but the Brengir is kind of a dick and OH MY GOD IT KILLED ANDREW'S ADORABLE DOG MAKE IT STOP.

Curtis: In celebration of KWANZAA, the cast of Curtis will go on hiatus so that we can bring you, dear reader, this original tale.

I had somehow managed to forget about the annual Curtis Kwanzaa Extravaganza, and now I am perhaps disproportionally excited about it. But excited about it I am!

Here we are introduced to Andrew, who appears to be some sort of unemployed everyman. Despite being unemployed, he still gets up at 6:00 every morning, so that's industrious--no lazy gadflies here. He owns a Basset Hound. He has a giant fucking mouth. And he's about to meet something called a Brengir. I could Google that and see if it's based on anything real, but I don't want to potentially ruin the surprise.

Last year's story ended with a glowing dude, a hippo and a rabbit. I predict this year's story will end with a giant armadillo and a pair of leather pants, but that's just an educated guess.

Curtis: I sure hope Daddy can put the gift I left under the tree to good use!

This comic is hilarious because Curtis's father is going to beat Curtis with a belt for getting him a lousy present.

Curtis: Because nothing's funnier than child abuse!

Curtis: Every year it's the same ol' thing!!

Though the dialog suggests that Curtis is merely going to give his brother a swirly, the action clearly indicates that the dialog is clever misdirection and that Curtis is actually going to hurl Barry out a window.

This would be somewhat unfortunate, as Curtis' interactions with Barry sometimes amuse me. But it wouldn't be that unfortunate.

Curtis: Maybe your tastes and mindset are CHANGING, Curtis! Maybe, in a way, you're growing up!

It's so true that nobody listens to the music they listened to when they were younger once they've grown up. That's why there aren't any classic rock radio stations around.

Curtis: I just bought this matching blouse and flip-flop ensemble!

This is a particularly clever way of solving the ever-present foot problem. If your characters are supposed to have ugly feet, it completely frees you from having to draw non-ugly feet. Agnes called attention to this just a little while ago. Curtis takes it a step further here by crafting an entire storyline around it.

The only odd thing about it is that Ray Billingsly actually draws pretty decent looking feet, so it's not so much a way to cover up an artistic deficiency as just an idea he had for a story. But hopefully some other cartoonists *cough*MortWalkerInc.*cough* will take note and borrow liberally.

Curtis and Mallard Fillmore: I've got students interviewing for summer internships in flip-flops, with bare midriffs...

These kids today with their [insert activity old people dislike]. [Cue contemptuous and self-righteous chuckling.]

Curtis: He knows were dancers on "Soul Train."

I'm going to go ahead and say I pretty much called this one, though I am somewhat embarrassed that I didn't guess the correct style of dancing. I must have confused the characters in Curtis for the characters in Baldo. Going forward, I will endeavor to keep my stereotypes straight.

Curtis: Wow, look at Dad GO!!

Yep, definitely horrifying.

Tomorrow, of course, we're going to make the wacky and hilarious discovery that it's just their parents dancing the salsa or something. I hope.

Curtis: I found this shoebox marked "Private" in the back of Mom and Dad's bedroom closet!

I'm not sure whether to be impressed or horrified that Curtis is going to the sex tape well. And let us be clear, while this VHS is almost certainly not going to turn out to be an actual sex tape,* we are clearly meant to make the association.

So, yeah, I'm leaning toward horrified.

*Unless the next week's worth of comics just involve Curtis and Barry hunting in vain for a VCR.

Curtis: I ... think I can HEAR you THINK!

To summarize this Curtis story so far:

Curtis went over to his token white friend Gunk's house. He saw some peanuts on the table and declared for no particular reason that some people have terrible peanut allergies, but he's glad he doesn't. He ate the entire bowl of peanuts in one mouthful. Gunk cried out to stop him, but it was too late. Now it turns out that the peanuts are actually Flyspeck Island peanuts, which evidently carry the horrible side effect of telepathy. And now Curtis is dazed and confused.

No, I have no idea what the fuck to make of any of this.

Curtis: You won't find anyone worth writing about on TV for your black history report, Curtis!

I'm pretty sure The Wire would make for a fine black history report, though it's possible that Curtis isn't really old enough to be watching it.

In any event, this comic is hilarious because old people hate television and children love it.

Curtis: Sure! I don't like to blow my own horn, but I'm the bestest skater in the 'hood! I'm, like, the black Greg Louganis of ice skating!

This Curtis is, like, the black Greg Louganis of the comics section.

Curtis: Z

As bizarre as Ray Billingsly's annual Kwanzaa interludes are, he does deserve credit for being willing to change up the format of his strip, even on a regularly scheduled and temporary basis. Considering that the comics section is plagued by endless mediocre repetition, I wish more cartoonists were willing to take even a modicum of risk to tell a different sort of story every now and then.

Billingsly also deserves credit for being willing to poke fun at himself for those bizarre Kwanzaa interludes, as he does in today's comic. Today's comic also has the advantage of immediately reestablishing Curtis's major character traits, thus preparing us for another year of standard-issue Curtis. Until the next bizarre Kwanzaa interlude rolls around, that is, for which nothing could really prepare us.

Curtis: Suddenly, Rabi found he was in his own bed with Tangi and Hare by his side.

This comic is hilarious because we are apparently supposed to understand something.

Curtis: Baby, you're worth your weight in gold!

This comic is hilarious because Diane has selfishly tricked her child into accepting fewer presents so that Greg can afford to buy her more expensive presents.

Curtis: If only all our questions could be answered so easily!

This comic is hilarious because Curtis has to poop.