Beetle Bailey: Bailout!

This comic is hilarious because the topnotch talent at Mort Walker Inc. has randomly inserted the words "recession," "foreclose," "depression" and "bailout" into the dialog.

Pluggers: The USPS branch where the "Pluggers" mail box is located will remain open. You may resume sending "snail mail."

And so the Obama administration's bid to destroy Pluggers has apparently failed.

I'm just going to go ahead and blame Joe Lieberman for this one.

Ziggy: Expiration Valley

This cartoon is hilarious because Ziggy is finally going to kill himself.

Pearls Before Swine: You been reading your strips lately?

I've not been a huge fan of Pearls' recent descent into Lewis Carroll-inspired surrealism, but anything that ends with Jeffy Keane getting eaten by giant caterpillar thing can't be all bad.

Family Circus: After breakfast!

This cartoon is hilarious because the Keane children are gluttonous monsters who have been eating candy and beating their mangy dog all night.

Cul de Sac: Sad!

Cul de Sac is highly derivative of Peanuts.

This is not a bad thing.

But it's one thing to just be derivative of Peanuts. It's another thing to recreate its mood while building a world filled with interesting characters of your own. And that's what Richard Thompson has done.

This strip in particular is both very funny and kind of terrifying, both because of the general situation and because of the specificity of the characters' behavior. It basically does for charades what Freaks and Geeks did for dodgeball. And Alice's guess *was* at the very least a lot closer than "cheese monkey."

Zits: Hi Jeremy! Like my new jeans?

This comic is hilarious because Jeremy's erection is so enormous that it has caused his van to tip over.

BC: Rats. A defect.

I liked this comic strip better when it was a Friz Freleng cartoon.*

*BC apparently steals all its jokes from Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies now.

Pickles: I keep telling you, if you want my attention, say it with brownies.

This comic is hilarious because the only thing women are good for is cooking food for men.

Drabble: I'm not stealing it, Penny. I'm saving you from it!

This comic is hilarious because Ralph literally steals candy from babies.