Cow and Boy: Is all this cuz I said Ariel was prettier than Princess Jasmine?

It seems to me that this is a much better version of the whole Mary-Ann or Ginger argument (Mary-Ann, obviously). The only problem is that I go back and forth on it. In the end, I probably have to go with Jasmine, on account of her movie being better. But if you ask me again in a couple minutes, I might answer differently.

All of this is peripheral to the comic at hand, of course, which is very clever and much more subtle than the punchline would indicate, specifically in the way that the entire construction of the comic goes to undermining virtually everything Boy says. Except, maybe, for that last part.

La Cucaracha: The global climate debate continues despite a winter full of strange weather.

This comic is hilarious because the talking cockroach doesn't understand how global warming works.

Family Circus: Row, row, row your boat gently down then scream!...

Today's Family Circus cartoon brought to you by the unspeakably horrifying nightmares inside my head.

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.

Mutts: Little pink sock.

I have a weakness for comics (or anything, really) that depict animals behaving like actual animals. While cats generally don't read clocks, they do often lay around all day playing with socks, sometimes becoming so engrossed in them that they forget its dinnertime. Also, while cats don't sing, if they did, they would definitely sing songs like the one in the first panel. All of which is to say that while the cat in this comic displays human capabilities that actual cats don't possess, the cartoonist is employing those capabilities to highlight actual feline characteristics.

In other words, Mooch is not just a human in a cat's body like most comic strip animals usually are. He's a cat who talks as a stylistic device that only serves to highlight his cattiness.

Pluggers: In cold weather, pluggers prefer to do all their thinking inside the box.

This cartoon is hilarious because pluggers apparently believe that they are generally such out-of-the-box sorts.

Mark Trail: Mark, a writer for Woods and Wildlife Magazine, spends much of his time traveling to research new stories.

And judging by the comic strip, none of his time actually writing them.

Garfield: We wanna watch you and Liz.

This comic is hilarious because Garfield and Odie have been waiting 30 years to live vicariously through their pathetic owner, and they're not going to pass up the chance to masturbate to his fumbling sexual antics now.

Family Circus: ...sounds like she needs to get some glasses.

Seriously, Dolly, how lame do you have to be to spend all your time belittling fictional characters?

Cul de Sac: Hi, Petey Potterpoop!

This is the finest artistic representation of mortification that I've ever seen. It helps that the comic is a continuous long shot, with Petey situated in such a way that he almost seems to be a part of the background. Viola, by contrast, seems enormous, which is how she must seem to Petey as well.