August 9th, 2011
Weapon Brown 249
UPDATE 8/18/11: Oops! Sorry gang! I mentioned in the 248 update that this week’s strip will be on Thursday. I just got back from Chicago and now have to prepare for Baltimore at the end of the week. Don’t hate me!!
August 9th, 2011 at 1:17 am
Hope CAL catches that one in his teeth!
August 9th, 2011 at 5:42 am
with Hobbs bleeding stuffing… Bang goes my idea that Snoops would lead Hobbs into the carnivorous Kudzu…
August 9th, 2011 at 7:01 am
That last frame just makes me think: “I wanna introduce you to a very personal friend of mine. This is an M41A pulse rifle. Ten millimeter with over-and-under thirty millimeter pump action grenade launcher.”
August 9th, 2011 at 10:14 am
So, who’s the hero?
August 9th, 2011 at 10:18 am
Over AND under grenade launchers? Wouldn’t that be ridiculously heavy and almost impossible to aim with any accuracy? And how would you do the “pump-action” part on the top mounted one?
August 9th, 2011 at 10:36 am
@Dannyboy It would, yeah. But clearly you underestimate our Main Man here.
Whoever he is.
August 9th, 2011 at 11:41 am
How accurate to you NEED to be with a grenade launcher? I’m guessing, not pinpoint …
August 9th, 2011 at 12:09 pm
@NaOH
I was thinking more along the lines of, “Say ‘Hello’ to my lil’ frien’!”
August 9th, 2011 at 1:54 pm
B.D??? I don’t feel too confident about the future prospects of a character without a name.
August 9th, 2011 at 3:17 pm
LINUS!?!?
August 9th, 2011 at 8:34 pm
I’m not getting who the guy in the last panel is… Not Judge Dread, he didn’t have a weekly that I know of… WHO IS THAT HELMETED MAN?!?
August 10th, 2011 at 1:53 am
Bullets have someone’s name on them. Grenades are addressed “to whom it may concern”.
This should be interesting.
August 10th, 2011 at 1:56 am
I’m not getting who he is, either!
August 10th, 2011 at 2:22 am
@buttereddeathtoast
It’s not Linus. Linus was a character in the first Weapon Brown story that had a psychokinetically-controlled blanket. Chuck killed him after killing Lucy.
August 10th, 2011 at 2:43 am
@Jody
I see what you did there.
August 10th, 2011 at 3:32 am
@Matthewjfazio
Judge Dredd did actually appear weekly on the funny pages, (1981–1998) in the British tabloid Daily Star and in the British freesheet Metro from January 2004–2005. The artist was mainly (entirely?) Ron Smith for the Daily Star.
August 10th, 2011 at 2:08 pm
That’s not an over and under grenade launcher. Looks like a standard 40mm setup on some kind of sturmgewehr.
As for who it is… I wondered if it was Calvin’s Dad…
August 10th, 2011 at 2:12 pm
That is a fucking BOSS one-liner.
August 10th, 2011 at 2:35 pm
“I’m not worried about a bullet with my name on it…it’s all the ones marked ‘OCCUPANT’ and ‘RESIDENT’ that worry me…”
August 10th, 2011 at 2:46 pm
I don’t think it’s any particular character; just someone on Chuck’s side with a grenade launcher. Am I right, JY?
– The Captcha images are getting downright illegible; I had to refresh it four times to find one I could read, which is “adsevata Très-”.
August 10th, 2011 at 3:56 pm
Wrong, Sherlock! You get…NOTHING!!
August 10th, 2011 at 4:11 pm
Surely that’s not Moe the Bully? Pretty thin and no hair covering his eyes, but the nose is quite large.
August 10th, 2011 at 6:02 pm
Moe was one of the ones CAL killed back in his early days. I’m guessing BD myself, but it’s hard to tell. (Captcha: Dolores Groman isn’t sure either.)
August 10th, 2011 at 7:41 pm
Looks kinda like Danny Kaye, but I doubt it.
August 10th, 2011 at 11:10 pm
With teeth like that, maybe it’s R. Crumb related.
August 11th, 2011 at 9:12 am
“Priceless” or “Price” is a clue world, folks. Think, think … or is it that JY just doesn’t like “Rhymes with Orange” …?
August 11th, 2011 at 9:31 am
In profile, B.D.’s nose is very square. This character’s nose sorta matches. Then there’s the helmet; for some 35 years B.D. was never seen without one. And of course he’s combat-trained…kinda surprised he wasn’t part of Prince Valiant’s ambush, actually.
Thanks, captcha! I needed ANU altsnt.
August 11th, 2011 at 1:12 pm
Funky?
August 11th, 2011 at 2:26 pm
Well, that’s twice now that CAL could’ve been taken out but wasn’t ’cause someone was being cute (the Phantom shooting the guns and not the head, and now the well-phrased but ill-advised warning – as we know this arc starts with CAL taunting Chuck, it doesn’t bode real well for the grenade-launcher).
I’m on board with the BD theory.
Oh, and, lest we forget … the Phantom is still walking …
(Captcha must be impatient to get five things done: now erandsV)
August 11th, 2011 at 3:16 pm
Another vote for the BD theory.
August 11th, 2011 at 5:16 pm
After long and careful consideration (almost 5 minutes!) I have my own theory on our erstwhile hero and soon possibly corpse. Bazooka Joe!
August 11th, 2011 at 11:56 pm
OK, the look on Cal’s face when our mystery guest says “Hey Asshole…” looks to me like he’s hearing a voice he doesn’t expect to hear…or I could just be delusional, works for me either way
August 12th, 2011 at 1:02 am
Hmmm… Definitely not BD, JY does Trudeau’s style very well and that’s not it. Bazooka Joe would have been perfect here, but alas, no eye patch. Please Jason, I give up! The suspense is killing me!
August 12th, 2011 at 2:58 am
Rules for tertiary characters:
1: If you have the bad guy dead to rights… don’t alert him that you have him dead to rights.
August 12th, 2011 at 9:45 am
The word “priceless” has got to be a clue as to who Helmet Guy is. JY wouldn’t put in a line like that in for no reason. I got nuthin’, though.
August 12th, 2011 at 11:47 am
“Rules for tertiary characters:
1: If you have the bad guy dead to rights… don’t alert him that you have him dead to rights.”
Hey, at least the grenade is already on the way out as he’s saying his second line! Most don’t even have enough sense to shoot until they finish their one-liner.
August 12th, 2011 at 12:26 pm
I’m not one hundred percent sold on BD, but it seems like a decent guess..
August 12th, 2011 at 1:03 pm
And it’s another 6 DAYS before we will find out…maybe, knowing our Lord ValdeBluth LOL
August 12th, 2011 at 1:37 pm
The “priceless” crack may refer to nothing but Watterson’s refusal to allow any commercial use of his characters’ images instead of any specific clue to the shooter’s identity. However the shooter clearly seems to be known to Cal, as punx has noted. Who thwarted Cal in the strip? His parents, Susie Derkins and Rosalyn most often. No glasses so probably not his Dad and probably too ugly for his Mom or Ros. Susie frequently bested Cal in a snowball fight too. Susie, is that you? Sure growed up butch if so.
August 12th, 2011 at 2:02 pm
OK, Lord ValdeBluth, question:
Considering the lengths to which you have gone to include practically any character that ever strode a funny page as the tale has gone on, is there any reason for us to be able to figure out just who this guy is, based on his sole line of dialog and an (almost) unrecognizable mug? I hate to piss on anyone’s leg, but I think BD is too easy…this is probably some guy who appeared in a WWII comic strip about rationing, if the peyote is working right
August 12th, 2011 at 2:10 pm
The helmet looks familiar, but I can’t remember where from; my knowledge of old newspaper strips is nowhere near encyclopedic. I’ve been wracking my brain for days, to no avail.
August 12th, 2011 at 2:39 pm
How about scrooge.
August 12th, 2011 at 3:33 pm
I’m going with B.D… It looks like him, and the ‘Priceless’ quote reminds me of the old maxim from the ‘Rules of a Gunfight’.
\Anything worth shooting is worth shooting twice. Ammo is cheap. Life is priceless\
Definitely something B.D. would believe… at least during his combat years.
August 12th, 2011 at 5:12 pm
@luggage: The helmet’s why I’m leaning towards the BD theory. It looks sort of like the one he wore during the Gulf War(s).
August 12th, 2011 at 7:30 pm
Harry Callahan?
August 12th, 2011 at 10:30 pm
“Over AND under grenade launchers? Wouldn’t that be ridiculously heavy and almost impossible to aim with any accuracy? And how would you do the “pump-action” part on the top mounted one?”
Its over/under, all that it means is one barrel is mounted above the other (google over-under shotgun).
The pump action…. The M41 Pulse Rifles in Aliens could actually shoot live ammo. This is because the actors weren’t the only ones in costume. They were actually Thompson Submachineguns, with a very shortened remmington pump action for the “grenade launcher”.
The More You Know™
August 13th, 2011 at 1:54 am
Thanks for coming out to Chicago! I bought the first Weapon Brown book. It’s great to read up on the background for the character. Hope to see you back next year!
August 13th, 2011 at 2:09 am
So let me see if I got this straight:
In a world of mutants, super natural, and mysticism all of which are based on other worlds of mutants, super natural, and mysticism, the thing you guys are questioning is the physics behind an over/under grenade launcher.
Do I have that right?
August 13th, 2011 at 10:50 am
Well, not all of us, just those with a weapon fetish, OK?
P.S. anyone else getting Captcha parts that are upside down? I type them in as if they’re right side up, but…WTF?
August 14th, 2011 at 9:16 am
@Daveshan: best/funniest comment in this whole thread of 50!
August 15th, 2011 at 12:45 am
Sorry to those who think otherwise, but that is not BD… BD was always somewhat stocky, first as a jock, and then got wider around the belly through middle age. This man is slim in comparison to most other characters in the strip. Also, as was said before JY seems to have the Doonesbury stylistic down pat. I highly doubt that he would make such an iconic character so difficult to guess. In fact, since the beginning of this series, I have not seen a single appearance that was as fraught with uncertainty (and not even the hint of a Tag) like this one. JY is playing games with us – especially as we have no idea when the next update is.
August 15th, 2011 at 12:55 am
@BP: Update 8/3/11:
You should all have my appearance at Wizard World Chicago later this week pencilled in on your page-a-day Dilbert calendars and your plane tickets already purchased. This is consuming my schedule, so there will be only one strip this week, posting tomorrow. Next week I will be hustling to prepare for the Baltimore Comic-con, so there will also only be one strip, on Thursday. You think you’re suffering? I’m the one who has to sell this stuff!
August 15th, 2011 at 6:25 am
Fresh Brown today!!! GO CHUCK! GO SNOOP!! GO POPS!!!
August 15th, 2011 at 6:26 am
@punx.. of crap.. I just saw your note. Guess JY is a little backed up..
August 15th, 2011 at 1:10 pm
@punx — could this be a Bill Mauldin character then? I thought we’d seen Willie and Joe in some earlier page.
Back soon; captcha is ordering me to “gether xchalowt.”
August 15th, 2011 at 1:35 pm
Strip #147 in fact — Willie & Joe are Syndicate grunts assigned to “Community Outreach,” and blissfully uninvolved in the current carnage.
August 15th, 2011 at 2:17 pm
Leonard Price from the Evil Ernie series?
August 15th, 2011 at 3:24 pm
Naaaah, Jason is only using characters who appeared in newspaper comic strips. The only comic book or cartoon characters he’s used are those who first appeared in strips, as far as I can see. Wish I could figure it out. I agree that priceless has got to be a clue, but just can’t get it!
August 15th, 2011 at 4:18 pm
The helmet mirrors Susie Derkin’s hairstyle and the grenade resembles a snowball. The first Sunday strip in which Susie appeared was 5 Jan 1986–Calvin hits her with a snowball, she grits her teeth in anger and exacts revenge with a surprising feat of strength. Complete Calvin archives are at gocomics. http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1986/01/05
Calvin’s mother has a similar hairstyle.
August 15th, 2011 at 6:25 pm
Well, if we’re going to go obscure, maybe it’s Boob McNutt? He was often charged with protecting priceless antiques, which he often destroyed… Maybe that’s why he wants Cal to ‘look priceless’?
I still tend to lean towards B.D.
August 15th, 2011 at 6:34 pm
C.B.:
“Rules for tertiary characters:
1: If you have the bad guy dead to rights… don’t alert him that you have him dead to rights.”
As Chuck himself proved, silently having the drop on CAL is no guarantee either.
August 16th, 2011 at 11:12 am
Damnit Comic Monkey!!! DRAW FOR US!!!
Heh… Enjoy Baltimore and as the captcha demands in the ancient language of Nasdat, Get yeself lotsa sellys during the horrorshow.
August 17th, 2011 at 9:25 am
So should I try back next week then?
August 17th, 2011 at 10:54 am
JY, only way we’d “hate” you is if you died before finishing the strip. Then, yes, we would hate you for all eternity and would rejoice in your well-deserved banishment to the fiery pits. You wouldn’t want that, would you?
August 17th, 2011 at 12:19 pm
I like the Derkins idea. I like it a lot.
still: “priceless”?
August 17th, 2011 at 5:07 pm
Service of gunman: Free (volunteer)
Assault Rifle with UB Grenade Launcher: $1200 (scavenged)
Worth of combat training required to use weapon effectively: $8000 (donated)
Sight of your enemy’s face once he’s realized he has a high-explosive anti-tank round headed right for him: PRICELESS
August 17th, 2011 at 7:44 pm
Well, after getting over the disappointment of no new comic on my birthday today, well not entirely over the disappointment, actually rather into it at the moment. Which reminds me of a story of when I was young and full of piss and vinegar, which was sold as a health tonic back in those days… (rambling on for hours) … anyway back to the subject at hand. I think I have finally solved the mystery of our unknown avenger here. Because somewhere, sometime I know this popular TV show had to be ‘featured’ in some comic or another, and this shows primary and central personality would have most certainly placed an appearance is the story line of said hosting comic. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Bob Barker!
August 18th, 2011 at 12:06 am
BUZZZZZZZ! Oh, so sorry, Baughbe, that answer was incorrect
Don Pardo, please let him know what lovely parting gifts we have for him….oh, nothing? Ah, well, thanks for playing!
August 18th, 2011 at 12:31 pm
UPDATE please please pleeeeeeease !! anyway I still have the feelling that we are gonna keep wondering who the heck is that helmet dude.
October 18th, 2011 at 7:27 am
This might be this blog’s greatest blog post on the net
December 15th, 2011 at 1:56 pm
What a truly joy of a post!!
December 15th, 2011 at 2:16 pm
Bandar is just saying what his avatar wants him to say.