Now, before we all start complaining again, I just wanted to point out that each disjointed, non-sequitur panel seems to be originally drawn, without photocopying any elements from one to another.

Isn't that special?

Having given a little credit, would somebody please explain to me what the hell is supposed to be going on? Now the world is about to explode!

I think Danvers is the name of a dog. A big, enormous, shaggy dog.

that once upon a time my cousin left her husband and five kids and ran away with a 19-year-old lobsterman up in Maine. That seems to be as relevant an observation as any that I could make about this.

Hmmm, that's odd. My cousin had five kids and a husband, and she did not runaway with a 19-year old lobsterman from Maine.

And now, these two letters together make more sense than the strip did.

It's all starting to make sense to me, after all these weeks of reading! Finally, it's all falling into place. We've got Danvers, the big lobsters, some short ruler of an imaginary country, and... Oops, just realized I forgot to refill my meds. Sorry, I don't really have anything.

Maybe it's the Charles Burns thing. The characters flash by like deer trapped in the headlights. You have to let T&T tell the story for a few months and see if they're setting us up for something.

... still sucks.

FYI: Besides this weekly (weakly?) strip, I've been following Chris Muir's "Day by Day Cartoon" Nice artwork, especially the babes, but too much of a predictably conservative slant compared to Doonsbury which is more subtle in his politics.

I've been to Danvers, MA. It didn't strike me as a lobstering town, but who knows?

Is this comic strip supposed to be a daily but we're only getting it weekly? Honestly, I'm starting to look forward to Tuesdays just to read the comments.

... get with the program. We ALL enjoy Tuesdays just to read the letters on this strip!

What was this about again? Why is it here? Huh?

how much I hate this strip.

Today's Gripe:

What the hell is up with the font change between the second and third panel?

but I really do love lobster. I'm not going to bother reading the strip since it really is pointless and the letters ARE the fun on Tuesday. So, I'm guessing there was something about Maine and a lobster.

We need to start our own story line in the Tuesday letters.

The letters, I mean, not the (comic?) strip.

Hmm, going from the other letters let's start:

There once was a big shaggy dog name Danvers. He was from Maine and really like chasing lobsters.

Everything that was wrong with the very first installment is wrong with this one, too--the font changes, the disjointedness, the bad drawing, the snobby East Coast references (lobster, this time....yawn). Okay, no photocopying this time, but who cares? The drawings are infantile anyway. They might as well be photocopied as not.

We thought they were learning, listening to us, but they weren't. It was all just a cruel tease. Now the truth comes out...

These guys play rough.

I really do think now that Salon is doing this on purpose. This new strip could not possibly be this bad unless they were deliberately yanking our collective chains. Is anybody with me on this?

Nah, just kidding...still sucks. But this week's installment made me smile--its total non-sequitor-iosity from last week's panel (how/why/when did she get from Qatar to Maine?)--that dumb-ass file/mcguffin.

I am now pretending that the creators are genuinely trying here and now I think it's all kind of sweet and cute. Keep trying guys!! You'll get the hang of it one of these days! And just think, we as the audience all get the special privilege of being a part of their learning and growth. Awesome!

@ Tina

There does seem to be a studied and deliberate awfulness. It bespeaks deliberation and intent. Has it been analyzed for metadata? Perhaps there are clues encoded that communicate something more and the strip itself is merely a sort of coda?

something like:

Cut flesh to large dice and combine with flesh from claws. Wash shells well and drain. Heat butter in a saucepan. Whisk in flour, salt and nutmeg. Heat and stir until bubbly. Whisk in half and half and wine. Add lobster and stir to coat well. Remove from heat. Invert shells onto a broiler pan and fill with lobster mixture. Top with grated cheddar cheese. Place in broiler briefly to melt cheese and brown lightly. Remove to a serving platter. Garnish with wedges and parsley.

Anyone?

Please make it stop. I've had enough.

Thanks,

cmdrfire.

Still sucks. Still want it dead. Losing all interest... YAWN

I like the drawing of the car (I also liked the drawing of the guy lying on the floor unconscious or whatever in the trenchcoat from last week). I like the shading on the faces--gives the otherwise totally flat drawing some nicely done weight and adds detail by giving us a light source.

The blurry photoshop backgrounds are textbook hackwork.

The plot and dialogue are still senseless. Schlessinger still doesn't know how to write episodically, where each strip follows naturally from the one before it, instead leaving us with a bunch of jarring non sequitors.

But C. Danvers?

Am I the only comic nerd in the audience who thought immediately of Marvel Comics longtime feminist hero Carol Danvers?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carol_Danvers

...is that the other fine cartoonists on Salon might start to emulate some of the unorthodox mechanisms used by the KOF cartoonists.

For example, we readers aren't told how KOF got to Maine when she was in another country. Most cartoonists would at least put a little note to say something like "Kansas was happy to get back home and be rid of the journalist disguise," or "Later, back in the USA..." But in this comic it's as if suddenly, without explanation, it's "ok" to just change the subject. On the contrary, it is somewhat insulting to the reader.

For example, it is somewhat well known that both Bill O'Riley and Rush Limbaugh are idiots. There is a light snow outside today. I really must dump out this empty soda can from yesterday. But Hillary, Barack, and Brittany are in the news today.

OK, already--those unrelated items aren't coherent. But at least, I hereby apologize to the Salon readership for communicating my unrelated ideas so poorly.