Today’s strip is special in that “stripped down” kind of way. Lately, I’ve been posing my characters with one standing and talking while the other sits on the couch. I just recently noticed I was doing this in the last three strips and thought we could use a change. I guess you could call it my “Lay-Z-Boy” period.

Anyway, whenever the art tends to suffer, I at least try to compensate by coming up with a good idea. Or at least a lot of words in an attempt to confuse you.

Today’s strip is directed at all the morons who complain about all the “May/December” match-ups movie producers assemble in their romantic comedies/dramas/dramadies.

The most recent complaint I can recall is when they stuck Richard Gere and Winona Ryder together for Autumn in New York. But Winona dies at the end, so I don’t know what they were complaining about.

Either way, these older man/younger woman parings are nothing new in Hollywood. As I illustrated in a most clever fashion today, it’s been going on since at least the 1940’s. Does that make it right? Probably not. In fact, I’m one-hundred percent sure that it’s pretty much a shameful anti-woman policy because what it ends up doing is sending the message that you are no longer romantically bankable past the age of 40. We need someone younger to fill your role. It’s pretty disgusting if you ask me.

But, if anything, the movie industry thrives on one thing – repetition. What worked once in the past must surely work again two, three or a thousand times if we limit the options of the movie-going public. Most producers wouldn’t know an original idea if it made lunch reservations with them at Spago.

:: switching gears ::

I was hoping to hold this strip off until this Friday because my good friend Nick was going to have a review of A Guy Thing that I could tie in with it. But as it turns out, this was the only idea I had at the time, so I ran with it.

Speaking of Nick, you may have noticed he is co-starring in todays strip. He’s appeared in a maybe two other strips and I thought it was a damn shame I was using the red-headed kid who worked at the theater instead of an actual real life friend. So anyway, I threw Nick into the mix to throw down some awesome science.

I figured it was appropriate Nick come barreling in with some heavy facts because the kid is sharper than a tack. If you want the proof, you should probably read the essay he wrote for us regarding independent theaters. It’s a howl.

Read on, true believer!