#173: Escape From the Mason Jar
Artie’s still in Zihuatanejo convalescing from his gum graft surgery. Apparently the way it works is, they cut some skin off the roof of your mouth & stitch it to your gums. It doesn’t sound very pleasant. But the other options for where they get the skin are worse (look it up) & it’s better than having your teeth fall out. Artie’s drinking most of his food through a straw, but it’s mostly pina colada anyway, so he’s ok. While they’re down there, Syd decided to take him to the Firefly Sanctuary in Nanacamilpa, which is right up his alley. He’s never really seen fireflies before bc we don’t get them in Seattle. Hard to miss he named the patient after Marv. Artie spent more time with Marv at the end than anyone, so dropping his name in it tells me he’s been thinking about the old days maybe more than he’ll let on. I don’t think his gum graft qualifies as life-threatening, but it must’ve put him in a certain state of mind. That & the Vicodin, maybe. They’re loving that part of Mexico & decided to buy a house on impulse. The pictures on Syd’s FB Page are incredible. Sounds like they’re doing ok for a dental hygenist and a cartoonist. I’m really starting to wonder just what the limit is on his corporate Amex. Just kidding. I think. So Artie sent this in last night & here we go again w the long caption. Ever since Slothrop insisted on the concision variable, Artie’s really been stretching them out. He doesn’t respond well to authority, but he’s also not really the passive aggressive type so I don’t know how to explain it. He’s been hinting at trying a panel that’s all caption and no image, which he says would be “genre-bending” but I told him that’s what Twitter’s for. This one ran lower on the S-MCSS2 than I would’ve thought, but the focus group is mostly in Seattle & they just didn’t get it. The only change the Committee made was to change “luciferin” to “nectar” bc no one knows what luciferin is. The Committee doesn’t usually add a ton of value imho, but I’m with them on this one. Nectar is shorter and sweeter (ha!). Back now to re running the canon. There are a few reversals, so we’re going to have to sort that out. I’ll try to post them over the weekend. -Ed
