This is a bit of an odd duck of a strip, I know. Two characters we barely know (and yet know very, very well), caught up in their own drama. Anybody seen The Big Short? Fantastic movie that makes the housing crisis of 2008 not only easy to comprehend, but fun and funny. It’s filled with incidental characters that only show up for a couple of scenes or less, and yet they feel rich and full of life because you sense they have their own drama, their own concerns, and their own stories that if we just lingered on them a little longer we’d probably enjoy. That’s not easy to do.

Anyway, not saying what’s going on in today’s strip is anywhere near so accomplished, but it is partly inspired but these “cameo” characters (Star Wars does this a lot, too–think the Rancor’s master crying or, shoot, Boba Freakin’ Fett). Of course, there’s something greater going on than just lingering longer with cameo characters, and that’s where the real fun is.

See you on Wednesday with 255 – Under the Radar!