Brian McFadden


Influencers to Avoid

Read the comic on Patreon.

I’m old and don’t regularly use the same social media that the kids do. I only glean bits and pieces that bleed over to the older, nerdier enclaves of Bluesky and Mastodon, or when YouTube’s terrible algorithm tries to push garbage on me while I’m watching old clips of Max Headroom.

The Non-Fungible-Tumbler refers to the current Stanley Cup fad, which I only heard about recently from a million hacky hockey jokes. Apparently grown-ass adults are collecting these things as status symbols like they’re Starter jackets in the ’90s. At least they exist, unlike NFTs.

Read the comic on Patreon.
Read the comic on Daily Kos.
Read the comic on GoComics.


Rejected Courtroom Sketches

Read the comic on Patreon.

Trump’s been pulling a bunch of shenanigans in court that would have any other defendant in jail for contempt of court months ago. No judge wants to be the one to do the very obvious thing and apply consequences to this demented fascist for the first time in his life, because that’ll set a dangerous precedent that all ex-presidents are subject to laws.

With most of Trump’s trials not allowing video, or even cameras, courtroom sketch artists are having a moment. It’s a job that I thought I could do. They’re presumably employed by the court, with wages and benefits, and they don’t even have to do speech bubbles! Stenographers do that. How hard could it be?

Read the comic on Patreon.
Read the comic on Daily Kos.
Read the comic on GoComics.


Boeing’s Blueprints for Success

Read the comic on Patreon.

Almost five years after Boeing’s cost-cutting grounded 737 Maxes, a plugged door failed on one on its way out of Portland. They nearly avoided charges for the first round of negligence, but this latest incident reset the clock.

These disasters, or near-disasters, happen because passengers aren’t Boeing’s or the airlines’ customers. Their shareholders are. It’s the same reason why only masochists fly Southwest. Extracting profit from us rubes to churn out dividends or worsening the product to claim write-offs isn’t unique to aviation; it’s a symptom of late-stage capitalism.

Can’t think of a clever segue to carbon offsets, so I’ll just say they’re a scam. Unless investments in true transit alternatives are made, our reliance on air travel remains bad news for the climate. No one, not even me, a bike-riding transit pinko, would opt to take Amtrak instead of a plane to anywhere further from Boston than DC. And that’s before even taking costs into consideration.

Read the comic on Patreon.
Read the comic on Daily Kos.
Read the comic GoComics.


2024 Congressional Schedule

Read the comic on Patreon.

The new year has begun and so has the countdown to 24/7 election talk. Not here, though. Getting it out early while we’re all shaking off holiday hangovers and/or the latest covid surge.

I won’t keep harping on Mike Johnson and Republicans actively wanting to do a coup, that’s a well-known fact. But Schumer (and Biden) have wasted the past three years on the mixed-messaging of praising bipartisanship and working with Republicans while simultaneously claiming they’re an imminent threat to democracy. Gotta sharpen up the contrasts for the low-information dum-dums who have all our fates in their simple, fickle hands.

Read the comic on Patreon.
Read the comic on Daily Kos.
Read the comic on GoComics.


Republican Primaries’ Cryptid Candidates

Read the comic on Patreon.

Like I wrote last week, I’m only aware of the 2024 also-rans due to my proximity to New Hampshire. They have some real freaks, but you-know-who’s going to be the nominee. More states should follow Colorado and Maine’s lead and kick him off the ballot, but the Supreme Court is packed with coup-lovin’ shitheads, so I’m not hopeful.

Unlike the Republican freak-of-the-week, I could draw cryptids forever. I only saw a moose once, so I count it as a cryptid. If that’s not satisfying, pretend I drew the aliens that “abducted” Betty and Barney Hill for New Hampshire instead.

Read the comic on Patreon.
Read the comic on Daily Kos.
Read the comic on GoComics.


Incredible Global News 2023

Read the comic on Patreon.

The year’s winding down and everyone’s getting ready for their annual Spreading-of-COVID celebrations. I don’t do year-end round-ups because I don’t want to remember any of that. These are just some recent news items and gags to illustrate before I do some last-minute shopping.

Since New Hampshire mooches off Boston’s media market, I’m already being bombarded with ads for the 2024 Republican primary (I watch sports, if you’re wondering how I get exposed to ads.) so it’s effectively already next year for me. It’s going to suck on the macro level, but I hope your personal new year is a decent one!

Read the comic on Patreon.
Read the comic on Daily Kos.
Read the comic on GoComics.


Panera’s Extreme Menu

Read the comic on Patreon.

Until they killed (allegedly) a couple people with their ultra-caffeinated lemonade, I had no idea Panera was in the extreme food business usually associated with Doritos, Mountain Dew, or that Paqui One Chip Challenge that also killed some folks. I just associated it with a place to mooch wifi while on roadtrips and indulge in a 1000 calorie sandwich if there’s absolutely nothing else in that strip mall.

This lemonade’s no joke either. It has way more caffeine than your usual energy drink, or even the pills you can find at a truck stop. There’s apparently enough of a fandom for these “charged” drinks, that’s there’s a subscription “Sip Club” for it.

I know I’m not the target demo for this. I’m middle-aged, have one (1) coffee in the morning, water all day, and a few beers on the weekend if I feel like enjoying an overpriced beverage that’s not good for me.

As for weight loss drugs like Ozempic, they are certainly having a moment. Maybe it’ll stick around like Botox, or go the way of the one drug that claimed to make your eyelashes longer. Oh, that’s still around too. Guess I didn’t know because they don’t advertise during hockey games.

Read the comic on Patreon.
Read the comic on Daily Kos.
Read the comic on GoComics.


Holiday Recipes

Read the comic on Patreon.

The holidays snuck up on me, and judging by the Halloween decorations that were up in my neighborhood until this week, the same happened to a lot of people. We finally got our tree up and I’m sure it will be providing living room cheer through most of January.

I can’t say I’ve tested any of these recipes except for Grandma’s Edibles. And now that every formerly vacant storefront in Massachusetts is a dispensary that’s oversaturated the market with affordable edibles, I don’t think I will ever again.

Mike Johnson’s still Speaker and doing evil things quietly enough to avoid much mainstream media scrutiny. The guy’s a coup true believer and Democrats better come up with a better nickname than “MAGA Mike” before it’s too late.

Read the comic on Patreon.
Read the comic on Daily Kos.
Read the comic on GoComics.