Continuing live coverage of the front lawn showdown!
on July 25, 2016
at 1:19 pm
Chapter: World News
Characters: Agnes, Alice, Beatrix, Elvis, Lupin, Natasha, Puck, The Golden Mouse, The July Bug, Tommy's Woman, Violet, Wicket
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Just wonderful! I’ll bet Baba even forgives Bea. Is that a cocktail toothpick the girls are using for a coat rack?
IT IS!! Oh, thank you for recognizing it, Anne! And so early into the comments! I had one of those moments last night where I was staring at it too long and thinking, “Oh no… Does it look enough like a cocktail toothpick? Does it really–?”
Hooray! Readers love it when a plan comes together! and what spectacular assists from Beatrix and the July bug!
I hope that the mice throw a wild party to celebrate with everyone.
Pucky in the first panel. And Elvis hiding his eyes… Too precious.
Looking forward to seeing the conclusion. I’very been on cactus spines and needles throughout this adventure!
Elvis is repeating OMC!!! Perfect.
Did… did the July Bug just help save Alice?
Maybe he’s not as completely annoying as we thought. Maybe.
Or maybe he just enjoys chaos.
July Bug is Chaotic Neutral. We will look at other characters’ alignments soon.
Um, I 100% APPROVE THIS MESSAGE. Perfect!! A+ Denny, that is exactly the best way to put it!
Folks out there on the thread, what alignments do you think each of the other characters have?
Lupin is chaotic good. Puck is Lawful Good. Elvis is Neutral Good. That would be my best guess.
I would say Elvis is Anger Good, or perhaps Vicious Good. I’ve had Siamese, and they’re not neutral even when they’re asleep. They’re always one heartbeat away from attack-mode!
Well, mostly all of them have “good” behind their alignment 🙂 I think Bert is definitely lawful good. He reminds me of a Sean Connery type character 🙂 I agree that Lupin is chaotic good. Puck and Elvis lawful good. Tommy is soooo lawful good there should be a special category just for him. I love them all and just glad that the strip is better than any good, it’s the best 🙂 My favorite part was Elvis saying, “OMC,OMC,OMC,OMC.” Lol..Loved,loved, loved this strip… 🙂
I could see the Robber Mice being True Neutral.
Ha ha ha. As I was reading the strip, I envisioned a future plotline, wherein July Bug is back to July bugging the boys at their place, in exactly the way he has been the last two Julys. Dialogue something like this:
Puck, Lupin, Elvis: You helped us before, July Bug! We thought you were on OUR side now!
July Bug: YOUR side!?! I’m on the side of MAYHEM! Mwaaa-ha-ha!
I had to DuckDuckGo chaotic neutral, and from there character alignments (see discussion below). I’ve never been a gamer, so I was completely unfamiliar with those terms. Though as it turns out, I had the concepts–and July Bug’s motivations–pretty much figured out.
Also, has Wicket’s species been established? I’m too lazy to go back and read through all the comments. He screeches, but Screech-Owls are mottled gray or mottled rust colored, with feather tufts (“ears”). Plus they’re way too tiny to be any kind of threat to a kitten like Bea. My guess was Barn Owl, because that jives with his appearance, and Barn Owls do engage in unearthly screeching. The kind that would scare the &$%# out of you if you happened to be walking by a decrepit barn at night.
Derp, that should be “See discussion above.” Comment didn’t end up where I thought it would.
It doesn’t get any better! June/July bug, tommy’s woman, and a not quite happy ending–yet! Can’t wait for the aftermath! You’re a genius, Georgia!
Thank you!!! I was texting Tommy’s Woman yesterday, “I hope you don’t mind… I gave you falconry skills in the comic!” Ha! She is so wonderful, calm, and caring with animals in real life and here in the comic, she felt like the right person the People would all call in to deal with a screeching owl. (There will be a little more on that on Thursday).
Was the June (July) bug caught in the bug zapper?
Never fear, Jenna! That’s just a net! The July Bug lives on!
Sorry, I meant the lamp that Beatrix opened up. Was the July Bug in that lamp and she freed him or was he attracted by the extra light?
Oh! Sorry! He was attracted by the extra light when the top came off and the light flooded the lawn.
Thanks!
Oh Brilliant ending. Perfectly paced!
I was telling my fiancee that Tillie probably changed the calendar because somehow the ‘July’ bug was gonna save ’em all! I love being right.
OMC!! There is so much to love that I couldn’t help by comment before my usual 3+ readings. Beatrix zooming, the July bug, Elvis nearly apoplectic, the Robber Mice Girls reunited – I can’t wait until Thursday: It’s gonna be awesome!!
Sorry – I meant Lupin apoplectic. WAY too excited over here.
Honestly, I don’t know how you do it. This is utterly wonderful!
OMC
Oh My Cat Oh My Cat Oh My Cat . . .
Yay, July has saved the day 🙂 the late June bug was just in time. I was wondering where he was.
Featuring the triumphant return of JUNE BUG! Everybody’s favorite remote-controlled horrifying hard candy.
It looks like knocking the top off the lamp, besides blinding Wicket, was also The Junebug Signal! Great series, Georgia; funny, exciting, scary, and touching. Absolutely wonderful.
I agree with some other reader’s comments, this strip could be a cool animated cartoon! I vote Chris Pratt to voice Lupin! (I believe Chris is going to be the new Indiana Jones, so it just seems appropriate).
I love Elvis’s OMC OMC OMC the best, but of course it’s ALL terrific – can’t wait for Thursday’s conclusion!
The Cocktail Toothpick, and scarf around Wicket, and Bea streaking to the rescue . . . . AWESOME!
July Bug saves the day!
Love it! Looks like everyone suspecting the July Bug was right! I see Jules as more of a daredevil pest, what with those barnstormer goggles.
Did anyone else hear Ride of the Valkyries playing in the background when the buzzing started?
Jules, oh, I love that! And ‘Ride of the Valkyries’ is perfect, ha!!
“Snoopy and the Red Baron”
I heard the theme from Dambusters, which you’ve probably not heard of you’re not English, or English acquainted. Wonderful work, thank you!
I’m so glad we got to see this all at once! I can’t imagine breaking up this part of the story to run over 4-5 days; the suspense would be nearly unbearable. Great artwork visible through the white cloud! (I see Reuben award nominations in your future!)
Thank you, Fritz!! Believe it or not, originally last Thursday and today’s strip were one strip! –But it was so very long. Too long to finish in time, and I worried it would be too long to sit through in one reading. Breaking it into two pieces was really hard for me, haha! I wanted so much for Puck to call for a climber and it all just roll out at once, but I like the way it ended up!
OK…
Bea’s bounding across the scene and then her burst of speed is officially the cutest thing I have ever seen in any comic.
With all the action going on and all the players involved; you could not have pieced it together better or paced it more perfectly! (As Paul said)
I can’t wait to see the conclusion!
Just incredible! We can never get enough.
OMC! In his first appearance (7 July 2015), the July Bug knocked over an OWL vase! Well, Elvis helped…
Ms. Georgia, you are amazing.
Brilliant conclusion! I never thought I would be glad to see the July Bug!
Hi Georgia,
I posted this on my Facebook page a few days ago. Glad to see Tommy’s mom save the day and still show some compassion for Wicket. I think this post got you some new fans.
“It occurred to me that my new role model is a cat in comic strip called ” Breaking Cat News “. It’s premise is cats run a news service called CN or Cat News. One of the reporters, Tommy, is a big, old Persian/ Main Coon mix who wears tropical/ Hawaiian shirts and wants to be friends with everyone 😀”
Dr. Joe, this makes me so happy! Thank you for sharing it with me! Tommy seems like a pretty great role model; in the comic and in real life he definitely wants everyone to be happy and welcome and be friends!
The suspense!! I thought the June bug attack was so awesome! Thank you Georgia, you never fail to entertain.
Thank you, Martha!
OMC OMC. I am so glad everyone is OK, even Wicket. I am guessing he and Baba will see each other.
Totally missed the cocktail toothpick. Thought it was the sewing neadles. That’s why I love the comments here.
Can’t wait till Thursday.
How was comic con?
It was so wonderful!! I just posted some photos from it on the Facebook studio page! I had such a great time and everyone was so nice!
WOO HOO! I KNEW THE JULY BUG WOULD SAVE THE DAY! :: celebrating with The Girls :: And I absolutely love B’s floppy oversized paws! BTW, I about fell off my chair when B said “May I take your hat, sir?” Throwback to one of my favorite strips!
I was 99% certain you had guessed it on Thursday, but I didn’t want to spoil it, haha! I said to the Man while I was reading and approving comments, “Oh, Kathryn Z knows it’s the July Bug, for sure!” Haha!! 😀
Which strip is Bea’s line throw back to?
I’d be hard put to pinpoint a date – late 2014 or early 2015 probably – but it’s the one where Elvis is in the Cone of Shame for over-grooming. Lupin has a field day with it and at one point tries to interview a lamp. “Oh, sorry – I mistook you for someone else”, except that you REALLY have to see it because Lupin’s expression is utterly priceless. Is that strip in the book, anyone know?
March 12, 2015. It is under “Local news” on the Past Reports tab. “The People dress Elvis like a lamp.” It is not in the book, which covers the strips from March 12, 2014, to September 25, 2014.
I love the July bug’s beaver teeth smile and Rocket J Squirrel headgear. I love the Golden Mouse’s technicality. I was a little sad that Violet merely puffed the flour and failed to light it, since I was expecting a flour (dust) explosion when she was stealing flour and being described as “our explosions gal.” One of those things that many folks are not aware of and quite impressive when you see a small one made deliberately (rather worse when a big one happens at a plant and bad things happen.)
I will be totally honest on that–when I wrote her as the explosions gal, I thought it would be really cute if their idea of explosions was dropping things like bags of flour/glitter/sugar etc and the mess just going EVERYWHERE. And then when I posted it and readers thought the flour might be used to ignite an explosion, it was a great example of readers outsmarting the cartoonist! I do want to keep the explosions “an adorable misunderstanding” on the part of the mice, but I hope the comments here added to some of the tension in the story!
OMC OMC OMC These just get better and better!
O…M…C! This strip can only get better Georgia
sorry about those four comments it wasn’t letting me post any of them because it thought I had said them all before
That’s okay!! I think a few were filtered out–but mostly, I am just really happy that you wanted me to know enough to keep trying! Thank you, None!!
I hope the SDCC was everything you hoped it would be! Thank you for keeping us enthralled with this witty, fun story line with your incredible art work and great of love for all things. I just hope the entire world will soon delight in your talents as we do. So many heroes in one days strip!
Thank you!! <3
Well, Lupin is mostly Chaotic Good (with moments of Chaotic Evil, as evidenced with his delight in ‘the button that makes the man scream’). I think Puck is probably Neutral Good. Elvis is Lawful Lawful (an alignment my group uses to describe paladins who are SO Lawful that questions of good and evil become secondary to questions of Lawfulness).
I like how Beatrix’s jacket looks like a cape flying in the wind when she is running along the railing! Super Cat!!!
I was hoping that Tilly was going to help out, after she turned the calendar to July! (Maybe she can come back anyway?)
It *is* July! That’s why Puck was looking at the calendar – the June Bug is always late!
I am at work, and want to comment more…so I will later! Just want to say that this was so great! The Golden Mouse’s ashes in the horn! Perfect! She saves that day after all!
YAY! ! ! !
Great job, Georgia.
I LOVE it!
BBBBBRRRRRRRZZZZZZ
HEE HEE HEEE !!
I needed a refresher on the July Bug. So I’m sharing my research results.
http://www.breakingcatnews.com/comic/a-june-bug-got-into-the-house/
http://www.breakingcatnews.com/comic/that-june-bug-is-back/
In the second one, you can clearly see that the June Bug has a Red Baron handlebar mustache, antique goggles, and an aviator scarf. I maintain that he is the personification of the WWI Flying Ace. “Curse you, Red Baron!” — Snoopy
June/July Bug 1st appeared 15 July 2014 in this webpage archive. Is it 7/2015 on Go Comics? In 2015 webpage, the J Bug was cat-smacked into a vase or bottle and removed from the scene after veering toward Baby Girl.
!!!!YES!!!! JULY BUG TO THE RESCUE!
Sorry for the shouting, but in my head, I am screaming and jumping up and down!
:: jumps up and down with Ailsa ::
Don’t generally care for June bugs, or most insects for that matter, but I’m rather fond of that fly-boy. I’ve known a few like that, perhaps he is a true “Knight of the Air.”
Eeee!!
I love how everything has come together! So much going on in today’s strip I am having an overload!! I know I will re-read this one more than normal.
How was Comic Con??
It was wonderful!! I had such a great time! Everyone was so nice, and just enjoying loving comics together. It was a great thing to experience!
OMC. Are Tilly and the Golden Mouse friends?!
I wonder where Wicket will be going now? To a zoo perhaps.
Great to see that nothing too bad happened to Wicket. Maybe Tommy can help Wicket reform himself!
By the way, loved seeing that picture on the Go Comics Instagram of you and Dana Simpso, Mrs. Dunn!
hope the kind woman won’t be taken in by the owls false charm.
gocomics, the book, comic con, so glad everything is happening for you.
so excited that many more people will be enjoying the wonderful BC News.
tossing confetti in the air over your head, just alittle bit so as to not make you sneeze. lol
Oh, I hope not.
Glad I read the comments, I had forgotten about the July bug and just couldn’t figure out what was with the bugs and the removal of the lamp top. Now it all makes sense! I hope ol’ Wicket isn’t put away somewhere. I hope they can all live together in peace. Somehow. Great job again!
So wonderful, yet again! I can’t wait until Thursday!
What a wonderful finish. The July Bug to the rescue just like Mighty Mouse (or Rocket J. Squirrel).
“Here I come to save the day!!”
Glad to see that Wicket will find a safe haven. Maybe even get him to do some ‘dark side’ POV interviews.
I lost track of how many times I looked to see if the new strip was posted! Couldn’t wait! Terrific and so much fun.
I love the balance: in the mouse tapestry, the Golden Mouse is depicted saying “Ha Ha” as Wicket is beaten. Now, July Bug goes “Hee hee hee” as Wicket’s plan is frustrated. I sense a new tapestry in the offing!
Panels 19 and 20 just make me want to sing, “Blinded by the Light”! And that smilin’ July bug just cracks me up. So much humor in all of the tension and suspense. Marvelous!
Hopefully Wicket is too old (or too loud) to be ‘re-released into the wild…
Wow that was exciting! I was really anxious. As I read through it, I’d go back to make sure I didn’t miss anything. I hope we find out what happens to Wicket. He may be mean but I don’t want anything to happen to him. I don’t want this story to end but I don’t want any of them to end.
I proudly had the first post on go comic’s but am late to the party here—-but it’s nice to read all the great posts. What a wind up! The Golden Mouse ashes, the flour drop, July bug and Bea racing to contribute their part in the rescue! Then Tommy’s woman rescuing Wicket (after all he is a little old man–30 years is nothing to sneeze at). And the jubilant mice in the last panel is triumphant! I am looking forward to conclusion on Thursday!
Loved Beatrix’ polite decapitation of the light. Every frame had its own delight. I ordered the book too. I always look forward to the gentle and sympathetic humor, even for the screech owl.
I don’t think it is Katheryn Z. since it doesn’t include the first Christmas special and i think that happened way after that.
Love it Georgia!! I commented on Go Comics, but wanted to ask if Phoebe & Marigold or Millie & Ozy were with Dana Simpson at ComicCon??
In spirit, I am sure! Just as the BCN crew is always with me in spirit! Creators are never really alone, ha!
The July Bug has a better moustache than Wicket.
I am hoping that Wicket goes to a sanctuary where he is cared for by Tommy’s Woman. Just delightful, as usual. I, too, thought that the flour would be used as an incendiary device, but was glad it was just a cloud. Somehow I think an actual explosion, with property or avian damage, would be a bit too harsh for this gentle strip. I think our favorite cartoonist really was more clever than her readers in this sense, at least this reader !
I’m old enough to have been on the Compuserve forums and the group that has formed around the comments has such a good, positive warmth about it, just like the best of the old forums. It’s like a wonderful little catlover’s paradise on the internet! And you made it, Georgia! Thanks!
Another group that was (may still be; I’ll have to look in) similar in feeling: the Usenet forum alt.callahans – based on “Callahan’s Place” from the Spider Robinson books. I know there’s at least one other here who’s spent time there–Dorothy Heydt.
Awesomeness!
On the alignments, Lupin and Beatrix are definitely Chaotic Good, I would say Puck, Baba and Burt are Neutral Good, and Elvis is Lawful Good with the emphasis on Lawful. The robber mice are basically True Neutral with Agnes leaning more to Good and Natasha more to Chaos. Wicket so far is the only genuinely evil character and I would say he’s Neutral Evil.
To me the cat who saved the day is Puck. Any operation requires entry, exit and contingency planning. Puck’s contingency plan ingenious. It worked. I don’t think the mice would have reached cover before Wicket (Wicked) reached them. He was right on top of them. Beatrix provided the speed and courage, and the June (July) bug was as he has always been, a pain. Kudos to Puck.
Snowball is evil, too.
It does indeed. COmplete with blue shiny plastic!
*was reading during a break from work*
I was reading the scene while the theme song from Game of Thrones was playing in my mind. 🙂 Great work Georgia..
………… and breathe
Gasp! I have read, re-read, re-read this again – I didn’t want to miss anything. Each time I read the strip it’s like the first time because I’m anxious for the mice and I keep hoping they make it to safety. Who knew such devilish little creatures would wind up as cute little things that warm ones heart. Well, Georgia knew. Well done Georgia Dunn, you keep out doing yourself.
BTW, why was Tommy’s woman outside at night in that outfit? She looks like a bee keeper.
Georgia posted some scenes on Facebook that didn’t make the final cut that flesh that out a bit.
There’s one of Burt and his people!!
I am posting this here as well.
I cannot join in with the general rejoicing. I know that Wicket was a cad, trifling with a lady’s affections. (But then, quite a few of us have, in our salad days, been somewhat cavalier with the tender feelings of the fair sex. And it has to be admitted that young ladies are sometimes less considerate of the hearts of their gentlemen admirers than they should be.)
But I have to say that I find it outrageous that an elderly gentleman should be so cruelly and humiliatingly treated, and especially at the paws of those larcenous and disrespectful mice who should, by rights, have been his dinner.
No, this was simply wrong.
Well, it’s all a matter of perspective, don’t you think?
After all, by rights, humans should be the dinner of such creatures as grizzly bears, mountain lions, and coyotes. But we would fight back to protect our own. Can one truly expect any less from any other species?
There is an old Japanese saying – loosely translated – “A cornered rat will bite the cat.” …or in this case, the owl.
Maybe, Wicket could have chowed down on a robin instead.
Yes… here in Minneapolis, the Mill City Museum has educated a lot of people about the explosiveness of flour. The Mill City Museum is in the site of the old Washburn Mill, which exploded in 1878.
OH MY GOSH. I KNEW IT WAS THE JULY BUG. I KNEW IT. I KNEW IT THE FIRST TIME WHEN PUCK WAS LOOKING AT THE CALENDER. 😱
Is there any way those of us not on facebook could see the scenes that didn’t make the cut here? Thanks!
I wish there was! I have not figured out a way to add images to comment threads. That’s one reason I began to use FB and Twitter for the extra images, so that I could have a way to share a few extra things without clogging up the site entirely new-yet-unrelated pages/posts.
Put those ‘discarded’ images in an appendix for the BCN book which has this story in. You WILL be doing more books, right??
I hope so!! Fingers crossed it happens, I think it has a lot to do with how the first book sells!
What is BCN’s Facebook address?
The quite awesome and rather touching conclusion is up on GoComics. Having seen it, and knowing that Georgia has a life*, I can see why it’s been a little delayed.
* I must get me one of those.
in the next-to-last panel, we see the mighty and fearsome to cats and mice Wicket is for humans, an elderly and fragile little fellow. that was a very clever switch of perspective, Georgia.
Looking at this again, I love Wicket’s expression when he realizes he’s been caught. Poor guy doesn’t know what’s going to happen to him. Can only imagine what’s going through his mind when Tommy’s Woman offers him water and reassurances. Nice reminder that while Wicket’s certainly a scoundrel, he isn’t a Bad Guy.
I like to paraphrase the Geico commercial:
“When you’re an owl, you hunt mice. It’s what you do.”