And That's Elites With A ((())).

It's the Day's Day of Days! Because Haunted Harbor.

Look at the Nazi filth spouting Nazi filth and imagining its not a Nazi.

Ugh.

Soon, They'll Add The Reverse Vampires To The Evil Conspiracy Of Evil.

It's the Day's Day of Days! Because The Tiger Woman.

As we stare at this pile of gibberish masquerading as an explanation, I have to note that this has the sort of desperate feel of those 2007-08 strips where Muir would reaffirm that he still trusted Dubya, yep, yep. Just with an extra layer of cray-cray on top.

"Of Course, Of Course! Now It All Makes Sense! It Was The Archon Sabaoth From The Domain Of Mars!"

It's the Day's Day of Days! Because Captain America.

...

It says something that even when Muir entertains a delusional Gnostic-style reality behind reality that turns strategic idiocy into some greater plan, doubts about Trump creep in. The simple fact is, once you start suspecting you've been had, it's hard to stop suspecting that.

No matter how many crazy theories about the UK you start entertaining.

The Worm Turns.

It's the Day's Day of Days! Because The Masked Marvel.

...

As I have noted, there is no idol Muir and his ilk won't discard if it becomes inconvenient.

The Mystery Business(TM) Era; Part 1, Defining Things.

 I suggested I might write more on the eras of this comic strip, and damn it, I shall do so, hopefully one little article every Saturday. However, I've decided to expand the project some, and go into detail on each era, partially, because, well, there's a lot to write about, and partially to give myself time to review them.

So, let's start with the definition... what exactly is the Mystery Business(tm) Era?

The Mystery Business(tm) Era is the period from the strip's beginning in November of 2002, and ending in 2007, where the four members of the central cast all worked at the same unspecified business. While the cast's jobs were all laid out, what exactly this firm did never was, a long-standing tradition in the sort of workplace comedy that early DbD aspired to be.

Or more precisely insisted it aspired to be. The workplace comedy elements in Mystery Business(tm) Era DbD were always quite weak, and frequently Mystery Business(tm) seemed like little more than a place that the cast talked about politics in, and occasionally were shown working. Further, Muir never really expanded the cast that much during this period, making the setting seem exceedingly thin. It very much contrasts with the Byzantine weirdness of later eras. Though not necessarily in a good way--indeed, I'd argue that early DbD was very much a bad strip, just a different sort of bad strip than the present version. It was both yet another bad Right Wing Attempt at Their Own Doonesbury, and Half-Assed Dilbert Ripoff. And it was the closest Muir would ever get to mainstream success.

All of which makes it stand out, among the Robot Craziness of later years.

Tonight's Episode, "The Writer's Barely Disguised Fetish"...

It's the Day's Day of Days! Because Secret Service in Darkest Africa.

...It's hard not to feel Muir wrote this strip largely because he's had a growing desire to draw a pregnant robot lady. 

Muir Desperately Grapples With Things Being Ungood When He Thought They'd Be Good-Good.

It's the Day's Day of Days! Because Daredevils of the West.

While I'm certain Muir's leaving room to assert that he still believes in Il Puce, really, it's hard not to see this as fairly stark demonstration of his present alienation. He saw Trump 2.0 as a victory, and he's gotten this muddle. Partially because he trusts the worst people, and partially because he's a whiny little fascist who wants the worst things, many of which they couldn't give him if they were actually... well, competent.