Sunday, March 29, 2026

"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.

Saturday, March 28, 2026

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.

Friday, March 27, 2026

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. 

Thursday, March 26, 2026

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.

Wednesday, March 25, 2026

The Robot Jokes Will Continue Until Morale Improves.

 It's the Day's Day of Days! Because G-Men vs The Black Dragon.

The extent to which Muir thinks of jokes as just mentioning things he liked when he was younger or something the kids are saying now really gets to you sometimes. 

Like a sledgehammer, repeatedly striking your head.

Tuesday, March 24, 2026

Muir Is Astonished To Have A Leopard Eating His Face, Specifically.

It's the Day's Day of Days! Because King of the Mounties.

Won't lie, there's something deeply amusing in watching Muir's constant flipflops on AI, one of the few subjects where he's decided the suits aren't on his side. Especially as it winds up being a good illustration of what a self-centered bastard he can be, as he'll probably be gloating about it crushing those wage slaves again in no time at all.