Comments on: Smart Gerbils: January 22-27, 2001

By: Jim Kuemmerle (jazzsammich)

Jim Kuemmerle (jazzsammich) — Wed, 08 Jul 2015 18:41:10 +0000

What I want to know is which gerbil in panel one is our Kucinich-lovin’ gerbil of choice. My guesses are (a) the one leaping to the right, because Helen’s glaring that direction, or (b) the one sitting on the counter, because the white space in its body makes it stand out more than the others.

By: Metal Fatigue (metalfatigue)

Metal Fatigue (metalfatigue) — Wed, 08 Jul 2015 18:41:09 +0000

Artie’s incredible bungee-tail is a little strange, yes, but I think it’s doing double duty here as a motion line.

By: D. Connolly (theogrin)

D. Connolly (theogrin) — Wed, 08 Jul 2015 18:41:08 +0000

This is also the first time it’s obvious that mad scientists can tell their creations apart – or even those creations of others they’ve warped. Dave’s ability to do so later on is one of the least obvious teasers I’ve seen, and I love it.

By: Leon Arnott (l)

Leon Arnott (l) — Wed, 08 Jul 2015 18:41:07 +0000

Saturday's Comic: Today marks the first implicit case of a maternal relationship between Helen and her perversions of nature. Of course, extrapolating from this episode alone tends to cast Helen as a rodentophile equivalent of the ubiquitous crazy old cat lady. The first panel does not help with this matter.

Fun fact: In panel two, Artie's tail is three times the length of his body. We can attribute this to either cartoon physics or cartoon biology.

By: John Lindsay (l_aine)

John Lindsay (l_aine) — Wed, 08 Jul 2015 18:41:06 +0000

Oh, absolutely. Always keep the packaging. I was completely flabbergasted when I first realized that Shaenon hand drew the gerbils on the package.

By: Metal Fatigue (metalfatigue)

Metal Fatigue (metalfatigue) — Wed, 08 Jul 2015 18:41:05 +0000

DvD is correct. There is some serious gerbil plumber’s crack in (Friday’s) panel 3.

By: Leon Arnott (l)

Leon Arnott (l) — Wed, 08 Jul 2015 18:41:04 +0000

Friday’s Comic: “Main prism chamber” – another instance of the humble crystal helping our nation’s hardworking mad scientists bring the world domination industry into the new millenium?

By: Chris Reed (animeraider)

Chris Reed (animeraider) — Wed, 08 Jul 2015 18:41:03 +0000

I saved the gerbils from things I’ve ordered. It is my feverent hope they will be worth a lot of money some day. ^_^

By: James Rice (jhrice)

James Rice (jhrice) — Wed, 08 Jul 2015 18:41:02 +0000

So what is the science of drawing gerbils? Do you start with the head, or the body, or the tail? How many would you guess you've drawn?

By: Mad Scientist (madscientist)

Mad Scientist (madscientist) — Wed, 08 Jul 2015 18:41:01 +0000

I still have my no-prize around somewhere. ^_^