New for 12/5 -- Guaranteed*

Yes, I'm far enough along to guarantee* the new episode, "Test Results Anxiety" for Monday, 12/5. Once again in this episode I've done nothing interesting with layout because I was too crowded for space. (Those of you who've been taking notes realize this is ironic because part of the point of this whole thing is to experiment with panel layout by not being pressed for space.)

Another flaw with this episode is that most--perhaps all--of my readers will not really "get" the primary punchline. It helps to know that in the original Star Trek series, Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy had a recurring line that went "Dammit, Jim, I'm a doctor, not a ______." The blank would be filled in by some derogatory summary/interpretation of whatever Bones was being asked to do. For example, when he was asked to deal with an alien with a silicone-based anatomy: "Dammit, Jim, I'm a doctor, not a bricklayer!"

So knowing that might make what Francis says in the final panel a little funnier.

I might find time to post a "finals week special" that interrupts continuity. Next semester we'll get the gang started actually taking classes, and someday I may steal a page from The Order of the Stick and do a Q&A session. So if you have questions about the strip, the characters, or whatever, fling them at me.

*or your money back.