Curtis (comic Strip) - Recurring Gags

Recurring Gags

• Barry is almost always listening in on either phone or live conversations between Curtis and Michelle. He then, after saying something offensive about Michelle, runs off to Diane with Curtis chasing him, claiming Curtis is trying to hit him "for no good reason". Curtis would try to warn Diane not to fall for Barry's seemingly innocent whining but, usually Diane falls for it and treats Barry to a heaping bowl of ice cream while she sends Curtis to do some chores around the house. On a couple of occasions, Barry even confesses to having listened to the conversations (asking what does a certain phrase mean, or even offering to repeat what Curtis said). This prompts questions from some over whether Diane properly punishes him for lying and eavesdropping.

• Another recurring theme involves Curtis' favorite comic book superhero Supercaptaincoolman. The strip reads like a comic book in most part where Supercaptaincoolman engages in many types of adventures in his daily struggle to rid the world of his arch nemesis, The Evil Dr. Horsehead. But just as the action is about to heat up, the third to last panel suddenly shows Ms. Nelson shouting, "Mr. Wilkins!!" as she catches Curtis reading his comics while he is supposed to be paying attention in class while he gulps and says "Ms. Nelson!" He immediately tries to get out of the situation by lying. The last panel shows Curtis being sent to the principal's office as punishment for reading comic books in class.

• Once in a while, Curtis and Barry, just before church services begin, will observe ladies coming in wearing elaborate hats on their heads. Curtis will promptly make jokes about each hat they are wearing as they pass by the pew that Curtis and Barry are sitting in, while Barry tries not to laugh too loud. In the last panel, while Curtis is laughing over his ladies' hat jokes, Barry will typically warn Curtis about big trouble coming to him if they ever heard him make insulting jokes about their hats (ironically, in one such strip, there were also two elderly men who mock the women's hats in exactly the same manner as Curtis and Barry do, causing Barry to worry even more as to what they might end up as).

• In another recurring theme, Diane would have a dish made for either dinner or a bake sale at church place on the table in front of Curtis. She turns away for one second only to turn back and find Curtis eating up everything at an amazingly fast rate. The last panel features Curtis sitting in his room after being punished for eating the whole dish Diane made for either everyone at dinner or the church bake sale.

• One recurring theme always involves Curtis and someone else (often his brother) entering some establishment with a name like "The Don King School of Personal Etiquette" or "The Mike Tyson Institute of Good Mannerism", then finding out it's really a music store. Curtis explains that "it's really my favorite record store in disguise" and that "the locals torch the place once they find out its real identity", apparently due to the type of music it sells (usually rap music featuring an artist with a rap sheet).

• The skits often show Curtis (and often Barry for mere association) being disciplined for his various antics by either his mom or dad. However, they never show the actual punishment as it takes place, but the final frame of a strip where discipline is administered will show stars and such showing where the punishment was administered.

• Another recurring theme is the first day of school strip where the reader sees the city in the first panel. Then, the next two panels of the view brings the reader to where Curtis lives. The first three strips warn the reader about something that very disturbing is happening at this time of the morning, whether it is a skirmish or some other type of war. After being warned about what's to come in the third panel, the reader will then be taken to the last panel where the actual event takes place—Diane forcing Curtis to get out of bed to get ready for school while Curtis would rather stay in bed and sleep away.