The Gay Man at the Spa

See it here.

I think it should go without saying that if you need to reverse the meaning of a common phrase ("We don't look good unless you look good.") in order for a joke to work, then you need to come up with another idea. Sadly, in this case, it needed to be said before the panel was published, but no one had the courage. Or, perhaps, no one had another idea.

But as long as the artist has already done the deed...

I think Burl is being disingenuous or downright unobservant when he says that the problem is the chicken/egg thing. Burl should be more concerned that Deb, Tawny, Dot, and Babs don't have a basic grasp of the English language. Far from being afraid that the employees do not look good, Burl should be worried that Joy might ask for a perm and get a crew cut instead.

But even that pales in comparison with the obvious hygenic problems of the hair-clogged combs. Thank goodness the Spa has a box of Lice Control (or perhaps a Lice Control procedures manual?) on the shelf, because they will need it.

At this point, giving Deb, Tawny, Dot, and Babs unappealing physical attributes was really just gilding the lilly. I mean, when faced with the prospect of getting an unintended crew cut and hair lice from an unsanitary comb, what does it matter that Deb has acne, Tawny has a band-aid on her face, Dot has a 5-o'clock shadow, and Babs...hmmm.

I'm not sure what's supposed to be wrong with Babs to tell you the truth. About all I can say is she looks more like a guy in makeup than a girl. The minor evidence to the contrary is easily dismissed. Babs is a girl's name but we all know how much gay men like Barbara Streisand. And Babs does seem to have a bit of curvature in the chest area, suggesting breasts, but those could just be male breasts.

I think we're left with the obvious conclusion that Babs is a gay man with man breasts. Furthermore, Babs is the only one without a hair-encrusted comb, rather conspicuously. So, I think the subtext to today's panel is: Let the gay man at the spa do your hair.

Marginalia:

• Burl's shirt has no intrinsic joke and its only connection to the strip is the use of the word "egg."
• Shouldn't the large, brightly lit sign be outside the building?
• Check out Deb's fingernails...yikes.