Ol’ George #55: The Sign Part Two

 Ol’ George #55: The Sign Part Two

Notes on #55: 

1.You may be reading this from outside the MidWestern region of the United States. You may not know the history of Grain Belt and Minneapolis Brewing, which started way back in the late 1800’s. Grain Belt continued being produced in Minneapolis until the early 2000’s when August Schell took over the brand and moved production to its New Ulm facility. Is the Grain Belt that my Dad drank in the ‘70’s (0r 60’s, or ‘50’s..) the same as the beer they produce now? Probably not. We’ll never know. All I know is that he always had a case in the fridge and apparently the Anoka VFW (or was it the American Legion?) ordered it just for him. 

In 1977, my family went on a 3-week tour of the Western half of the United States, visited family in Washington and California and stopping at all the tourists spots along the way. My older brothers encouraged Dad to try the regional beers wherever we went, just to grow their beer can collection, when Grain Belt was not available. He did his best, but gave up eventually and switched to Budweiser because he could count on it tasting the same wherever we went. 

2. The oldest lore in this strip’s history is Chester’s love of The Big Friendly, from the very first strip last year, when most of the strips were 2-tier, 2-panel, drawn on 12x12 paper. It was the real Chester’s beer of choice, at least at Acadia Cafe: Maybe there were bars that didn’t stock it and he had to settling for Hamm’s or PBR.

3. We haven’t since a plop panel since Rasputin in #32, five months ago. I didn’t plan on it originally, was going to make tier three just like one and two. But I need a panel of George thinking, then couldn’t imagine how to fit them both in the last panel with dialogue. Plop-out was the perfect solution. 

4. A guest star enters the scene in this one. Can you tell who it is? An unnamed ladybug from Walt Kelly’s Pogo! I thought I would have gotten to Albert, Porkypine, Pogo himself, or even Walt himself before this little guy (or girl? Can’t be sure it’s not a girl bug, because it’s not wearing a bonnet) , but here we have it. I’ll get to though guys evening, I plan on drawing this forever.