Whew! Long comics this week. Like with many “milestone” comics, today’s strip pays tribute to just a few of the comedic influences I’ve enjoyed throughout life. Wedging Nintendo’s characters into these roles was a lot of fun (and yes, I’m aware of the little things that don’t line up, like Homer and Ned not being brothers and Cartman not usually being the one who says “Kick the baby!”). It originally ended with Adeleine’s Futurama nod, but it took my brother to remind me that there IS already a show with the Kirby cast in it! Just don’t plan on seeing Escargoon show up in future strips. Sorry big guy, but Waddle Dee makes a better footstool for our portly king!

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Now for the bad news–ALSO like with many “milestone” comics, I’m going to take some time off until resuming. Once again, my apartment’s a mess and I smell weird, but more importantly, there are some other matters that need attending to. The most immediate is the upcoming STORE, which Chris will chat about momentarily. The other is that secondary project I’ve hinted at in the past–I’d like to really get rolling on it and a few weeks off from the comic will really help jump-start it (it’s unrelated to BitF).

We will be resuming with comic 251 on Tuesday, June 29. So hey, 3 weeks without BitF. I’d strongly suggest using that time to play Super Mario Galaxy 2 and Trauma Team, or you can just watch this video over and over. Conversely, seeing as how this comic references no less than ten different shows/games, you could always mention the references you got and the ones you didn’t in the ever-present Current Comic Discussion thread.

Don’t forget–the art contest for June is underway, with the winner being showcased in the Fan Works section of the site forever! All artists can check out the details here!

Have a good first month of summer, and see you in a bit. Take it away, Chris!

-Matthew

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The most interesting thing about today’s comic to me is the implication that virtually all of the characters in Homer-Mario’s life are his enemies except for his neighbor (and brother) Luigi-Flanders. Moe, who’s as good as a ghost to most people (and as lonely as one to boot) hovers near Homer’s back pocket (which for many guys contains a wallet), determining just how much he can get away with behind the backs of anyone who trusts him. Bart, with his Lakitu-lackey Milhouse, seems born to be a thorn in Homer’s side. But Flanders, the guy Homer always walks all over and treats like dirt, isn’t an enemy at all: like Luigi to Mario, he’s Homer’s brother, always looking out for his bro’s best interest and happy to be of help. The ball-and-chain symbolism of Burns’ Chain Chomp portrayal needs little elaboration.

And with that, Brawl in the Family is takin’ a few weeks off. We’ll be back on June 29th with comic 251. Don’t worry, though: we won’t just be sitting around doing nothing!

I will be driving across the country to spend the summer with Matthew. One thing on our schedule is to finalize the details of BitF’s online store. You can expect it to be open and taking orders by the end of the month. We also continue work on a top-secret project that we’re very much looking forward to share with you sometime this year (hopefully sooner rather than later). We’ll also cook up weird new comic ideas and probably play some Mario Kart Wii on the weekends: look for us online! (Click here for our friend codes and the times we’ll be playing!)

Thanks for reading, everyone. See you on the 29th!

-Chris