September 25, 2011: Sunday Showdown!

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Clockwise from the bottom left:

• The sporadic Lockhorns diversity express chugs along as we come across the first Asian character I've seen since I started covering the strip. Since the service appears to be fine (albeit a tad too intimate) and the issue of unreasonably high prices have not yet arisen, the Lockhorns don't have anything of note about the establishment to complain about. Fortunately, the quick thinking Loretta notices and seizes the opportunity to fire back at Leroy for his constant complaints about her cooking. Although to be fair, there may be a distinction to be made between serving under cooked fillet of sole and the traditional preparation of sushi by a trained sushi chef. As faulty (perhaps fishy?) as the comparison may be, Loretta still gets the point.
• Judging by the crude image coming out of their TV, the Lockhorns are lamenting about the antics of The Situation and the rest of the cast of the "Jersey Shore" (or watching some sort of rough knockoff of it). In true Lockhorn fashion, Loretta makes a totally banal observation about reality shows that would have seemed dated 15 years ago. It's not just you Loretta, it's everybody who has ever watched a reality show. Meanwhile Leroy looks like he's suffering from an acute appendicitis. Push. Loretta still leads, 1-0.
• I can't imagine the Lockhorns are in Oslo, Norway looking at an original print of Edvard Munch's "The Scream", so I assume they're at some weird Long Island museum that houses replicas of famous modern art (I think I see a faux Mondrian next to "The Scream"). I enjoyed Leroy's interpretation of the iconic expressionist work. Some see a powerful representation of man's existential angst and anxiety, some the despair of the human condition, or the panic and chaos of conscious thought, but Leroy just sees another miserable bald bastard in a bad marriage. Leroy ties things up 1-1.
• Leroy may be stuck with another costly repair bill after what is most likely due to damage caused by Loretta's latest destructive driving episode, but it doesn't mean he can't take his anger out on the auto mechanic. While Loretta made an obvious dig at the relatively new phenomenon of reality TV shows in the second panel, Leroy manages to out do her in terms of datedness and banality by commenting on an even more tired subject; the high cost of car repair and unscrupulous mechanics. It's another push, day still tied 1-1.
• As she has done like clockwork almost this entire year, Loretta has pulled out another tight Sunday Showdown on the fifth and final panel. This time, it's Leroy's unstoppable dancing feet and insatiable weakness for bimbos that ultimately put him straight into Loretta's crosshairs (or in this case noose). It's interesting to note the conspicuous gulf in period dance styles between Leroy and his Amazon partner. The leggy blonde seems to be working 70s disco moves while Leroy seems to doing some sort of 20s era Charleston. Loretta wins the final point and takes a close Showdown 2-1.

Official Count:

Leroy - 93
Loretta - 105

Push - 70