Lio and the Family Circus 2

Lio creator Mark Tartulli has riffed on the vintage comic the Family Circus (see Lio and the Family Circus). He again uses one of the overused tropes of the strip -- the meandering dotted lines that creator Bill Keane (and his son Jeff, who now draws the panel) use to show the paths of the easily distracted characters.

In the September 9, 2014 strip, Tartulli uses it in combination with another of his own personal tropes -- breaking the fourth wall (see: Lio and the Fourth Wall). (click on image to enlarge)

The Family Circus children meander across Lio's strip and off into the distance, moving beyond the panel border. The main gag is the caution sign and what it means -- but the way Tartulli plays with the Family Circus trope is original and -- for me -- just as entertaining.