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Just in case you were wondering, last week’s Farewell strip for Maakies was just another prank by creator Tony Millionaire, and the strip is still going strong. Great news!

Last Thursday, Millionaire posted the above script, provoking cries of anguish on Twitter along the lines of “Why Tony, why?”

Maakies is his long-running comic strip, featured in alternative newspapers but better known now (perhaps) on the web and as the inspiration for Adult Swim’s Drinky Crow Show. With a cast of alcoholic stuffed animals and real animals, an unparalleled pen and ink line, and a darkly humored fatalistic view of life, it’s a bracing yet complex slap of single malt scotch on the comics page. And it has quite a loyal following.

Following the abrupt farewell, messages and DMs to Millionaire were not returned, leading this reporter, at least, to suspect that it was yet another in a long series of pranks that Millionaire has pulled for fun and notoriety. In lesser hands it would be annoying, but since Millionaire is one of the world’s greatest cartoonists, you just have to chalk it up to his being a lovable scamp.

And indeed, on Saturday, the Farewell strip had been headlined “April Fools” and a new message had gone up:

Maakies will never be retired. I’m just keeping everyone on their toes. See how horrible life would be without good comics?


Which is true. So let’s just imagine what a world without Maakies would be like, and having contemplated that bleak, empty existence, let us be glad once more.