[[Someone in a dress shows a piece of paper to someone very near her in a suit and a tall top hat.]]
Someone in a Dress: …and *this* is my great-great-uncle Barnabas. *He* owned a *sawmill*.
Someone in a Suit: Mmm

[[Close-up of the photograph: a portrait of someone older-looking in a top hat. A hand is holding the photograph.]]

[[The same arrangement as in the first panel]]
Someone in a Suit: *Fascinating*. He looks just like every *other* person I’ve never met. You could be showing me a picture of the dude who invented *chewable thalidomide*. I would have no idea.

[[The one in a suit is joined by another, one with a beard. The one in the dress is gone.]]
Someone in a Suit: I would characterize my chances for a second date as “slim”.

{{header: looks just like WONDERMARK.COM}}
{{alt-text: When I challenged her to correctly identify her great-great-grandmother from a stack of family photos I jumbled together with stills I had printed out from a Dust Bowl documentary and brought with me, I finally realized that this wasn’t actually about her, it was about me}}

#908; The Relative Stranger transcribed by in

[[Someone in a dress shows a piece of paper to someone very near her in a suit and a tall top hat.]]
Someone in a Dress: ...and *this* is my great-great-uncle Barnabas. *He* owned a *sawmill*.
Someone in a Suit: Mmm

[[Close-up of the photograph: a portrait of someone older-looking in a top hat. A hand is holding the photograph.]]

[[The same arrangement as in the first panel]]
Someone in a Suit: *Fascinating*. He looks just like every *other* person I've never met. You could be showing me a picture of the dude who invented *chewable thalidomide*. I would have no idea.

[[The one in a suit is joined by another, one with a beard. The one in the dress is gone.]]
Someone in a Suit: I would characterize my chances for a second date as "slim".

When I challenged her to correctly identify her great-great-grandmother from a stack of family photos I jumbled together with stills I had printed out from a Dust Bowl documentary and brought with me, I finally realized that this wasn't actually about her, it was about me

#908; The Relative Stranger

— January 29th, 2013

[ Tags: domestic bliss, extended relations ] Permalink: https://wondermark.com/c/908/

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Applications open for Genius Northwest – an IRL gaming competition

May 8, 2026 by David Malki !

Last year, I participated in Genius Northwest, a gaming competition inspired by the Korean gameshow The Genius and its ilk.

It’s a reality show without the cameras — a 3-day, all-inclusive weekend retreat structured around a series of challenges and puzzles, in which personalities and dealmaking matter as much as playing games.

It’s truly a remarkable thing. I came in dead last in the competition, but I still had a great time participating.

The event is held annually in the Pacific Northwest (hence the name) and applications are now open to participate in the 2026 competition!

Learn more — and apply — at GeniusNW.com.

Comic Transcripts

#908; The Relative Stranger

— January 29th, 2013

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