History ComicStrip / Dustin

* UglyGuyHotWife: Ed and Helen. He's a balding, overweight, frog-faced 54-year-old dork who by his own admission, the only difference from his college self and nowadays, [[HairTodayGoneTomorrow is that he had hair before]] and was apparently rather thin, while she is still the looker at 45. [[OppositesAttract Their personalities aren't too similar either]].

The strip centers on Dustin Kudlick, a 23-year-old college graduate who moves back in with his parents Edward D. "Ed" Kudlick, Esq. (a 54-year-old lawyer) and Helen (a 45-year-old radio host) and his 17-year-old sister Megan while unsuccessfully attempting to land a stable job. He does even worse when it comes to dating girls. The cast is rounded out by Dustin's best friend Fitch, his mischievous kid neighbor Haydn and the sarcastic employee at the [=TurboTemp=] job agency.

* HappilyMarried: Ed and Helen have been in marital bliss for 24 years, to the point of engaging on some sexual activity, [[ParentalSexualitySquick much to the queasiness of Dustin and Megan]], [[ProperlyParanoid the latter of which thought]] [[PrimalScene she walked in at the worst moment...]] [[BaitAndSwitch when her parents were just]] [[SubvertedTrope having an innocent pillow fight...]] [[DoubleSubverted while waiting for a new mattress]].

* HurricaneOfPuns: One continuity featured this: first a faulty wash that could send the family to the cleaners, and then a situation where Dustin ended up hailing the cab another man already took, an experience described as "Uber embarassing",, with a further couple of puns made about the driver reeking of B.O. and being fond of banjos.
* ImagineSpot: [[http://dustincomics.com/comics/january-7-2018/ In a Sunday installment]], Ed has a dream in which Helen feels satisfied with her ward-robe, Dustin has become a successful screen-writer with a sports car and ''two'' mansions and Megan has been admitted by [[IvyLeagueForEveryone numerous colleges, all with full scholarships]]. And once he tells his dream at breakfast, the family is visibly shocked.

** One continuity had Dustin wanting to become a street artist like ''Mary Poppins''[='=] Bert. He then proceeded to draw some Hanna-Barbera characters on the driveway.
** Another storyline had Dustin being stuck in a tree while trying to retrieve a ball, besieged by a bulldog resembling ''Tom & Jerry'''s Spike. Haydn then asks him to reach for another thing, which Dustin [[ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}} assumes to be a kite]] ([[BaitAndSwitch it turned out to be a drone]]).
** One strip features characters playing ''Franchise/{{Splatoon}}''.

* UglyGuyHotWife: Ed and Helen. He's a balding, overweight, frog-faced 54-year-old dork who by his own admission, the only difference from his college self and nowadays, [[HairTodayGoneTomorrow is that he had hair before]], while she is still the looker at 45. [[OppositesAttract Their personalities aren't too similar either]].
** The May 11, 2020 strips features their wedding photo: while Ed was leaner and hairier, he was still pretty ugly. Helen on the other hand, looked exactly as she does nowadays, albeit with another hairstyle.

* CoolLoser: Dustin is described as being [[InformedAttractiveness rather good-looking]] in-universe, his "limited" success in dating coming from his living with his parents and not having a steady job... [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and the fact he wears]] ''[[ImpossiblyTackyClothes cargo shorts]]''.

''Dustin'' is a comic strip created in 2010 by Steve Kelley and Jeff Parker[[note]]Both well-known conservative political cartoonists, the latter also was an artist on ''ComicStrip/{{Blondie}}''[[/note]] and distributed by Creator/KingFeaturesSyndicate.

* CrossOver: Dustin was among the guests at [[ComicStrip/{{Blondie}} the Bumsteads' Halloween bash]] [[http://blondie.com/comics/october-25-2015/ in 2015.]]

* HollywoodDateless: Dustin and Megan. This might be "explained" by a family condition, as Ed was this in his younger years (his only other "serious" relationship aside from Helen was ''one date'' with an air stewardess shortly after leaving college).

* OverprotectiveDad: Ed is very much this towards Megan.

* HappilyMarried: Ed and Helen have been in marital bliss for 24 years, to the point of engaging on some "{{this and that}}", [[ParentalSexualitySquick much to the queasiness of Dustin and Megan]], [[ProperlyParanoid the latter of which thought]] [[PrimalScene she walked in at the worst moment...]] [[BaitAndSwitch when her parents were just]] [[SubvertedTrope having an innocent pillow fight...]] [[DoubleSubverted while waiting for a new mattress]].

* MomLooksLikeASister: Mostly averted. While Helen is drawn in the same style as the young women featured in the strip ([[UncannyValley some of which Dustin has attempted to date]]), Megan has a distinct design (see YouthfulFreckles below).

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

* SuperOCD: Ed is often hinted to have this condition. One continuity had him becoming very upset because the neighbors' wind chimes rang at random instead of following a determined pattern.

** One strip features characters playing ''VideoGame/{{Splatoon}}''.

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar:
** The love life of the main character's parents often leads to this kind of situations.
** Those certain issues where Dustin got a [[FanDisservice figure]]... uh, life... uh, no, ''[[{{Malaproper}} nude]]'' [[FanDisservice modeling]] job at an art class, one of them complete with {{Exposition}} by the art class teacher, SceneryCensor, and an I-didn't-sign-up-for-this grin on Dustin's face, and, in the first one about the job, his boss, Simone Fontenot, ''right after announcing the job to him'', complete with Dustin saying, "You ''[[BigWhat what?!]]''", burst out laughing, because she was ''[[NakedPeopleAreFunny imagining him naked.]]''
** One of the jokes in a strip taking place at an airport security checkpoint is of Ed asking, [[DirtyOldMan "Where's the stripper pole?"]].

* PrematurelyBald: Dustin spent a couple of days sporting a hat ''indoors'' for fear of getting bald early because of genetics. This ended up scaring the already-balding Ed, who takes the hat for himself. [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar Then, we discover that Helen has a thing for bald men]].

* HollywoofedDateless: Dustin and Megan. This might be "explained" by a family condition, as Ed was this in his younger years (his only other "serious" relationship aside from Helen was ''one date'' with an air stewardess shortly after leaving college).

* {{Expy}}: Early on, many accused the strip of being a ''ComicStrip/{{Zits}}'' knock-off ([[ArtEvolution especially for the rather similar art-work]]), with Dustin and Ed being seen to be dead ringers for Jeremy and Walt respectively.

* HollywoodDateless: Dustin and Megan. This might be "explained" by a family condition, as Ed was this in his younger years (his only other "serious" relationship aside from Helen was ''one date'' with an air stewardess shortly after leaving college).

* {{Adorkable}}: Ed is incredibly awkward (a character trait partly inherited by Dustin) as well being quite obsessive-compulsive.

* TokenGoodTeammate: Ed is the only one of the Kudlicks that isn't totally self-absorbed. Fitch might qualify as this as well.

The strip centers on Dustin Kudlick, a 23-year-old college graduate who moves back in with his parents Ed (a 54-year-old lawyer) and Helen (a 45-year-old radio host) and his 17-year-old sister Megan while unsuccessfully attempting to land a stable job. He does even worse when it comes to dating girls. The cast is rounded out by Dustin's best friend Fitch, his mischievous kid neighbor Haydn and the sarcastic employee at the [=TurboTemp=] job agency.

* TheScrooge: Ed is often described as being this, especially compared to his wife. It seems to be quite common at his firm, for once he and some colleagues spent at a bar until closing time beecause no one of them wanted to pick up the tab.

** One continuity had Dustin wanting to become a street artist like ''Mary Poppin'''s Bert. He then proceeded to draw some Hanna-Barbera characters on the driveway.

* UglyGuyHotWife: Ed and Helen. He's a balding, overweight, frog-faced 54-year-old dork (who by his own admission, the only difference from his college self and nowadays, [[HairTodayGoneTomorrow is that he had hair before]]), while she is still the looker at 45. [[OppositesAttract Their personalities aren't too similar either]].

* BrattyTeenageDaughter: Megan.

* AgeGapRomance: Ed and Helen have 8-9 years between them, although neither of them see it as an issue [[http://dustincomics.com/comics/february-21-2016/ One Sunday strip]][[note]]Actually a [[RecycledScript remake of a 2013 daily installment]][[/note]] had said age gap ''[[ExaggeratedTrope really]]'' {{exaggerated|trope}} by some fresh waiter at a restaurant who wanted to check Ed's I.D. in case he qualified for a "[[YoungerThanTheyLook senior discount]]", also asking for Helen's I.D. to assure she was ''[[OlderThanTheyLook old enough to drink]]''!

* BasementDweller: Averted. Dustin is a college graduate and considers his stay with his folks as temporary.
** Subverted by the fact [[ADegreeInUseless his degree is in English Literature]], something that does not amuse the woman at [=TurboTemp=].