Hans Birthday Surprise

[Rooster Cruiser]

Man, you have so many one-liners in this strip I don't even know where to start!  How long have you two been working on this?

"So this is what a liquor bottle must feel like."     I would NEVER have thought of that!   

"You could have just taken my glasses off."  Now ain't that the truth?  Something that someone without vision problems wouldn't even consider?

"You got me a giant gift basket with a guy standing in it?"  Yikes!     I sure hope Hans isn't homophobic at this point!  Too bad his coke bottle glasses are unable to take in the gasbag up over his head...   

"You forget the best part:  Its really quiet and peaceful up there."  So true!  Hans may be convinced to try it based on that statement alone!   

Now all we need to see is whether the balloon can actually lift Hans into the air...   

This one is destined to be a classic!  Hats off to the Strasser boys on this one!   

RC

[Jupiter]

i've got to admit, most of the statements regarding ballooning are right, except for the freezing your but off, and the quietness is also not always the case.
You hear everything going on on the ground, except when the burners are on. The silence is far gone when those things are doing their job Also, freezing your but off isn't something you need to worry about. You need to worry more about not scarring your head...

Also, technically you're right calling the landing a crash, since all balloon landings (at least here in holland) are qualified as crash/emergency landings...

It's still a great experience though, I can recommend it to anyone!

[Oddball]

after you mentioned Tim "The Tool man" Taylor all I can hear in the last panel is "I don't think so Chuck!"

[Mike]

i've got to admit, most of the statements regarding ballooning are right, except for the freezing your but off, and the quietness is also not always the case.
You hear everything going on on the ground, except when the burners are on. The silence is far gone when those things are doing their job Also, freezing your but off isn't something you need to worry about. You need to worry more about not scarring your head...

Also, technically you're right calling the landing a crash, since all balloon landings (at least here in holland) are qualified as crash/emergency landings...

It's still a great experience though, I can recommend it to anyone!

Hey, thanks for the info there! We really don't know that much about ballooning actually. As much as Chuck I guess.....
My aunt and my cousin almost got killed in one, they barely made it over the powerline after losing altitude but expended all their gas so on the other side they "landed" pretty hard....

@Rooster:
Yes,  I really like the first 3 panels! We usually have them to build a joke at the bottom but this time it just wouldn't work out that way. So the punch line kinda looses its punch after what else all went on and we were trying hard to come up with something a little funny. It just finishes the story in this case. Weird, but I am glad you liked it!