Comic Strip / Crabgrass

Kevin and Miles

Crabgrass is a comic strip by Tauhid Bondia, first published on April 05, 2019.

The comic is set in an ambiguous time period before cellphones, the internet and so-called “helicopter parenting”, and focusses on the close friendship of two 9-year-old boys named Kevin and Miles, who live in the town of Crabgrass Drive.

Originally published on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, the author has since gradually expanded publication to all days of the week. As of June 27, 2022, the comic appears in newspapers, and the first book was released on September 27, 2022.

Also has a Spin-Off comic on Patreon set during Kevin and Miles' teenage years.

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Crabgrass provides examples of:

• 360-Degree Swing Set Swing: Kevin here attempts to make the famous 360 swing. As it looks more and more likely he will make it, he tries to get other kids to watch him, but then he falls off the swing, slams into the bar, and lands flat on his face.
• Afraid of Needles: Kevin runs away from a doctor trying to give him a shot.
• All for Nothing: In the story arc where Kevin gets lice, he worries because Kyle tells him that they’ll have to shave his head to get rid of them, so Miles ends up secretly shaving his own head so Kevin won’t be alone, only to find out later that Kyle lied about the whole thing and Kevin gets to keep his hair.
• Alliterative Family: Kevin, his siblings, and his dad all have names that start with a K. His mom is the only exception.
• Anachronism Stew: The comic is set in the 1980’s, but multiple comics mention Kevin and Miles collecting Pikamon cards, a parody of Pokémon, which originated in the 1990’s. This was later fixed when the comic moved away from being set in a specific era.
• Analogy Backfire: Happens when Miles, who is currently mad at Kevin for getting him in trouble with the Principal, tells Carla to tell Kevin he doesn't speak "Rat". Carla promptly points out that real rats speak through pheromones and ultrasonic sounds, catching Miles off guard since he's not used to someone knowing more than him.
• Anger Born of Worry: Miles' mom, after Kevin and Miles got lost in the woods. Miles is quite confused at how his mom simultaneously scolds and punishes him, but also declares how much she loves him.
• April Fools' Plot: For April Fool's Day 2020, Kevin and Miles decide to dress up as each other as part of a prank. Kevin's mom is just in time to stop Kevin from going Blackface.
• Art Evolution: The drawing style of the comic has changed multiple times over the years. Most notably, Kevin and Krystal originally had red hair instead of orange, Miles had a different hair style, and both boys had rather pointy ears. As of late 2020, the palms of Miles' and his parents' hands are a lighter shade than the rest of their body. After the comic was picked up by newspapers, Tauhid remade several of his earlier comics in the new drawing style. From this point on, Kevin is also drawn with more pronounced buck teeth. As of May 29, 2023, Tauhid shifted to yet another new drawing style.See here◊ for an overview.
• Bad Hair Day: Miles suffers one, after he tries to comb his hair himself rather than let his mom do it for him.
• Bad Liar: Miles, who tends to get very nervous and starts shouting when he has to lie.
• Bait-and-Switch Sentiment: at the end of an arc in which Miles got grounded, ran away and hid at Kevin's house, and his parents eventually find him there, he is afraid he will be send to Military School now. His mother assures him they would never send him away, which his father confirms...because military school is way too expensive.
• Bedsheet Ladder: Miles uses one of these made out of his clothes to escape from his room after being grounded. His parents wonder why he would resort to this as his room is on the ground floor.
• Bland-Name Product:
  • Miles' mom buys him "Sky Gordons" after he ruins his old sneakers.
  • During the arc where Miles thinks his father has magical powers, he searches the library for books on magic and finds a Mazes and Magic handbook.
• Blood Brothers: One of the first arcs from April 2019 involved Kevin and Miles becoming this. The fact that they’ve become blood brothers is brought up several times afterwards in the series.
• Big Brother Bully: Kevin’s older brother Kyle
• Brilliant, but Lazy: Kevin is implied to be this during the Gotta Pass the Class story arc of January - March 2023. His mom even points out how Kevin is not dumb, but just wastes too much energy looking for shortcuts.
• The Bully: Maxine Bruce, a girl at Kevin and Miles' school.
• Bully Turned Buddy: Subverted. Krystal, Kevin and Miles after they got into a fight with Maxine and subsequently all of them called to the principal's office, learn that Maxine's main reason for being a bully is that nobody wants to be friends with her. They offer they can be her friends. She promptly turns them down.
• Bullying a Dragon: Miles once intentionally insulted Kyle as part of a dare. It ends about as well as can be expected.
• Ceiling Cling: Done by Janine during a game of laser tag to get the drop on the teens she's playing against.
• The Chain of Harm: After Janine tells Kyle to go do something, which makes him mad, he pushes Kevin over. Angered, Kevin takes out his frustration on Krystal by ruining her tea party, which angers HER enough to kick over Kody's blocks, which angers Kody into pushing over Crumbs. Unlike his older siblings however, he immediately feels sorry for what he did and gives the toy a hug.
• Characterization Marches On: Tauhid originally intended for Kevin to be the source of most jokes, with Miles acting as his Straight Man. Over time however, Miles developed several quirks of his own (like his Comical Overreacting mentioned below) which could likewise be used to set up a joke.
  • Miles initially is named "Curtis" and is called such for a while until a comic where Kevin asks him what his middle name is. Miles reveals that Curtis IS his middle name and Miles is his first name. At this point, Kevin states he's going to just call him Miles now, which Miles has no issue with (as he had picked up a mean "Curtis" based nickname at school), and in all future comics he is referred to as Miles.
• Comical Overreacting: Miles is prone to this, like when he tried to jump out a window after finding out he was wearing his shirt inside out and backwards, or when he believed himself to be in trouble with the principal for drawing a tattoo on Kevin.
• Continuity Reboot: A mild one; on June 27, 2022, when the comic began to appear in newspapers, it started with a remake of the first comic to introduce the characters to new readers unfamiliar with the online publication.
• Covered in Mud: Kevin after his quicksand prank (see Quicksand Sucks below)
• Crashing Dreams: In an August 2020 comic, Miles reunites with his Love Interest Carla, who admits she wants to tell him something. Then suddenly she starts talking about something called The Ginko Blade tm. Turns out the whole thing was a dream Miles had after falling asleep in front of the TV, which is now playing an infomercial for said item.
• Creepy Mascot Suit: During a October 2021 story arc in which Gene takes Kevin and Miles to the Mega Wrestling Frenzy, after losing track of the boys, he runs into the mascot Frenzy Lafever, which kicks off a subplot where Gene finds a room full of living mascot costumes that try to make him one of them (see Bizarro Episode invoked on the YMMV page for details).
• Delusions of Doghood: Kevin and Miles off-panel in the climax of a December 2019 comic. Miles' dad can be seen commenting on their behaviour.
• Disappeared Dad: Kevin's father, Kurt, was originally a (minor) character in the comic, but Kevin eventually revealed that he moved out of the house. He hasn't been seen since. In a a September 2021 arc he was supposed to take Kevin (and Miles) to a wrestling match, but didn't show, something he also did with Kyle and Krystal for their events.
• Disaster Dominoes: With actual dominoes for good measure; Kevin ends up ruining Miles’ attempt at a record for domino toppling.
• Disproportionate Retribution: Kevin responded to Miles' constant innocent pranks by getting him to eat a sandwich with a firecracker in it, which he would've done if Maxine hadn't taken the sandwich from him. Worst of all, he tried blaming Miles for it.
• Dragged into Drag: Krystal forces Kody to dress up like a princess. Kyle considers it worse than his responsibility to look after Kevin.
• Dream Within a Dream: In a August 2019 story Kevin has one. He goes through two false awakenings before the real one happens.
• Droste Image: Kevin and Miles discuss such an image in a January 2021 comic. The logic of how it could be achieved proves too much for Kevin.
• Dodgeball Is Hell: In a february 2022 comic, during a game of dodgeball, first Miles and Carla get taken out by multiple balls at once, and later, when only Kevin and Maxine are left standing, the gym class floor is filled with unconscious students.
• Doomed New Clothes: Miles gets new shoes (after purposely destroying his old ones), and tries to keep them in mint condition. But then his dad finds out how much the shoes cost, and has Miles work them off. When Miles is done, the shoes are ruined.
• Doom It Yourself: Miles suffers from this when his father offers to make him shoes that glow in the dark, rather than buy some in the store.
• Embarrassing Damp Sheets: Implied in one strip where Kevin states the belief that falling and hitting the ground in a dream means you die in real life. Miles remarks that this is similar to what happens when one dreams of having to go to the bathroom. Kevin agrees... then asks suspiciously how Miles knows what happens in that scenario, to which Miles asks back how Kevin knows... and then the two Sweat Drop and hastily change the subject.
• Exiled to the Couch: With a twist; when Gene tells a coworker he had to sleep on the couch, the guy assumes it's because Gene had an argument with his wife and offers him the number of a florist. However, a flashback panel reveals it was because Kevin and Miles wrecked Gene's bed during a Childish Pillow Fight.
• Eyes Out of Sight: Kyle's hair always hangs in front of his eyes, obscuring them from view.
• Face on a Milk Carton: Discussed when Miles' mother calls the supermarket because she wants to put Miles' photo on a milk carton after he fails to come home, but is told by the store owner that they only sell the milk; they don't print the cartons.
• Fall of the House of Cards: Happens to Miles’ card house, courtesy of Kevin.
• Female Feline, Male Mutt: Kevin firmly believes this to be the case, and tries to get his mom to back him up, until he realizes that Garfield is male.
  Kevin: Can you please explain to Miles that all dogs are boys and cats are girls?
• Fire Alarm Distraction: After Miles is forced by the cool kids to perform the annual 3rd-year prank for them, Carla triggers the fire alarm to create a distraction so she and Kevin can find Miles.
• Four-Fingered Hands: The characters are all drawn in this manner.
• Friendless Background:
  • Kevin didn’t have any friends before Miles moved into the neighborhood. The only one he used to have stopped hanging out with him when his mother believed Kevin’s family to be too poor, and other kids believed Kevin to be too much of a trouble maker to be friends with.
  • Miles himself also doesn't have many friends other than Kevin and Carla, which becomes evident when his mom challenges him to name 3 friends other than Kevin.
• Gone Swimming, Clothes Stolen: Krystal does this to Kevin and Miles after they refuse to let her come swim with them. And since the boys were swimming in their undies, they are now forced to walk home in their underwear because of this, which gets them in trouble with a police officer.
• Good Parents: Miles' parents, while still having some flaws (see The Scrooge below), are overall good people who look after their son. Much more than Kevin's parents.
• G-Rated Drug: Kevin introduces Miles to a drink of his own creation: Purple Fweem, a mix of seven kinds of soda, two cups of sugar and a pack of candy. While Kevin is used to the effects by now, Miles gets high after one sip.
• Green Around the Gills: Miles when he sees the piece of gum that Kevin is chewing on has turned black.
• The Ground Is Lava:
  • In this comic, Miles and Kevin play the "floor is lava" game, and have moved all the furniture around to easier navigate the supposedly lava-covered living room; something Miles's mom is evidently not happy with.
  • In this comic, Miles starts another game, but Kevin, rather than seeking higher ground, instead puts in a Melodrama about how the lava is burning him, which annoys Miles.
• Grounded Forever: When Donna and Gene discuss Miles' current grounding, Gene admits he got grounded once at age 14 and his mom never ungrounded him, so technically he is still grounded.
• Guest Strip: The August 14, 2022 Sunday Strip was drawn not by Tauhid Bondia, but the 12-year-old son of a friend of his, who is an aspiring cartoonist.
• Half-Identical Twins: Downplayed, but Kevin and his twin sister Krystal have identical orange hair, which none of their siblings and parents have.
• Hates Baths: Kevin, though not because he doesn't want to get clean, but because he believes baths to be for babies and prefers showers.
• Held Back in School: Kevin is threatened with this in a January 2023 arc, which leads to him and Miles trying to get Kevins' grades up. The arc quickly escalates however into a Bizarro Episode invoked.
• Help, I'm Stuck!: Miles once managed to get his head stuck between his bed and the wall after rolling over in his sleep.
• Humiliation Conga: Kevin suffers one in an April 2021 story arc, in which his attempt to ride a skateboard first results in him crashing head first into a tree, which in turn causes an apple to fall on his head, followed by a beehive, which then breaks, resulting in the bees chasing after him. And when he dives into the water to escape from the bees, it turns out to be filled with leeches. He is forced to take off his clothes to get rid of them. And then he has a run-in with an Angry Guard Dog (by this point, Kevin's face says it all), who rips off Kevin's underwear, forcing him to run home naked while covering his privates with his hands. Once he gets home, he finds the door locked, so he tries to sneak in through the window, where his mom catches him in the act. And to top it all off, when Kevin takes out his frustration on the skateboard that it all started with, he ends up breaking his leg.
• I Need a Freaking Drink: In one strip, Principal Sanders can be seen with a flask after Kevin and Miles are sent to his office.
• Imaginary Friend: After Miles and Kevin discuss the topic and both claim they never had one, it is revealed Kody has an imaginary friend (who, ironically, can't understand his Baby Talk).
• Innocently Insensitive:
  • Miles and Kevin decide to dress up as each other for April Fools' Day. Miles's mother initially finds this cute and hilarious... then realizes the implications of the very naïve Kevin trying to make himself look like Miles, and rushes to call Kevin's mom so she can stop him before he gets too far painting himself black.
  • After one of the mascots tells Gene they need his help running the generator, he suggests that they take their gloves off, not realizing that they were the mascots' actual hands.
• Invincible Villain: Discussed when Miles attempts to create an arch-nemesis for Captain Squirrel, the superhero he and Kevin came up with, but realizes he made him far too powerful.
• I Want My Mommy!: After getting lost in the woods, Miles and Kevin first try to be brave, but the moment they hear a wolf howling, this trope occurs.
• Jerkass Has a Point: Kyle may be a Big Brother Bully to Kevin, but when he says their dad is going to flake on taking him and Miles to the wrestling match, pointing out how he didn't come through on taking Krystal to the Ice Capades or himself to the baseball game. He ends up being right.
• Kids Shouldn't Watch Horror Films: When Kevin secretely brings a horror movie to his sleepover at Miles, it ends up terrifying the two boys.
• Klatchian Coffee: Played with when Miles drinks some of his dads coffee to "feel more grown up". It's just regular coffee, but since Miles is a kid and not used to the stuff, it still leads to this Trope with Miles getting all shaky, hyper-active, and suffering a Potty Emergency in the end.
• Laser-Guided Karma: Discussed by Miles when Kevin loses his pants after pranking Miles.
  Miles: Karma works fast out here.
• Lice Episode: An august 2022 story arc deals with an outbreak of lice at Kevin and Miles' school, with only Miles being unaffected. Kyle seizes the opportunity to make Kevin believe their mom is going to shave him bald to get rid of the lice. Miles, not wanting Kevin to go through the humiliation alone, shaves himself bald as well, only to learn afterwards it was all a bad joke.
• Limited Wardrobe: See those clothes Kevin and Miles are wearing in the page image? You hardly ever see them wear anything else, with the only exception being their winter clothes.
• Lost Toy Grievance: After Kody takes Kevin's stuffed toy Crumbs, Kevin learns that Crumbs originally belonged to Kyle until their mom gave the toy to Kevin. Kyle is still not over the loss.
• Middle Child Syndrome:
  • Discussed by Kevin when asked how he is going to hide the fact that he broke his arm.
    Kevin: I’m a middle child. If I don’t cause trouble, I’m pretty much invisible.
  • It gets brought up again in a comic where Kevin keeps pretending he has to sneeze just to get some attention:
    Kevin: For a middle child, ANY attention is good attention.
• New Friend Envy: In a November 2020 story arc, Kevin gets jealous at Miles' girlfriend Carla because he fears Miles prefers her over him (they actually hang out because they where assigned as partners for a class project).
• No, You: When Kevin finds out that Miles used permanent marker to draw his "tattoo", the boys get into a spat that includes use of this trope.
  Kevin: That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard!
  Miles: You're the dumbest thing I've ever heard!
  • Later in the same arc, after trying to hide the tattoo from his teacher by covering himself in chalk, Kevin responds to the teacher's questioning by throwing all her questions and orders right back at her ("Why are you covered in chalk?"; "Explain yourself, right now!"), a strategy Carla identifies as "the rubber-glue defense".
• Oddly Named Sequel 2: Electric Boogaloo: In-Universe example, where Kevin and Miles go to see "Poplock 3: Electric Jubilee".
• Open-Fly Gag: Miles is on the receiving end of this in an April 2020 comic. Kevin wasted no time to mock him for the open fly.
• Our Dragons Are Different: Discussed when Kevin wants Miles to draw a Dragon Tattoo on him, and Miles begins to list the many different kinds of dragons that Kevin could choose from.
• Overcomplicated Menu Order: In the header panel for a March 2021 comic, Miles makes such an order when his mom is preparing burgers. She is clearly not amused by his request, prompting him to remark that that attitudes like this are the reason most restaurants go under in the first year.
• Passing Notes in Class: Kevin and Miles are caught doing this, but when the teacher threatens to read the note out loud, it turns out to be written in code. She sends them to the principal, where Miles, who does not want to miss out on pizza day, reveals the code can be cracked by simply shifting each letter 1 position to the left.
• Pass the Popcorn: Miles pulls out some popcorn when he and Carla are about to watch a battle between superpowered students. Carla lampshades the trope when she asks Miles where he got this popcorn from.
• Paste Eater: Miles and Kevin discuss a kid in their class who keeps eating paste, and wonder why he keeps doing this despite it getting him into trouble. Kevin offers to try some, much to Miles' frustration.
• Period Piece: The comic was originally explicitely set in The '80s. The exact time period was later made more ambiguous, but it is still somewhere before the age of cellphones and the internet, so at the very least pre-2000.
• Permastubble: Gene always has a five o'clock shadow.
• Pet the Dog: Kyle has moments where he's kind to Kevin.
• Pick a Card: In a July 2021 arc, Miles' dad Gene impresses the boys with a card trick, but when he refuses to reveal how it's done, the boys try to figure it out for themselves, leading to a story arc in which they come to believe Gene is an actual wizard.
• Picked Last: Discussed, when during a game of tag, Miles, upon being tagged, gleefully accepts being "it", stating he now gets to decide who will be next. Kevin theorizes it's because Miles got picked last for kickball.
• Piggy Bank: Miles breaks a piggy bank, only to find out he has saved just enough to buy a new Piggy Bank.
• Pint-Sized Kid: Kevin and Miles are 9 years old, but barely half the size of the adults.
• Playing a Tree: Miles mentions he got cast as a tree after auditioning for the role of a Native American in the school's Thanksgiving play, but he kept criticizing the part.
• Playing Sick: Miles pretends to be sick to get out of a history quiz at school, complete with using the lamp next to his bed to warm the thermometer. His mom sees through the lie right away, but goes along with it so she herself has an excuse to stay home with Miles and not have to go to several appointments with her husband.
• Please Put Some Clothes On: Miles' reaction when Kevin hugs him while not wearing a shirt.
• Plot-Mandated Friendship Failure: Kevin and Miles have their arguments occasionally, most prominently during Kevin's Precocious Crush on Miles' mom, and when Kevin got Miles in trouble with the principal for drawing a tattoo on Kevin.
• Polar Opposite Twins: Krystal and Kevin. Kevin actually wondered once if it was possible for twins to be switched at birth.
• Potty Emergency: Kevin suffers from one when his brother won’t let him into the bathroom. He ends up peeing in a chamber plant, which his parents then blame the dog for.
• Prank Call: One comic, Miles prank calls someone using the running refrigerator joke. However, he then proceeds to tell the victim his real name and is about to give the phone number, forcing Kevin snatch the phone from Miles hand and hang up. Miles excuses himself with that he is bad at prank calls.
• Precocious Crush: In a July 2020 story arc, Kevin develops a crush on Miles' mother. It goes so far that he even serenades her with a radio. Later, it is revealed that Miles used to have a crush on his 2nd grade teacher, but forgot about it. While Kevin seemingly gets over his crush at the end of the arc, it is occasionally brought up again for a quick joke.
• Puppy Love: Miles and Carla. Though Miles denies it at first, there is no doubt about his true feelings for her.
• Putting the Pee in Pool: Done by Kevin while he and Miles are relaxing in a tiny, inflatable pool.
• Quicksand Sucks: Subverted; after getting lost in the woods, Kevin gets stuck in quicksand. For a moment it seems he will drown as he sinks to his chin, but then he reveals he was just pulling a prank. It wasn't quicksand but mud.
• Rage Quit: Kevin after losing a game of Monopoland. It explains why the game is in such a poor shape.
• Resentful Guardian: Hinted darkly at by Miles' mom in this Sunday strip— and both parents may be alluding to an Awful Wedded Life.
• Scandalgate: Apparently, something named Candygate once happened between Miles and Kevin.
• Scenery Porn: This strip.
• The Scrooge: Miles' parents. His dad in particular, since he makes Miles and Kevin do chores for even the slightest amount of money.
• Secret Handshake: A January 2020 comic revolves around Kevin and Miles finally mastering one, only to realize they have no other friends to share it with.
• Sitting on the Roof: Kevin and Miles do this occasionally.
• Smart People Wear Glasses: Kevin actively tries to invoke this trope when he is about to take a science quiz he absolutely must ace, by bringing Kyle's old glasses to school in an attempt to get smarter. Despites Miles' warning that it doesn't work that way, Kevin proceeds with his plan, and when he gets an A+ on the test, it only increases his believe that the glasses make him smart. He also starts acting more like a stereotypical smart person, like resorting to Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness in his conversations.
• Smelly Feet Gag: Kyle's extremely smelly socks cause Krystal, Kyle himself and their mother to turn Green Around the Gills and pass out, and kicks off a story arc where Miles and Kevin try to get rid of the dangerous sock. Kevin also recalls a Noodle Incident where one of Kyle's smelly socks set off the smoke alarm.
• Smoking Is Cool: An October 2019 story arc revolves around Kevin and Miles trying out smoking for this reason.
• Splash Panel: The comic occasionally uses this style, with both regular and Sunday strips that consists of just 1 big panel, or 1 panel that takes up most of the space.
• Splitting Pants: Kevin spends his entire recess chilling against a tree. The final panel however reveals he did this in an (unsuccessful) attempt to keep anybody from finding out he ripped his pants.
• Staring Contest: Kevin and Miles engage in one in a sunday comic. Kevin actually practices in a mirror beforehand, and when Miles proves too hard to beat, he resorts to an Eye Poke to win.
• Still Believes in Santa: Miles, as proven when he suggests Kevin should ask Santa for a Ninento 16 after Kevin's mom refused. Kevin treats it as a joke first, but soon realizes Miles honestly means it. It kicks off a storyline in which Kevin and Miles discuss the existence of Santa, with Miles claiming that he still believes because as long as he does, Santa will keep bringing him presents. Kevin is eventually convinced, and even gets his mom to bring him and Miles to the mall to visit the local Mall Santa. After this, he tries his best to get on the nice list; he combs his hair, changes his attitude, and eventually writes a letter to Santa. Meanwhile, Gene hopes that Miles will finally stop believing so he can get the credit for getting Miles all those gifts. Eventually, Kevin's mom buys him the game, and Kevin thus believes in Santa again, but since Miles didn't show his letter to Santa to his parents, he doesn't get the game and now believes himself to be on the naughty list. Kevin, not wanting to play the game by himself, give up his own Nintento 16 so he and Miles can have fun. An epilogue to the arc then reveals that Santa is real and, like Miles theorized, defends the world against ancient snow demon hordes.
• Stuffed into a Trashcan: Maxine once did this to Kevin.
• Sudden Name Change: Miles was originally named Curtis. It was dropped after a few months, and given an in-universe explanation that Curtis is his middle name, which he tried to go by since moving to Crabgrass Drive, but eventually grew bored of.^note The actual reason is that Curtis was a placeholder name the author used until he could find a better one.
• Sunday Strip: Although the comic was initially not published on a Sunday, it has been featuring these kind of strips since the beginning, with on average every 7th comic being done Sunday Strip style. They're twice the size of a normal comic, and contain a standalone gag unrelated to the current story arc. As of November 14, 2021, they are actually published on a Sunday to boot. Between February 15 and November 28, 2021, they also featured a special header panel, but this was discontinued from December 06, 2021 onwards since Tauhid wanted to conform to the newspaper layout, with a special Sunday panel that’s used for all Sundays and published on the left of the strip.
• Take That!: A Halloween 2020 comic is a big one towards the Scooby-Doo franchise; Kevin and Miles discuss the cartoon "Scrubby Dub and the Mystery Crew", and take apart the standard formula of the monster always turning out to be a guy in a costume.
• Tell Him I'm Not Speaking to Him:
  • When Miles and Kevin have an argument due to Kevin's Precocious Crush on Miles' mom, they try to use Krystal as a go between. She is not interested however, and so the boys try it with Kody.
  • It happens again when Miles is mad at Kevin for telling the principal he was the one who drew a tattoo on Kevin^note Kevin didn't intentionally rat Miles out; he was tricked into revealing Miles as the artist, so he uses Carla as a go between.
• Thanksgiving Episode:
  • After her own attempts at a thanksgiving diner go horribly wrong, Janine and her kids spend the holiday at the Wallace house.
  • In a November 2022 story arc, after Gene insults Donna when he claims it can't be that hard to make a Thanksgiving meal, Janine advices Donna to let Gene try it himself. Gene ropes in Miles, Kevin and Kyle to help him, while Janine, Donna and Krystal enjoy a ladies day. The ladies have the time of their lives as they do thinks like laser tag and steal a mail delivery van. At home, as the guys prepare the meal, Kyle of all people shows some surprising Hidden Depths when his first dish is remarkably good, and he claims it's because he secretly likes the cooking shows his mom watches. Gene immediately puts Kyle in charge of preparing the entire Thanksgiving meal. Sadly, as it turns out, just liking a cooking show does not automatically make you a good cook and Kyle messes up most of the dinner. However, when Janine and Donna try to salvage dinner and taste the turkey, it turns out to be better than theirs. Not wanting the guys to know about this, they discreetly throw the Turkey away and swear to keep this a secret.
• Time Skip: The Spin-Off comic on Patreon page depicts Miles, Kevin, and Carla as teenagers.
• Totem Pole Trench:
  • Played with here; we don't actually get to see Kevin and Miles use this trope, but it is obvious they where planning to considering the things Kevin asks from his mom.
  • Used straight during the Wrestling story arc when Kevin and Miles have to find Miles' dad without letting anyone notice Kevin got his arms stuck in a championship belt. Miles ends up being the bottom half of the totem pole, and Kevin claims it's his own fault since he didn't call dibs. The first person they run into falls for it since he's wearing glasses, thinks Miles and Kevin are a wrestler, and pushes them into the locker room. A wrestler they encounter in there, however, sees through the disguise right away.
• Treasure Hunt Episode: A September 2020 story arc revolves around Kevin setting up one of these so he and Miles can finally have an adventure. Miles reluctantly goes along with Kevin's fantasy. It ends with them running into a coyote, and getting lost in the woods, and Kevin getting stuck in what seems to be quicksand.
• Twin Telepathy: After Miles wonders if Kevin and Krystal have this, Kevin proves they do by silently insulting Krystal, and seeing her react to his words.
• Ungrateful Bastard: Miles' mom buys him new shoes after he destroyed the ones he originally had, and the first thing he does when seeing them is complain they aren't red.
• Valentine's Day Episode: A February 2021 comic revolves around Miles preparing for Valentines Day. Kevin finds it nonsense, until he hears that it also involves getting candy. It kicks off a story arc about Maxine seemingly falling in love with Kevin, however it turns out she gave him the wrong card.
• Wearing It All Wrong: After spending all his time on preparing for a school test, Miles unintentionally, and without realizing it himself, wears his underwear over his shorts, and only puts on 1 shoe.
• Worth It: Said word for word by Kevin after his brother gives him a wedgie for mimicking him.
• Wrong-Name Outburst: Miles makes the classic mistake where he calls his teacher "mom". He proceeds to hide in the boys' bathroom out of embarrassment.
• You Are Grounded!:
  • Happens several times to Kevin due to his trouble making and/or his wisecracking. His character bio on GoComics even describes him as Perpetually Grounded.
  • Miles is not immune to this either:
    • He gets grounded himself when Kevin convinces him to try a cigarette, and his dad ends up smelling it on him. And again after his and Kevin's misadventure in the woods.
    • He suffers from it again because his dad didn't like being called out on the fact that the brain is not a muscle. Kevin's reaction sums up the absurdity of the situation:
      Kevin: You got grounded for being right?
    • An interesting twist happens when, after Miles is grounded again, his parents realize they too are basically grounded since they have to stay home to make sure Miles sticks to his punishment. This ruins Gene's plans to go play golf.
      Gene: I spend more time grounded as a parent than I did as a kid.
    • And again after he is caught drawing on his desk at school. The news that his friend got grounded causes Kevin's face to literally fall off.
    • In an March-April 2023 story arc, after Miles and Kevin break Gene's new tv, Miles is grounded for 2 weeks. During this time, he begins to imagine that he is in prison, compelete with an imaginary cell mate, and later he decides to escape the room using a Bedsheet Ladder.
• Younger Than They Look: Kyle is just 13, but he's already as tall as the adult characters and looks at least 16. As such, several readers where caught off guard by the reveal of his age.
• Youthful Freckles: Kevin has three of these on both cheeks.