Pride.

From 1998. The guy Tad is talking to is Dennis, a black character I'd intended to join the cast - but one, as my cartooning is terrible at this point, I didn't even shade him in so how would you know that, and two, after these appearances he was never seen from again. I wanted to have dozens and dozens of characters, just like Doonsbury, but never strayed much from the original three.

Those are freckles on Tad's face - I thought it might make him look more wholesome or something (I honestly have no idea what I was thinking), and I got emails from people asking if those dots meant that Tad had AIDS. That was 1998 for you, people. I quickly got rid of them.

(That second strip is the origin of the Big City "Witchcraft & Depravity" strip - you should have realized by now that I've only got like ten jokes in me)