So, this is it -- the end of "Percival and the Brain." The next series is "Terra Goes to Hell," followed by "Pages Torn Out of Alexandra's Notebook." All three cover the title character's life from early childhood until the summer of 1983 -- right before their senior year in high school.

Because, by the last couple of drawings of Percival and the Brain, it was already 1983, I checked out my senior year high school yearbook to see what their hair should look like.

All I can say is.... ew.

I knew that 80s had some very unfortunate hair trends, you know, the kind of thing that makes a mohawk look like a reasonable alternative, but I think my memory of the actual time period was influenced too much by pop culture -- that is, I knew what actors and musicians and counterculture types looked like in 1983, and forgot how irredeemably dorky actual middle America teenagers looked. Helmet hair. It's amazing. I had forgotten all about helmet hair.

Also, something extraordinary has happened. I knew it would, based on having laughed my way through my mother's 1964 yearbook, but I wasn't paying attention and so it still came as a surprise: enough time has passed that I can no longer tell, just by looking, who was cool and who wasn't.

You can tell who was a cheerleader, and who was dating a cheerleader, on account of homecoming photos and things like that. And you can guess who was popular based on how frequently they turn up in the incidental shots. And there are a few people who are obviously studs, because they have that look in their eyes, and a few who are obviously nerds, because they have that look in their eyes too. And of course, I remember -- but imperfectly. There are seniors in those pages whose names don't ring even a small, tinkly little bell.

And even the "cute" boys have ridiculous hair.