To borrow a comment from The Comics Curmudgeon:
Vanya
July 6th, 2012 at 8:15 amFW: On some level I have to admire the incredible condescension of a writer who thinks a one-in-a-lifetime trip to Africa isn’t sufficient to sustain reader interest. Nope, better throw an abandoned kitten in there! Got to keep Granny Margaret reading.
But that's no ordinary kitten! He's able to keep pace with a Land Rover! Step on it, James!
A strip without Les is like a glass of fresh orange juice!
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That's a great comment that pretty much nails it. Unable to find a way to tug at heartstrings with his regular characters, the Pulitzer-nominated writer throws a poor lost kitty into the mix. And a badly-drawn kitty at that. Such a bogus, cornball move.
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Will the cat be a vital component to this arc, or will it go the way of Darin?
Not sure if having the cat be a reincarnation of dead Lisa would make this strip better or worse.
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Based on both the way the kitten is drawn, and its actions in the strip, I can only conclude that TomBat has never met a cat.
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That kitten looks like it's trying to get run over by the Land Rover. Only a few weeks old, and already longing for death. A few days of listening to Les make bad puns will do that to a fresh stepper.
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Why do I get the feeling this cat is actually Le Chat Bleu? That is the scariest thought I could think of.
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The kitten is too small to walk far on its own, needs a carefully prepared diet, and will be a target for every predatory animal within a fifty mile radius. And yet it still won't be as big a load as Les.
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Kept up with the Land Rover? That's no cheetah chip, that's a cheetah.
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Since Les has an empty scrotum, they can tuck the kitty in there to keep it warm during the ascent.
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Jesus Christ, does the guy accompanying them on the trip have dysentery or something? He's looked miserable the whole time–you'd think he'd be amused at the kitten, at the very least. Also–another new guy question here: Pulitzer? Really?
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why does guy have gloves on in second panel & where the f*ck did they come from ??
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wait i see most been when he changed undershirt between panels 2 an 3
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@Jeffcoat Wayne, I'm only sorry that I couldn't give your comment a double like.
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James: "It looks like we're going to have another climber with us. Because it's absolutely impossible to have one of the porters take him back to the camp. And even though it will be a strenuous, demanding trip, far too much for a creature that still needs to nurse and just opened its eyes a couple of weeks ago, it'll still be less trouble than fighting the FORESHADOWING that placed him here."
Summer: "Awwww, how sweet! I'll be sure to knit him some kitty outfits! What size hoodie do you think he wears?"
Dan: "Man, I'm constantly confused!"
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Just a thought, but…do you suppose Tom Batiuk hates people who read his comic? Do you suppose he sees anyone who would read Funky Winkerbean for humor or pleasure as weak-willed, gormless pale flounderers who flap hopelessly in some damp subterranean abyss? While, in the inaccessible corridors just beyond, two idiot flutists pipe ceaselessly through the aeons?
I mean, it would certainly explain a great deal.
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I cannot believe Batom gets paid for this "product". There are hundreds of budding cartoonists on the web who draw interesting and thought provoking strips that are infinitely better than this half-assed attempt at "art" and "writing". They are more deserving of syndication and payment than an old, played-out hack like Tom Batyuck.
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Wait! I think I know what BatYuck did with Black Cayla! He slapped a hat on her and called her James! Well, at least he used her old mustache.
Take the kitty back to camp?? What, are you nuts? They're 20 miles down the road! Meep meep! That kitty sure can motor. And it's called "writing."
What's with the expression on No Gloves-Gloves-No Gloves's face in the last panel? He looks more than a little pissed off about the whole thing. Looks like he's about to teach someone a damn lesson they'll never forget.
Dan is starting to creep me out. Yeah, as if the jacket tied around the waist and the leg warmers weren't enough. Looks like a face traced from the National Sex Offenders Registry. Thinking Real Dan did something to REALLY get Tomboy's panties in a wad! Not flattering. Not flattering at all.
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My theory is that when Batiuk was on his Kilimanjaro trek, he and Dan were introduced and the conversation went something like this:
Dan: So, what do you draw?
TB (already angry that Dan doesn't know): I draw Funky Winkerbean.
Dan: Oh, I didn't know they were still making that.
TB (incensed): It was nominated for a Pulitzer. Say, do you mind if I do a series on this trip, is it okay to draw you?
Dan: Sure, why not. You could put in that part where I saved you from a panther. That was pretty exciting. I'm thinking your comic could use a little excitement?
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I think it's a Pokemon.
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The more I think about it, the more I think the kitten is not Le Chat Bleu. Maybe it's St. Lisa reincarnated. That would explain some things.
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Panel 2 is reprehensible. Let us count the atrocities.
2. Batominc secretes another incident in its War on Limbs: behold the crushed left forearm of poor James.
3. Inexplicably, a chihuahua.
4. Look out! That tire's bulging badly at the top! It could blow at any moment!
5. Also, they're interrupting the snake migration.
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1/4 inch from reality folks. I can't wait for the hilarious strip where the kitten's lungs implode.
@Paul: It's more like Putzer award. Amiright?
Perhaps the tense relationship between Batiuk and Dan would have made for a much more interesting story arc. I'm sure many of us have been on those group trips where a couple of people just do not get along, for whatever reason, yet you still try to make the best of it and enjoy it.
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I'm sure the conversation between TomButt and Real Dan included the phrase "I guess some children were left behind."
And that's not a kitten. It's a red herring.
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