The more the week progresses the muddier the comic’s message is. Is the bookstore owner griping about having to compete with big chain stores like Borders? Is he railing against online bookstores like Amazon, or is his ire drawn to eReaders like the Nook and Kindle? It might just be the economy in general, or just the fact that if you Sell Shit No One Wants that no one will buy it and you’ll be forced into bankruptcy.
Oh God, it’s a real place in Medina, Ohio. And to think they say there’s no such thing as bad publicity, though I doubt the owner appreciates looking like a slightly older Charles Whitman.
Son of Stuck Funky 
Well lets just hope the real bookstore is doing better. From the window the book seller almost looks like a younger version of funky.
On the bright side it seems that TB is breaking his pattern of every other week about Les.
On another bright side, today’s my birthday.
ryokomayuka: happy b day, mine too! How much more interesting is that minor coincidence compared to Mr. Booksmith’s sad saga? Infinity squared?
I seem to remember that only a few weeks ago Harry was shopping for his Tarzan books at that seedy comic book shop, not at the Booksmith. So who the hell is he to complain?
I wonder if that store sells Gil Thorp collections like SHEESH!
Hey, CNNMoney named Medina, OH, the 40th most desirable American city to live in! So apparently, unlike its comics counterpart Westview, Medina’s river doesn’t run red with the blood of amputees and suicides and the air isn’t 45% lead, 30% asbestos, and 24.9% sulfuric acid.
But, this is the Westview we’ve been given. So mindless ennui and misery shall prevail. Yayfullness! Oh, and also, yay for crappy puns!
Happy birthday, people.
In other news, TomBat hates the future. Why oh why can’t it still be 1978, when Funky Winkerbean was somewhat funny?
Let me get this straight: Droopy Dawg’s losing his business, and Harry’s spending the week moaning about how this is affecting him? The “bright side” that Les isn’t involved in this week’s strip is more than negated by the fact that Harry’s a bigger dick than Les ever was.
I get the joke but how is it going to be “a jungle out there”? Where does he even mean? In a world where people buy books through big businesses or online or use nooks or kindles? Ooooh, so scary…
Also times change please get over it Batiuk you can’t stop the world from moving forward by moping about it constantly in your comic strip, maybe livejournal is more appropriate for this kind of cheese.
Ryokomayuka, and ED – my birthday is also today! What is it about October 12 and a dislike of FW?
Also, local tip: It’s pronounced Med-eye-na, not as in “Funky Cold Medina.” The more you know!
Crazy only reads comic books anyways
I, too, doubt that Village Booksmith owner Carolyn Van Doren appreciates being portrayed as a slightly older Charles Whitman or a significantly younger Funky…
Freaky Birthday Coincidences! My interest level was infinity squared, indeed. My birthday is next week. Maybe Libras are drawn to the Funkyverse for reasons known only to the cosmos.
# of Employees: 5 to 9
Annual Est. Revenue: $500,000 – 1 Million
Um… maybe I’m easy to please, but that’s not too bad for a small business. Even if the maximum 9 employees shared the minimum profits evenly, that’s around $55,000 an employee. I don’t know anything about the cost of living in Ohio, but as a minimum salary, that doesn’t sound like anyone’s struggling.
Batiuk is just looking for shit to complain about, whether or not it really exists. (Oh, that’s why he calls it writing.)
Just the other day I was talking with the iceman, the blacksmith and the Western Union telegram bicycle delivery guy and we came to this conclusion:
Lots of scribes and calligraphers were put out of business by Gutenberg.
People still use horses; just not as many.
People still use candles; just not as many.
People still use Edison bulbs; just not as many.
People still use landline telephones; just not as many.
People still use fountain pens; just not as many.
People still use the postal service; just not as many.
Old technologies that once dominated don’t vanish; they do lose their dominance. C’est la vie.
I also rather doubt she appreciates that the publicity she may or may not be getting, thanks to TomBat, implies that she is closing her doors. Seems like that’s not the best way to bring in the customers…
Let’s just hope that the real bookstore does better than the one in this strip.
I think it’s great that so many have birthday today. Happy birthday to all.
Ryokomayuka and ED and Flummoxicated — wow, this is amazing. It is my bday, too! Happy Columbus Day!
Happy Smurf-day, people getting older today!
Four birthdays today? Now THAT is strange…
*ties balloons all around and passes out cake!*