Monday finds us still within the kreepy konfines of the Komix Korner. Owen is worked up over something “that guy on TV last night” said. Dead Skunk Head John is not worked up about anything. Being the owner of a store in Westview affords him plenty of time to sit on his ass and play video games.
Looks like that chullo has become a permanent fixture on Owen’s head, but note that he’s finally ditched his old trademark, his “Have a Day” shirt. Between the hat and the lightning bolt shirt, looks like he might be hitching a ride to Columbus to catch the Furthur show on the 16th…
Son of Stuck Funky 
Owen can actually learn a lot from Skunky John. I mean seriously, “weird comic book shop guy” is about the loftiest goal Owen could ever aspire to, and who better than SHJ to show him how to accomplish every slacker’s dream the right way? SHJ has himself a pretty sweet deal. He sits around his dingy little “shop” all day reading comics, playing games and convincing teenagers to give him their parent’s money while his wife works a real job. His breakfast and lunch is right downstairs. All he has to do for it is endure a few dumb band stories and awful Sousa puns when he gets home, then it’s sweet, sweet one-armed lovin’ and all the turkey sandwiches he can eat. Plenty of folks in that cursed town have it a hell of a lot worse (looking at Cayla).
Now all Owen has to do is find a way to remove one of Mallory’s arms. This shouldn’t be too big of an obstacle in that town. Then, after she gets that pity job at the school, all he has to do is “be there” for her and before you know it HE’LL be the dude with the dingy room over Montoni’s shilling comic books to dope-addled teens!
It’s true, folks: Those warnings about violent video games leading to violent behavior by the players have been around for a long time. But look at Skunk Head – he’s the exact opposite of violent. He’s fat, lazy, passive, chronically depressed, and unwilling to change anything about his pathetic “existence.” There’s your role model, Owen. Chase that dream!
Well it’s true that some people have died by playing video games. They just sit there and starve to death.
Since when has Owen cared about video games? I know I might not follow this strip all the close and I sometimes forget things but I don’t remember him every showing any interest in the past.
My take on this is that DSH is going to to go all lecture on Dopey about getting a life, using his own sad lack thereof as proof.
True, every generation has had their doomsday source.
River City had Trouble with a capital T that stood for P and that stood for Pool.
But at least they got out of the basement and interacted with real people face-to-face.
@EP: Komic Book store is not upstairs from Montoni’s…that’s where creepy Pete lives doing god knows what(?)
@ Merry Pookster: I think Creepy Pete moved out of there and DSH’s Comix shop moved in.
TB will probably spiel that video games don’t cause violence. But, 15 years early, he whined that listening to right-wing talk radio will make some of its listeners want to blow up post offices.
What on earth is he playing? Looks vaguely like some sort of blurry cross-hair featuring blue figures. Sure looks like some violent fun, though!
The guy on television may be on to something, as far as video games influencing youth behavior. After all, Creepy Pete’s generation grew up playing Night Trap. The results of that speak for themselves.
seanman: Whatever it is, it looks like it features Butt-Head, Kenny from South Park, and some of the guys from Def Leppard.
Were missing panel four of this strip…where John bludgeons and strangles Owen to death with his gamepad.
The video game looks like a very old first person shooter game that has zero graphics, which have made some people better shooters and more deadly during school shooting. Not that I’m saying that video games are the cause. This story line is something out of left field. It came out of nowhere and will go nowhere. Next week new will probably back to Les.
I originally thought it was the old TV test pattern in Panel 2.
I knew Pete was renting an upstairs room over Montoni’s, but I thought Comix Corner occupied the rest of that coveted retail space. Perhaps I was mistaken? It does seem hard to believe there’s not any cheap storefront SHJ could rent, this is, after all, Westview; a town where commercial real estate is probably going begging at a nickel a square foot.