It’s over? The wedding is over?? You’ve got to be kidding.
Les and Cayla set up dozens of chairs; for whom? We saw, but never got to meet, a couple of Cayla’s presumptive relatives; and didn’t see any relatives of Les’ except Summer. Instead of a heartfelt, moving toast to the happy couple, we got Bull’s backhanded “overpunted his coverage” compliment. Nothing whatsoever to show us what is so special about these two becoming one, aside from the fact they did so on their front lawn. Trust Tom Batiuk: on those rare occasions when you want him to spend more time on a story arc, he drops it like a Scapegoat dropping an end zone pass.
Married for ten years already, Jess and Darin have just moved into their “first real place” (the apartment over Montoni’s). At this rate, who knows, they might even have their own car before the decade’s out. Meanwhile they must depend on Fred and Ann for a ride home, which mean they must endure a “newstalgic” tour of the Fairgoods’ old neighborhood.
Son of Stuck Funky 
Well this is certainly bizarre. I have to assume that BatWrite found the big wedding as boring as we did and just gave up. Not that I’m complaining, but when was the last time a MAJOR ARC died on a Tuesday like this? Why didn’t he wrap it up on Sunday instead of doing that stupid comic book “homage”?
And you can tell it’s not just some careless error because of that falling leaf there in panel two. See, it’s still October! Two things: four people are NOT going to fit safely or comfortably in that off-brand knockoff Chinese car. And if Boy Lisa keeps on smirking like that his face is going to get stuck in that position and Jessica is going to dump him for a non-smirking guy whose (legal & living) parents don’t need to drive him everywhere. Which I’d expect her to do soon enough anyway IF she wasn’t so certifiably dopey.
I don’t understand this. “Would you like to drive by the old apartment where I used to live”? Really, this is considered a thrill? “Would you like to visit the dentist who put in my first filling?”
“Would you like to see the shack where my bicycle was stolen?”
“Would you like to see some old newspapers where Funky Winkerbean was kind of funny?”
I see pros and cons in this strip, actually.
Pros
– The wedding story arc is over – It was a funnyman Bobby Bittman appearance short of being an episode of the Sammy Maudlin show. TB made it as insufferable as possibles and it needed to end as soon as it could.
– Darin spending time with the parents who actually raised him. Given how much time he’s spent in Act III being Summer’s big brother and Les’ stepson, I’m surprised he didn’t change his last name to Crawford-Moore.
Cons
– Gil Thorp has centered story arcs on more interesting topics than the Fairgood’s first apartment.
– TB is not going to show us how 4 people fit into a 20 (or 30?) year old Geo Metro sedan. I really want to know this.
They live in a town small enough that they have one high school and one pizza place. Darin and Jessica have lived there all their lives. If they had any interest in seeing the Fairgoods’ first apartment, I’m pretty sure they would have done so by now.
kinda new to this crappy strip , does Les have parents ? never heard anything said about them
Les’s parents died of shame years ago.
I just got the comic because the link is bad. Is that considered a pun? I love the grim smiles on everyone’s face after hearing that “joke.” Just once, instead of everyone smirking at the punch line, it would be nice to see one of the characters become suddenly violent and start pummeling the speaker. “Shut the fuck up already with the stupid puns.”
okay , thanks Rusty
It’s like the author of this strip has never attended a hyoomahn wedding.
Totally sucked.
This is obviously a contrived situation for TomBat to use his newest nonsensical term – one that I can’t even bear to type lest I spew chunks. In any event, there is one apartment in Westview so the Lockhorns old place is bound to be Durwood and Chilly’s new place. HAWHAW, more zany Westview antics, amIright?
More proof – as if we needed it – that Cayla is the least important character in this strip. You’d think marrying her to the most important character would move her up in Batom Inc.’s rankings, but no.
Your optimism is touching, but it’s possible they’re ducking out early before the pig jerky reception. There are some things even retirees and the unemployed won’t eat for free.
I wonde what happened. Did his editor take a look at them and start throwing up? Did Batiuk screw up? Or did he just decide that it was too boring for him?
Anyway, we never did see Ghost Lisa, though Les was tactless enough to talk about his first marriage.
So they are ducking out early….TB has been ducking out of creativity for several years.
“But before we do that, let’s take a gander at this van parked in front of us. Who knows, Darin, it might be the one YOU were conceived in!”
Just for fun, click on the “About this comic” link at the NJ site. Update much, Tom?
Beckoning: Holy Act II flashback, Batman! According to the About page, Lisa’s a cancer survivor, Becky’s a one-armed waitress, and Summer is yet to be born.
This wedding arc reminds me of the joke about the terrible restaurant – the food sucks, and the portions are too small.
Just read the “about page”.
Wow.
Then who is that second from the bottom?
[img]http://v4.comicskingdom.net//images/upload/feature_attribute/p/e/t/pet_i8s6x7.gif[/img]
Summer’s REAL father.
I was griping to my brother about the godawful plotting in Funky Winkerbean… suddenly my mom’s face lights up…
“I remember Funky Winkerbean!”
I don’t know what to tell the poor woman.
FruitBat TOTALLY bailed on the reception (toasts, “special” dances and all), reduced the ceremony to seven words, spent THREE days on the silent processional (including some red herring YELLOW FLASH), and spent about a week setting up chairs. Yeah, that’s… about… right…
Was there more? He had so many opportunities to be sappy and maudlin. It’s not like Tommy Hack to pass these up. Did the editors shitcan about a week’s worth of ceremony and reception? Instead, the entire wedding storyline amounted to, quite truthfully, absolutely nothing. Oh, except the “you may now fistbump your step-sibling” part.
Meanwhile, flexibly-aged Fairgoods are about to stuff four adults into an East German car about the size of a shopping cart. This, I have to see! Can Tombat draw in perspective at all?
Unless Cell Phone Girl is waiting just around the corner to flatten the entire lot of them, I give today’s strip two thumbs down. F-minus, Tomahack.
“And then we’ll drive past the place where your dad, John Darling, was shot! Come on and climb into my three cylinder Eastern Bloc car, it’ll be fun!”
“Fishsticks, you set the choke. I’ll yank on the pull-cord.”
So does that piece of shit Ford Fairgood have a fuckin’ trailer hitch too??
Darin: “Gee, I don’t know, it’s a weekday evening! I had to work all day, then get dressed up, then sit through that dreadful wedding…couldn’t we do it another time?”
Fred: “I’m retired. I’m older than you. My wife Saved the Sports. Therefore, I outrank you.”
Darin: “Wh-WHAT?!?”
Ann: “He’s got a point, dearie.”
Jess: “You aren’t fooling either of them, Darin. We all know you just want to head home in order to watch Lisa’s “So, You Watched Les Get Remarried” VHS Tape.”
Darin: “DAMMIT!”
Oops. T-Bat mis-spelled “neuralgia.”
Batiuk (rhymes with “asshole”).
Holy Act II flashback, Batman! According to the About page, Lisa’s a cancer survivor, Becky’s a one-armed waitress, and Summer is yet to be born.
What’s also amazing about it is how poorly put together it is. There are references to characters who aren’t included. For example, Pete is “Ally”‘s sister, but Ally is not on the list, and since that’s all that’s said about her, no one reading it will get any idea of why that’s important to know. Including it, however, gives that impression, which is called….
Bad Writing.
Oops, Ally is Pete’s sister! Now I’m doing it!
I really need to proofread if I’m going to swap tabs while composing these damn things.