Westview, where anyone can be a “C.E.O.”
Funky goes along with Harry’s “CEO” premise: either out of camaraderie, or possibly because he senses that “Crazy” finally has at last become so, and is just humoring the mailman until he can slip out the door.
A (real world) CEO might apply “LIFO structures” when downsizing personnel. But if “CEO” Harry’s objective is to raise cash, he’ll get a lot more by parting with his “Silver Age Flash” comics (circa 1956) than he would for DC’s “New 52“, published last year. But hey, logic, am I right?
Son of Stuck Funky 
The fact that Tom “Every Recent Development in Anything is Terrible and Wrong” Batiuk is ridiculing a process that involves favoring establishment over novelty is almost a brain-breaking level of irony.
He actually says “strictures” there. I know, at first I read it at “structures” too. I happen to believe I have a fairly decent vocabulary, but he lost me there.
Strictures: 1. A restriction on a person or activity: “religious strictures on everyday life”. 2. A sternly critical or censorious remark or instruction.
A-ha! Now it makes sense…uh, wait, actually no, it doesn’t. Not at all. Neither would “structure”, though. The CEO bit and the “lifo” gags kind of make sense in a FW sort of way but they’re no less stupid. It’s only a matter of time before some dumb contrivance comes along that enables Harry to keep his comics or, depending on the author’s mood, forces him to sell them in heartrendingly sad fashion. The question now is: how long will it take? I have no doubt that he’s going to milk this CEO/comic geek/obscure words thing for the whole week.
Reaction from someone who has never read Funky Winkerbean before today: What the hell…?
Reaction from someone who has read Funky Winkerbean long enough to know better: What the hell…?
Reaction from comic-book fans, ordinary grandmas, space aliens and animated breakfast food mascots: What the hell…?
Crazy Harry’s comic-selling strategy, and Funky’s acceptance of same, confirms something I’ll long suspect, and which explains much: Westview is America’s version of Chelm.
Um… that should have been “…I’ve long suspected.” I must learn to type. Or proofread. Or something.
Batominc devotes panel 1’s wall of text to a sentence that we humans would never utter. But never mind that! It’s embedded in an inexplicable plot line, so the FWDGLU-¼* must still be in good working order.
*: Funky Winkerbean Despair Generating Laugh Unit
I’ve never given a rat’s dying, rotting ass about comic books. So I don’t get today’s punchline.
Actually, was there a punchline?
Another question: Will this arc please end soon? Please?
Yes, just when I think this storyline can’t get any stupider, it does. Once again, Batiuk has outdone himself. He’s the Lindsay Lohan of comics. He makes Joe Quesada look like Neil Gaiman.
This strip is more like GIGO
Just waiting for Funky to offer Harry a job at Montoni’s. It’s inevitable.
Sorry, mailboy’s flowery speech isn’t believable. Falling victim to LIFO strictures? Really? So is BatYuck going to do a whole week of this “comic books as employees” metaphor? Does he write this crap in his sleep?
Well, if anything, Harry’s LIFO metaphor might finally explain what happened to those two younger kids he once had.
Speaking of “MIA” children….Harry has lost 3 one of which was in Sum-mors class along with Jinx and Rana who graduated also….Wally jr. has been seen less than Kahn.
You moron. LIFO has to with inventory, not employees. But you knew that, right? Right??
TB doing nothing to disprove my theory that the coming New Westview Economy will revolve around the trading of comics and novels for goods and services.
At the very least, this further codifies “every comic book ever is a valuable collectors item” as one of the tier one laws of the Funkyverse… along with death, misery, and it’s called writing.
Nice one, Jeffcoat Wayne!
New 52 (whatever that is; I ain’t no nerd) is lucky. Usually, the first and second round of layoffs come with attractive severance packages, and those employees have an advantage in the job market over those who come after them.
God help me, I’m thinking of applying this week’s FW to my management class. First question from students: “What’s a Funky Winkerbean?” Second question: “What’s a newspaper?”
This is how the arc could end, but I’m not getting my hopes up.
Batuick in his evil lair: “They bitch about Les, I’ll write crap so bad they’ll be BEGGING for me to bring Les back.”
Hey, I didn’t mind when Les was being physically abused by Cayla.
Les abuse is pretty pleasant compared to a senile old man with no friends trying to sell a year-old comic as a substitute for work.
Still, I can’t believe that with all the cancer and widowers and PTSD out and about, Crazy’s only issue is that he lost his job. Is more angst going to be piled on in the coming weeks, or has Batuik gone soft?
Ssssso…he’s attempting to sell the low value, commonplace, non-collectible comics released within the last 14 months, while clinging to the rare, pricey, highly-desired comics that could possibly give him actual MONEY for his trouble.
All this just so Tom could get in an anti-New 52 jibe long, long, LONG after everyone else has.
(And the relaunched Flash is actually pretty good, if you enjoy shiny, positive, brightly-colored super-heroes. Didn’t Crazy sing their praises? Hmmm.)
Haven’t followed the comic book market in quite a while, but he may be inadvertently right. If he has New 52 variant versions (I assume they still do this as a cash grab) he should strike while people actually give a shit. Vintage stuff will hold it’s value, and if DC recovers from the Green lantern debacle and does a Flash movie in a few years, prices could spike.
I give Bats no credit whatsoever for considering this. He’s just throwing out random comic book terms he’s heard on The Big Bang Theory.
The Green Lantern books are DC’s best-selling titles. Consistently. They’ve been outperforming Batman in recent years. Assuming you mean the Ryan Reynolds film, it had no impact on sales at all.
(Films never do, despite much hopeful wishes otherwise)
Err, is this Harry the same white haired 80 year old guy that was featured in Sunday’s strip? `cause I’m having a hard time telling. This Harry looks 30 years younger.
Señor Tortilla: You can actually read that (excellent) illustration two ways. There’s the obvious one, but it also neatly represents pretty much any FW story arc, too. A slight ripple that gradually fades into total, boring inactivity at the end. He could just change the title to “Atrophy Winkerbean” and I doubt anyone would notice.
I still maintain that this whole comic strip business has to be some sort of scam. There’s just no way any sane, competent person would be willing to pay for such bland, empty content. There’s more entertainment value (unless you’re a naturally sarcastic cynic, that is) in watching blank VHS tapes than there is in reading this thing every day. No, there must be some kind of conspiratorial, seedy underbelly at play here, a back story so sick and disturbing its been kept from the public eye for decades. Otherwise, I’m at a loss to explain the whole thing, it’s just too baffling.
Well, movies don’t help current issue sales but they have been known to temporarily spike interest in collectable issues of a character (first appearance or somesuch) ; so Jason has a point there. That may also have been a thing that doesn’t happen anymore.
Yeah, all this just reminds me that i need to clear out recent issues and pare my collections down as well. Alas, every comic reader is a step away from becoming a hoarder…
Back in the 80s and 90s it kind of, sort of happened, but since 2000 or so (when the hit X-Men film failed to translate into a vast untapped audience of new fans) it’s become clear that movie super-hero fans prefer movies.