Once again, sincere condolences to our beloved ringleader TFH and our brother-in-snark sourbelly as well as their respective families on this sad day. You’ll both be in our thoughts, hang in there friends.
Wish I could find something witty about today’s strip, but the source material isn’t cooperating very much. So I’ll just accept it and refrain from trying to wring something clever out of this sad little waste of paper and ink and save the effort for another, happier day.
Then again when given the opportunity to “Happy Dance” with his wife, Crazy Harry can’t seem to keep it up.
All this for an easily available set of re-prints:
$38.10
RightChoiceBooks!
1613772203 Like New Condition, Contains Shopwear To Edges. Ships immediately.
Oh lord… we’re going to get a full week of Harry reacting to the sight of this book? Seriously??
The pacing of this strip seems to get slower all the time. By July, Funky will be a still life.
“Jungle Jim toppers”…artwork reference, menu item or preference in a “M seeking M” online personal ad? I’m still not entire sure what it means but boy, am I sick of it already.
Even Skunkhead knows an old coot doing his “happy dance” over comic strips is creepy.
How long can it take him to clear the store? Harry and the Idiot Twins are the only customers he’s ever had, and the Idiot Twins are probably in school listening to Les being condescending.
“Oh, wait. There’s nobody else in the store BECAUSE NOBODY EXCEPT BATYUCK CARES ABOUT COMIC BOOKS!”
Clear the store? Who would be there? Who goes there? You must be kidding. Other than the little boys he attracts with bait, who’d go there?
Having said that, this comic today is moronic. And why do I get the idea Beardo’s “happy dance” isn’t a dance at all? I don’t think I wanna know what he really means. I also don’t wanna know what Creepo McSkunkhead really means by “clear the store.”
Need a shower after reading today’s dreck.
I’m laying off Batiuk, who is after all only a hapless wight like the rest of us, for today. Just as well, since there’s absolutely nothing worth snarking about in today’s strip.
“I’ve said ‘Jungle Jim Toppers’ so many times, the words have lost all meaning!”
(With a tip of the bully jock balaclava to The Simpsons.)
Another story arc featuring DSH, Crazy, and comics… another day closer to Funky becoming the 21st century’s Barney Google.
Of course, the Barney Google and Snuffy Smith equivilent of this story arc would be a multi-month long feature about Elviney and the Parson circling items in the Montgomery Ward catalog.
I love DSH’s sarcasm in panel 3, like he has customers to clear out.
John: “I’ll clear out the store!!!….!!!!…..!!!!….!!!!”
Harry: “Well, that was dramatic. Um…clear out who? It’s just you, me, and the longboxes stuffed with furry porn, same as always!”
John: “But the knick-knacks, Harry! The knick-knacks! Theses thingamabobs, these gizmos, these doohickeys and dollies! They may look like random crap dotting random spots, but they are actually rare and valuable collector’s items!”
Harry: “Huh. So, couldn’t you sell some of these in order to pay the four years rent you owe Funky?”
John: “Hmmm?”
Harry: “If this junk is so valuable, couldn’t you use it to pay your landlord and stop being a mooch?”
John: “It’s not about GREED, it’s about NEED, Harry.”
Harry: “…uh….”
OK, so is DSH simply employing Crazy Harry so the latter won’t be able to resist the temptation to spend all his money on comics at his store, the same Crazy Harry who ostensibly had to sell all his comics to afford to live? That’s pretty sinister, if you ask me.
Got married – no happy dance. Three kids – no happy dance. Gets a job about eleven seconds after losing post office job – no happy dance. Reprint of sunday strips he could never have actually seen when first printed – happy dance. These people give us socially misfit middle age fanboys a bad name.
Side note: Jungle Jim Toppers! – alas I know what that means – the top line of the strip was different so that papers with space issues would run only the body of the strip and not lose any storyline. Today it’s the banner and there is a throwawy gag or comment in the first pannel that has something to do with the strip but isn’t vital. One of Watterson’s (Calvin and Hobbes) innovations was to break with that format. Trival side note to the side note – Krazy Kat begain as part of another strip running in a small strip on the bottom of the regular daily. I hate my head sometimes.
The real-life sad events of the good folks at SoSF make Funky Winkerbean impossibly irrelevant.
Ever see “The Producers” by Mel Brooks? It’s as if TomBat is TRYING to produce a strip that is as bad as possible, just to keep taking the money. This comic book store stpory arc is “Springtime for Hitler” bad.
I have to agree with Merry Pookster, here, Harry treating this like John found him the flippin’ Holy Grail is nonsensical to the point of being insulting.
Frankly, we live in a day and age where many of the famous comic strips and comic books of the 20th century are being reprinted regularly in the form of afforable hardcover volumes.
They aren’t hard to find, either. Most chain bookstores and online retailers offer them, usually at a subtantial discount.
I’m going to choose to interpret this as confirmation that this is the closest Harry’s gotten to actual pay since beginning his job at this cruddy, failing little dive.
Again, I have to ask: How did Harry become a fan? He wasn’t around for the original run of the strip. The strips were not easily available during his childhood. Is this another TARZAN-style retcon?
I see that the term “DSH” has made it to the NJ.com comments. We should all be so very proud. *sniff*. Ever so much.
I have a book somewhere with a huge collection of old Flash Gordon (or was it Buck Rogers?) Sunday strips from the 30’s and 40’s. Usually about 8 panels, of which 7 were explaining what already happened and one panel with something that moved the story along.
Over the course of a year, this provided enough material to have Flash (or Buck, like I even care) walk across the room approximately twice. And it was STILL more action packed than the never-ending Crazy Harry arc.
Man have you ever seen a character drawn with such fear as you see on Harry’s face in the last panel. “Happy Dance” dance is a euphemism for a depraved sex act isn’t it?
Son of Stuck Funky 
Once again, sincere condolences to our beloved ringleader TFH and our brother-in-snark sourbelly as well as their respective families on this sad day. You’ll both be in our thoughts, hang in there friends.
Wish I could find something witty about today’s strip, but the source material isn’t cooperating very much. So I’ll just accept it and refrain from trying to wring something clever out of this sad little waste of paper and ink and save the effort for another, happier day.
Then again when given the opportunity to “Happy Dance” with his wife, Crazy Harry can’t seem to keep it up.
All this for an easily available set of re-prints:
$38.10
RightChoiceBooks!
1613772203 Like New Condition, Contains Shopwear To Edges. Ships immediately.
Oh lord… we’re going to get a full week of Harry reacting to the sight of this book? Seriously??
The pacing of this strip seems to get slower all the time. By July, Funky will be a still life.
“Jungle Jim toppers”…artwork reference, menu item or preference in a “M seeking M” online personal ad? I’m still not entire sure what it means but boy, am I sick of it already.
Even Skunkhead knows an old coot doing his “happy dance” over comic strips is creepy.
How long can it take him to clear the store? Harry and the Idiot Twins are the only customers he’s ever had, and the Idiot Twins are probably in school listening to Les being condescending.
“Oh, wait. There’s nobody else in the store BECAUSE NOBODY EXCEPT BATYUCK CARES ABOUT COMIC BOOKS!”
Clear the store? Who would be there? Who goes there? You must be kidding. Other than the little boys he attracts with bait, who’d go there?
Having said that, this comic today is moronic. And why do I get the idea Beardo’s “happy dance” isn’t a dance at all? I don’t think I wanna know what he really means. I also don’t wanna know what Creepo McSkunkhead really means by “clear the store.”
Need a shower after reading today’s dreck.
I’m laying off Batiuk, who is after all only a hapless wight like the rest of us, for today. Just as well, since there’s absolutely nothing worth snarking about in today’s strip.
“I’ve said ‘Jungle Jim Toppers’ so many times, the words have lost all meaning!”
(With a tip of the bully jock balaclava to The Simpsons.)
Another story arc featuring DSH, Crazy, and comics… another day closer to Funky becoming the 21st century’s Barney Google.
Of course, the Barney Google and Snuffy Smith equivilent of this story arc would be a multi-month long feature about Elviney and the Parson circling items in the Montgomery Ward catalog.
I love DSH’s sarcasm in panel 3, like he has customers to clear out.
John: “I’ll clear out the store!!!….!!!!…..!!!!….!!!!”
Harry: “Well, that was dramatic. Um…clear out who? It’s just you, me, and the longboxes stuffed with furry porn, same as always!”
John: “But the knick-knacks, Harry! The knick-knacks! Theses thingamabobs, these gizmos, these doohickeys and dollies! They may look like random crap dotting random spots, but they are actually rare and valuable collector’s items!”
Harry: “Huh. So, couldn’t you sell some of these in order to pay the four years rent you owe Funky?”
John: “Hmmm?”
Harry: “If this junk is so valuable, couldn’t you use it to pay your landlord and stop being a mooch?”
John: “It’s not about GREED, it’s about NEED, Harry.”
Harry: “…uh….”
OK, so is DSH simply employing Crazy Harry so the latter won’t be able to resist the temptation to spend all his money on comics at his store, the same Crazy Harry who ostensibly had to sell all his comics to afford to live? That’s pretty sinister, if you ask me.
Got married – no happy dance. Three kids – no happy dance. Gets a job about eleven seconds after losing post office job – no happy dance. Reprint of sunday strips he could never have actually seen when first printed – happy dance. These people give us socially misfit middle age fanboys a bad name.
Side note: Jungle Jim Toppers! – alas I know what that means – the top line of the strip was different so that papers with space issues would run only the body of the strip and not lose any storyline. Today it’s the banner and there is a throwawy gag or comment in the first pannel that has something to do with the strip but isn’t vital. One of Watterson’s (Calvin and Hobbes) innovations was to break with that format. Trival side note to the side note – Krazy Kat begain as part of another strip running in a small strip on the bottom of the regular daily. I hate my head sometimes.
The real-life sad events of the good folks at SoSF make Funky Winkerbean impossibly irrelevant.
Ever see “The Producers” by Mel Brooks? It’s as if TomBat is TRYING to produce a strip that is as bad as possible, just to keep taking the money. This comic book store stpory arc is “Springtime for Hitler” bad.
I have to agree with Merry Pookster, here, Harry treating this like John found him the flippin’ Holy Grail is nonsensical to the point of being insulting.
Frankly, we live in a day and age where many of the famous comic strips and comic books of the 20th century are being reprinted regularly in the form of afforable hardcover volumes.
They aren’t hard to find, either. Most chain bookstores and online retailers offer them, usually at a subtantial discount.
I’m going to choose to interpret this as confirmation that this is the closest Harry’s gotten to actual pay since beginning his job at this cruddy, failing little dive.
Again, I have to ask: How did Harry become a fan? He wasn’t around for the original run of the strip. The strips were not easily available during his childhood. Is this another TARZAN-style retcon?
I see that the term “DSH” has made it to the NJ.com comments. We should all be so very proud. *sniff*. Ever so much.
I have a book somewhere with a huge collection of old Flash Gordon (or was it Buck Rogers?) Sunday strips from the 30’s and 40’s. Usually about 8 panels, of which 7 were explaining what already happened and one panel with something that moved the story along.
Over the course of a year, this provided enough material to have Flash (or Buck, like I even care) walk across the room approximately twice. And it was STILL more action packed than the never-ending Crazy Harry arc.
Man have you ever seen a character drawn with such fear as you see on Harry’s face in the last panel. “Happy Dance” dance is a euphemism for a depraved sex act isn’t it?