A couple weeks ago, TB equated Les’ endless struggle against writers’s block with “war“. Today, a flaming baton gets likened unto deadly explosives.
Remember “Holly Budd”? Westview’s majorette who wore a fixed smile, and her majorette uniform, round the clock. In addition to being positively deadly with a fiery baton, she was the good-natured vehicle for “dumb blonde” jokes, when you still could get away with that kind of thing in the newspaper funnies. Did Holly Budd die in the flaming baton mishap witnessed by Dinkle in panel 2? Because the dumpy, morose housefrau who is Cory’s (step-?)mom resembles her not at all.
Son of Stuck Funky 
LOL title today, TFH! Another example of pre-Lisa Act I satire being crammed into Act III’s “reality” with really stupid results. So Holly understands how “explosives” work because she blew herself up back in high school as part of Dinkle’s insane halftime shows? The hall monitor’s machine gun was just a “prop” but the explosions were real? Um, yeah, sure, whatever.
As far as Cory is concerned, TB could make him a heroic diplomat who brokers world peace single-handedly and it wouldn’t matter: the character is just inherently annoying. If shipping him off to the army was TB’s way of trying to convince his readership that Cory has “changed” and is now worthy of out time, he’s sadly mistaken. As demonstrated by his obnoxious know-it-all dialog today, he’s still a surly little snot-nosed punk and always will be. Batom went out of his way to paint Cory as the “bad seed” of Act III’s WHS kids and in that regard he succeeded, because no one likes him. Have him come home a hero, have him come home limbless or don’t have him come home at all…it doesn’t matter because he’ll still suck regardless.
Every time I see Holly I can’t help think about the person she could’ve been. I see her as a cheerful MILF who’s a soccer mom and is very devoted to her husband and kid(s) almost to a fault. Now that would be a Holly that is more interesting to read about in my opinion than the mushy sad-sack who hardly lifted a finger to raise her son.
Now why would a flaming baton and/or its operator explode? Breast implants filled with hydrogen?
The bizarre, exaggerated comedy of Act 1 doesn’t really mix well with the OMG SERIOUS DRAMA!!! of Act 3, but damned if Batiuk doesn’t keep trying to force them together anyway.
TheDiva, you hit the nail square on the head (and into Les’ head if I had my way). For a guy who loves comic books so much, Batiuk seems to make a lot of amateur mistakes like pushing completely different genres together.
This is akin to putting the wisecracking but self-conscious Rhoda Morgenstern of “The Mary Tyler Moore Shoe” into the tough and gritty world of early 1980’s Los Angeles as seen through “The Lou Grant Show,” aka “Lou Grant.”
Or maybe it isn’t. But I think you get what I am saying.
The dialog itself is pretty awful too. Cory, who just informed his mother that he’ll be defusing bombs in Afghanistan, is all annoyed that she seems concerned about this news. Even Cory can’t be that stupid.
Yeah, Batom really did quite a number on Holly Budd, didn’t he? Stumpy, dumpy and frumpy, that’s the formula. Although I have to say I don’t have any particular ill-will toward her character (yet) like I do with, say, Linda, who’s a hateful, nasty little piece of work or Dinkle’s wife with that whole “affable doormat” personality of hers. But if Holly keeps it up with the wry, weary wisecracks and those dead “I married Funky” eyes of hers that could change quite quickly.
Panel 2 confuses me. I can’t tell when that’s supposed to be. Now? The present? The past? If only Batominc had given us some sort of visual clue!
@Epicus As far as Cory is concerned, TB could make him a heroic diplomat who brokers world peace single-handedly and it wouldn’t matter: the character is just inherently annoying.
You could substitute every cast member of this thing for the fourth word here, and it would fit easily. I bet the local mortuary saves a lot of money by just carving “Just Inherently Annoying” on every headstone.
Now why would a flaming baton and/or its operator explode? Breast implants filled with hydrogen?
“Oh the huge mammaries!”
Everything TB knows about explosions comes from reader-submitted Star Wars jokes he received in the 1980s.
I suppose you could combine grim reality with bizarre and absurd humor – but you’d have to be really really good to do it.
I suppose you could combine grim reality with bizarre and absurd humor – but you’d have to be really really good to do it.
See Trudeau, Garry.
Question… why doesn’t Holly ever run with Funky? Have we ever seen Holly joining her husband on his monthly epic cross-country runs? Just a thought as to how she could remove all her excess bloat. Look at what absolute wonders it’s done for Funky!!!
Just look at that exquisitely rendered expression on Holly’s face in Panel 3; it takes a particular type of genius to flawlessly capture fear, ennui, hopelessness, despair, heartache, disheartenment, discouragement, desperation, distress, anguish, unhappiness; despondency, depression, disconsolateness, melancholy, misery, wretchedness; defeatism, pessimism… this could go on for a while, folks! It IS Funky Winkerbean, after all!