bad wolf
December 11, 2013 at 8:23 am
…Believe me, the [comics] industry has had a long conversation about these man-cave stores with geek-babble spouting salesmen freezing out potential customers by putting up a wall of ‘secret passwords’ and inner-sanctum speak. So yes, if TB is trying to show us what’s wrong with comic stores today, he’s doing a bang-up job.
It had been going so well, too, with John patiently explaining the nuances of comic book grading. That is, until Holly asked a perfectly reasonable question, earning not just John’s disdain but also garnering dirty looks from freaks Alex and Owen
Son of Stuck Funky 
Look. John, you shouldn’t be getting snarky about your comic superiority since it’s been Day 5 and I still haven’t seen one in your so-called Comic Book Shop.
Also, what the hell? Are Alex and Owen playing Leaf Puncher on the television there? I’ve seen the floorspace of Montoni’s and this shop and you don’t have enough room to be putting that kind of geegaw. You’re barely half the size of the defunct Waldenbooks, bro’.
For this joke to work, we must swallow that Holly not only has no idea whether her son collected comics for reading pleasure or was a speculator cashing in on future value, but wants to complete his collection nonetheless, apparently for NO REASONS HAVING TO DO WITH HIM AT ALL or her own desires.
In fact, this joke has revealed the entire arc is such a load of cockadoodie that to call it a pathetic sham would be an insult to pathetic shams!
You should feel deeply ashamed, Tom. Your “love” for comics once again reveals itself as just more self-loathing masturbatory pandering to nobody but yourself.
Other situations in which the reply “You probably shouldn’t be asking questions like that” would be appropriate:
~If this is a comics store, why are the only two customers in the store playing video games? Not even an arcade cabinet, but some console that’s just been set up in one corner of the room?
~When will DSH get around to actually answering Holly’s request?
~What kind of moron thinks slabbed comics are the kind of thing you would be interested in sending to a combat zone?
~How long can Batiuk drag this out, really?
@TheDiva
How long can Batiuk drag this out, really?
What’s most baffling about Batiuk’s pacing is that when he inevitably decides to stop beating a dead horse, he always does it at the weirdest or most arbitrary point possible. Just from a couple of months ago, see: Jarod, Metamucil, Frankie’s Reality TV Show, Writer’s Block Arc #13, etc.
Given his track record, I wouldn’t be surprised if he just drops this arc Saturday and then shifts to Christmas Band Turkeys. With a comic tribute cover on Sunday. Because the only time comics tributes are inappropriate are during actual arcs about comic books.
This one was clearly “written” with being taped to the sides of comic book store cash registers in mind. Doing these comic geek strips is just payback for the comic book store guy in mid-central Ohio who helps TB unload some of that old FW stuff Mrs. B keeps threatening to “pitch”. That’s my theory and I’m sticking to it.
Look, it’s snowing again in Westview. Hope they cleaned all the leaves up first, or it’s gonna be quite a mess. I love that drawing of the Montoni’s Building too, it really gives you a sense of the massiveness and old-world craftsmanship of the structure.
John, if Cory was trying to save those comics for future investment I’d say he already failed miserably considering they were left unprotected under his bed for years (and his mother’s been going through them).
And yes, we’ve seen days now of jargon. Remember a two or three weeks ago around Thanksgiving where it showed Skyler and his new family all together in a heartwarming moment? Remember when I said that it proved that Batiuk could actually write decent comics? Well this sort of occurrence is exactly why I’m so disgusted now. When you see someone who could make something worth reading actually making something like this.
Funky Watch: Ongoing stupidity continuing through Saturday at the earliest, but at least not as overtly offensive as the last two days of Judge Parker.
Later, Holly calls up a comic shop down south to ask about “slabbed” comics and accidentally buys a 1992 Oldsmobile 98 with Ben-Hur wheels.
My guess is that Tom Batiuk’s aim with this arc is to persuade people to enjoy and appreciate comic books, but his characters are so boring, off-putting, and condescending that anyone unfamiliar with comics is now going to stay far away from them. Sorry for the Batiukian sentence-structure there.
—Sorry for the Batiukian sentence-structure there.—
Stockholm Syndrome kicking in, BC?
Had I not discovered Son of Stuck Funky, and become a regular commentator here, as well as an occasional guest host on occasion, N, then, in the main, the observation that you, Westview Oncologist, made about the comment that I left previously on this particular strip, which can be seen on this page, would not be truly close to accurate, but since I have regularly visited here, your comment then takes on the gravitas of experience and thus, in the context of total accuracy becomes nearly close to OW my brain just blew a fuse.
Gyre, I was pointing out the arc made no sense if Holly had no idea why Cory had bought comics, not trying to claim he -is- a speculator. At the very least, it begs the question on -why- she’s so riveted by jargon that apparently doesn’t have anything to do with the reason why her son had a previously non-existent comics hobby.
What special something does Batiuk have that makes his mansplaining characters so damn repulsive? It’s a gift,
Charles, I suspect it’s the author identification that does the trick.
“Foolish woman! You don’t READ comic books!”
I remember when Lisa was slabbed. Sad, wasn’t it?