Surprise Surprise

Greetings, folks, BChasm back for another tour in the trenches.   And what is on the menu for today (see what I did there)?

Someone less kind than myself might note that the dialogue in panel 3 perfectly fits Tom Batiuk’s method of constructing a comic strip.  After all, while the particular events in Funky Winkerbean can’t always be foreseen, certainly none of outcomes for any of the stories is ever in doubt–it’ll end in tears, or, more likely, a weary shrug, a tired scowl and a terrible pun.   You can say that about every story presented in the last few years; notice that I’ve written two paragraphs already without a single mention of the characters involved in today’s comic.   This paragraph could serve as a perfectly generic yet perfectly accurate summation of every strip, every day.

Having said all that, I’d like to say that Funky Winkerbean is actually quite full of surprises.   There have been many events over the last couple of years that were completely and totally out of the  blue–Crazy Harry losing his job, Kevin having moved on, Kerry Fairgood, the reappearance of Alex, Frankie’s return, Khahn’s store closing, and so on.

The problem, as you’ve already guessed, is that none of these surprises are handled in an interesting manner.  At all.  Kerry Fairgood appeared and disappeared over the course of a week.  Impact on the strip: zero point zero.  Frankie’s weeks-long arc was one long stretch of nothing happening.  Franklyn Simpson Pierce…has no strip impact.

I guess what I’m ultimately saying is, go ahead and eat your glop, Owen and Cody.  Nothing will happen to you as a result.

Funny how the whole rationale behind getting rid of the vendos was so that the students would eat better, healthier food, and look at the unappealing bilge piled on that plate!  Ha ha, it’s funny because school lunches.

Lack of surprising things happening isn’t Funky Winkerbean‘s problem.  Having a surprise that has an impact on the strip…now, that would be a surprise.

11 thoughts on “Surprise Surprise”

  1. We’re not even three full weeks into 2014 and he’s already resorting to “bad school cafeteria food” gags? That is NOT a good sign of things to come.

    It’s funny (to me, anyway) how Cody is now Owen’s flunky instead of the other way around. Unfortunately, though, it’s the only thing that’s funny about Cody. Not that Owen is a barrel of hilarity either, in fact he’s become pretty damned annoying ever since he emerged as TB’s “go-to” WHS student for some unfathomable reason. But he’s still not quite as sad and sorry as Cody is. Too bad he’s not continuing to “thin the herd” after jettisoning Khan, because Cody is a prime “write ’em out” candidate.

  3. Lunch Lady: “Tell you what: You seem like decent kids. If you eat all of your casserole surprise, I’ll give you mashed potatoes and gravy, plus a big mug of lukewarm drinking fountain water!”

    Owen: “Where are the healthy choices we were promised when they took the vendos away?”

    Lunch Lady: “….you REALLY want Tom Batiuk to try and create gags around grapefruit halves, slices of dried toast, and celery, and boiled eggs?!?”

    Cody: “Um, no…there are lots of healthy food choices. Why limit them?”

    Lunch Lady: “Keep in mind this is a man who thought a strip where 40-something year old Les Moore scowling over a yearbook mentioning he once sold milk was a real gut-buster.”

    Owen: “…touche’.”

  4. Gyre: But the school is so CASH STRAPPED. Don’t you remember? They don’t have the MONEY to spend on anything! …except when they do.

  6. It’s funny (to me, anyway) how Cody is now Owen’s flunky instead of the other way around.
    Not that Owen is a barrel of hilarity either, in fact he’s become pretty damned annoying ever since he emerged as TB’s “go-to” WHS student for some unfathomable reason

    He’s the go-to student because he’s an idiot. Cody, being a modern-day Les, must still maintain a modicum of dignity, especially if he’s the guy who ends up marrying Super Summer. But, due to Batiuk’s inherent loathing of the third generation, that means that Cody rarely shows up, whereas Owen appears in every student-related strip.

  7. Epicus, Charles, that is good enough analysis of the characters that I’m posting that on NJ (with credits to both of you).

  9. Fast forward 40 years, turn Owen & Cody into anthropomorphic dogs, and—Pluggers! “Pluggers make it a point to stay away from anything on the menu with the word ‘surprise’ in it.” And the credit box will cite centenarian “Thomas B.” of Medina, Ohio.

  10. Brilliant use of #4 from the 1949 bestseller “101 School Gags for the Amateur Cartoonist”.

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