SoSFDavidO here! My eyes are so itchy! What’s going on? I usually only get this way in the presence of a ca– a ca— achoo! Cat. *sniff*
Link to today’s William S. Burroughs insanity.
I thought we’d seen the end of the cat after Lisa died…
Les the Genius Writer had troubles of his own
Hollywood is asking ’bout his script on the phone
Though writing was his forte, he was really good at that
He just couldn’t shake that creepy talking cat
’cause the cat came back, the very next day
the cat came back
you thought it was a lame arc
but the cat came back
he just couldn’t stay away
Son of Stuck Funky 
Yeaaaahhh. Gotta say, I’m just as baffled. Either Les has really gone nuts (our general interpretation) or it’ll turn out to be a dream.
So to take us to saner topics, while thinking about how pointless Cayla is I decided to make two lists. One of the characters that actually matter in FW, another for all the characters who could be replaced by anyone or anything and nothing would change.
Les to be the avatar
Funky to run Montoni’s and justify the name
Dinkle or Becky for band
Owen/Cody for band/teenager/comic books
Lisa for the obsession
—
Summer
John
Keisha
Cayla
Wally
Cory
Rocky
Khan
Cory’s mom (Holly?)
Dinkle’s wife
Jessica
News lady
Any children from relationships
Darin
Crazy Harry
Many more
So Batom is referencing an old arc about the struggles Les suffered through when he was writing “LS” in an arc about Les writing a screenplay based on “LS” which is a fictional book written by a fictional character but also a real book but not a “real” book but a collection of comic strips upon which the fictional book was based. The cat (Le Chat Bleu) was a hallucination Les would have when the strain of writing his masterpiece was too much for his tortured soul to bear, like the Lord Of The Late only snottier and more obnoxious, like Les himself. I wonder if TB really believes that anyone other than strange obsessives with a knack for remembering the oddest things will have any idea who this cat is or what it’s babbling about? Such a peculiar (and thus perfectly Batiukian) reference.
Anyhow, the cat apparently hates Les too so welcome back, Le Chat Bleu. I hope it rips Les’ eye out and buries it in the yard. Look at the Delicate Genius, what a drama queen. Just another nauseating display by the worst character in the history of fiction.
So here I was just wondering what ever happened to the obnoxious cat, and sure as shit…
Like Bullwinkle once said, “I don’t know my own strength…”
“I’ll have Cayla make up the guest room, since you’ll be sleeping with me.”
Oh, God, could this comic get more self-indulgent?
Back before Les became truly insufferable, the whole ‘personification of Death has a chat with a FW character’ was corny but narratively justified. After all, it’s an unexpected but reasonable kindness that the Grim Reaper’s avatars would come to tease/comfort someone about a loved one’s impending mortality.
But right now Les ijust has bog-standard writer’s block. This is not worthy of a visit from the great beyond. What’s next, Mask McDeath reminding Les not to forget to send Kayla’s relatives Christmas cards? Time-displaced Teen Funky popping in so that Les can give advice on cancer prevention? Oh, wait, they already did that.
What the HELL, comic? What the hell?
Wow, the lack of continuity between the first and second panels is really astounding. Color (and shape) of desk, huge blue book…have a couple of hours passed or what? I’m surprised the cup is the same color. What was Tom Batiuk nominated for again?
You know, it takes an obnoxiously high level of selfźabsorbed pretension to embody your emotional state as a talking French cat…
That cat would make a decent 9CL character. I think it first appeared when Les had writer’s block with the John Darling book.
LCB: You’re still using WordPerfect? Est-ce les années 80’s?
Les: It’s the same copy Lisa used at her law practice. I don’t… don’t know how to turn off the reveal codes.
This is a cry for help by the Author. He’s run out of everythiing to say about Lisa and he has nothing else to say about anything else – his world is a bleak emptiness of blank paper. HIs syndicate is pressuring him to do another prestige story arc with the command to ‘make it good this time’.
I’ve heard of him but Le Crap Feu was actually before my time. Let that sink in, a character that predates a chronic Son of Stuck Funky snarker, introduced with less than a sentence. I guess he’s no John Darling.
But beyond that, let me just point out Batiuk’s sense of what sells. If you look at the bottom of the FW page, you have “844 people like Funky Winkerbean.” If you look at Garfield, you have “11,966,152 likes”. So if you had a talking cat character, the obvious thing to do is not use him for about eight years.
If he really wanted to let it all hang out he would explore Summer and Keisha’s relationships with each other and teammates/dormmates. I would read that, especially if Alison Bechdel was ghost-writing.
Wow.
I had heard legends, but never thought to see it for myself.
I’ve heard of the chat with the cat that Les had while Lisa lay dying. I didn’t think the cat would decide writer’s block is also a good time to show up. I mean, I assume Les didn’t have writer’s block when he was writing the freaking book that the screenplay is based on, right? Or at least, if he did, there wasn’t a visit from a vaguely-psychopompic figure to help?
And…oh my god, I thought ‘le chat bleu’ was what snarkers called it, I didn’t realize that was the cat’s *actual name*. That’s priceless.
Le Chat’s first appearance, Aug. 2007:
Wow, reading that it’s actually as messed up as today’s.
And if the message there was about how Les needed to let go and accept Lisa’s death, then what the hell has the past seven years been about? How you should let people die but obsessively remember them?
You know cats are supposed to be minions of Satan….
@$$$WESTVIEW ONCOLOGIST$$$, cats use technology?
Wow, no “that’s all the pussy Less is going get” comments? What’s wrong with you guys & gals?
Thanks for posting that, TFH, I knew LCB was a 2007 thing but the particulars have faded from my memory (thankfully). So how many weeks DID it take for Lisa to finally die, twenty five, thirty?
Le Shat Bleu looks pretty good for a 25 year old cat.
The last strip with the cat, the “Lisa is strong because she’s given up because she knows it’s hopeless” is pretty vomit-inducing. It celebrates Les because he’s never willing to give up on his dying and cares so much, and, obviously, it celebrates Lisa because she’s always got this perfect, crystal-clear view of the world. He represents Hope. She represents Truth.
And it’s gross.
Whoops, forgot a “wife” in there.
Anyway, I figure I can reiterate how gross it is. Lisa is the all-knowing, wise strong woman who always has the answers, even when it means resisting denial. Les would be similarly strong and wise, but he isn’t because he’s so hopeful and such a admirable little fighter. It makes me want to rolf all over them.
Lisa accepting her fate might have made some sense but throughout the entire re-occourance of the cancer she acted like a doormat to the point of keeping the doctor who screwed up her x-rays. She also closed up her law office with obscene speed not even bothering to find someone to take whatever cases she had. it wasn’t wisdom, it wasn’t being strong it was suicidal depression.