Now Batominc demonstrates what a skilled artist with a year’s lead time can do with a topical storyline. It does that by counterexample, mind you. Is it impressive the way Batominc avoided every salient feature of real Iraqi Freedom jackets?
And what an unexpected plot twist! Nick the Geek Who Looks Like a Tough Biker is an Army vet! Whoa!
Based on the Punisher skull motif, I guessed that Nick the Geek’s comic book store is based on Canton’s Bill’s Books and More, and @bobanero has noted the existence of a Black Hole Comics in Columbus. That store, though, does not seem to feature a Punisher emblem.
The best aspect of this strip, though, is Holly’s unwarranted esteem for her own negotiating skills. It would be even better if she were to imagine herself rounding the bases of a weirdly tiny baseball diamond.
Son of Stuck Funky 
Holly is “no good” at asking a comic book store guy how much an issue will cost her. Ummm, OK Tom, whatever. Is this how she plans on completing the collection, by wandering from shop to shop babbling like an idiot in the hope that some dork will take pity on her pathetic soul? I’m no expert or anything, but going online probably would have been a lot easier. Let’s just hope he doesn’t devote an entire week to every issue she needs or this thing will be going on into 2016.
I hate her, I hate the plot, I hate the comic. In fact the only thing about this I don’t hate is this guy since he seems rather nice to random people who come in and start babbling at him, and also because he probably will disappear after this and never be mentioned again.
Remember back when FW had somewhat sympathetic characters you could identify with and some fun? I mean, I know it wasn’t the best but it was alright. I’m like Squirrel Girl, I miss those days.
After seeing everyone falling over themselves to help Holly in this pointless quest, I really hope Corey gets an IED to the face on the day she completes the collection.
I suppose Batiuk could be making a larger point about how our society has no place for war veterans, showing them struggling to get by on the bottom of the economic ladder doing menial jobs like washing dishes in a pizza restaurant or behind the counter at an obsolete retail business. Nah.
Batiuk seems to think that working at pizza and comic book stores is the only viable way to make a living since that’s really the only place we see people actually working anymore.
An hour later Nick the Geek returns from lunch to find his store robbed and vandalized. Worst of all, the thief not only took a $200,000 mint copy of Starbuck Jones #54, he removed it from the protective bag first.
Hey Kids!!
This is Safety Stu here, with an important safety tip!
If you’re ever being pursued by an angry mob, wielding axes and maglites, don’t panic! Just turn around, and calmly proclaim ‘I support the troops!’ You don’t have to give to charity, you don’t have to sponsor a vet’s family, you don’t have to do anything but just say the words!
The mob will immediately stop chasing you – in fact, some may even come to your defense, because hey, who would *dare* criticize anyone who supports the troops?
Don’t believe me? Look at the comments over at Comics Kingdom! It works!
Next time, on Safety Stu, we learn to count cats when we’re depressed!