14 thoughts on “Of the Dead, Say Nothing”

  2. An autobiography, eh? I think the foul odor of another “quest” is in the air. If and when Jessica finds it, she can have Summer read from it and post the videos on YouTube.

    Of course, such a book would compete with Les’ work, and I don’t think Mr Batiuk wants anything to tarnish his special snowflake, so I doubt it’ll even be mentioned after this. In fact, I’m thinking that Monday will begin another “story,” probably involving comic books.

  3. @beckoningchasm, it could be TB will combine the story lines. The search for “My Father John Darling’s Story – The Graphic Novel”.

    Jess’ look in the second panel when Ms. Harpy said he had a soft spot for her made me flash back to Sally Fields Oscar acceptance speech. To paraphrase, he liked me he really liked me.

  4. @bigd1992, to be fair that’s only because we haven’t seen much of the Buddy. TB has a talent for making any character unlikable in short order.

  5. So far, Jessica’s documentary on Her Father, John Darling consists of:

    1.) He was a self-centered asshole,
    2.) But he liked her, so that made it okay,
    3.) He was murdered.

    I tell ya, this thing will clean up at the Oscars, along with Lisa’s Story: The Movie by Me, Les Moore.

  6. This is a rarity, an actual joke that makes sense even if you haven’t read the entire arc or know anything about JD. Now I didn’t say it was FUNNY or anything, but after eleven weeks of comic books in a row I’m quite willing to settle.

  7. Jessica’s father, John Darling a narcissistic no-talent hack. Despised by everyone enough to be murdered.
    Then we have Tom Batiuk……Indeed Art does imitate Life

  8. Batominc’s been phoning this in for decades, so no complete paragraphs for him. Here’s a listicle.

    • The punch line wasn’t horrible
    • The set up was
    • He passed up–of course–a rare legitimate reason to do a flashback
    • Because “tell, don’t show” is the Prime Directive at Batom Komix

  9. Brenda: “Your father, John Darling, who was murdered, was a very bad man.”

    Jess: “My father, John Darling, who was murdered was a very bad man?!?”

    Brenda: “Yes, your father, John Darling, who was murdered, was bad.”

    Jess: “Hmmm. Nope, still not getting it. Want to spend at least fuve days next week rehashing this?”

    Brenda: *SIGH*

  11. Ha ha! It’s funny because a young filmmaker is having her hopes and dreams crushed by finding out who the father she idolized was REALLY like! And after conquering post-partum depression and deciding that her old dreams were worth pursuing!

    Sometimes I wonder if Tom Batiuk is intentionally trying to top each of last month’s Most Depressing Funky Winkerbean. Couple of years ago, I would have cheerfully claimed that there was no way he could top ‘Rock and Roll save the world? Ha! Its’ greatest icon died in a puddle of vomit in a dilapidated motel bathroom.’ after whining to his younger self about prostrate cancer. But that wasn’t his magnum opus of pointless angst; that was him signalling a new era was about to begin.

  12. So daughter of dad John Darling apparently never knew about an autobiography of her dad John Darling. Of course no one ever even implied that it was published. Even if it were an unpublished stack of cocktail napkins stained with tears and gin, this documentary project still suffers from the same problem Les doesn’t know he has with Story of L – a crucial lack of anyone who gives a shit. Neither Lisa nor John Darling (Jessica’s dad) were particularly interesting people. Both met tragic ends, but so what? This is Westview.

    I really suspect that this documentary project is nothing more that an excuse for Jessica to get out of that grease filter of an apartment, away from the correspondence school MBA that is Durwood away from that homunculus Skyler shit kid, away from the leering Funky and his sweaty pants, away from that Florida gangster Montoni, away from the pizza-stained visage of Comic Book John, away from that chattering raccoon of a mailman … away from the madness.

  14. That’s the problem, isn’t it? We’re expected to care about the lives of two very dull people who lived lives of superlative banality that ended in exceedingly depressing ways that are so good at extinguishing hope, Darkseid himself would weep in envy.

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