Not The Worst

Link to today’s strip.

Happy Thanksgiving, folks!  To celebrate the holiday, Tom Batiuk presents…a Black Friday joke?

As “Black Friday” jokes go, well…this is…um, running on Thanksgiving Day?  I guess when you’re writing drawing your comic strip a year in advance, and the calendar falls behind the couch, well, holiday mistakes will happen, right?   I know that stores opening on Thanksgiving Day is a Thing now, but only in Funky Winkerbean would that be the aspect of the holiday that you want to highlight.   Because that’s what holidays are all about–annoyances and boorishness.

I guess that means for Christmas we can look forward to a strip where Funky is stuck in the mall parking lot, waiting for a tow truck to haul away his car because it ran out of gas.

As for today’s offering, as a regular, plain old joke…well…this is…um, obviously a joke, so there’s that.  It’s been done a few billion times before and has, therefore, lost its freshness, but it’s…uh–

I don’t know, I hesitate to call it an “attempt” since it doesn’t really try to do anything.  Crowds on Black Friday, they’re wild and make stores super crowded, and even old ladies with walkers want to grab those big screen TVs that the youth like to watch Grand Funk Railroad on.   And little kids won’t eat their vegetables, and women are always shopping for shoes, and old people like to rock in their chairs and complain.   And teenagers today, those dance steps they do are like someone who has ants in their pants!  Plus, with their long hair, you can’t tell the boys from the girls!

You know, I always like to give Tom Batiuk credit when he makes the attempt at humor.  I went a bit overboard last Spring with a “Funky at the Gym” arc, but I thought the attempt to put actual jokes in the strip was worthy of notice.

Here, not so much.   My main feeling when looking at this is a sense of tiredness, of being told a joke you’ve heard so many times it’s depressing, and you’re too weary to smile at the teller.

(Oh my God…I’m turning into a Funky Winkerbean character!   Argh, today’s strip is the worst ever!)

Still, it does have one thing going for it–absolutely none of the Funky Winkerbean cast appear.  I guess that’s a pretty decent holiday gift from Mr. Batiuk, so let’s all give thanks for that.  Thank you, Mr. Batiuk.

17 thoughts on “Not The Worst”

  1. I think this could’ve been a lot funnier if Bull was leading the rush. But hey, it’s better than an extremely odd complaint about “too much DNA” in a room.

  2. Meh, this one doesn’t bother me too much. Sure, it’s an easy gag and all, but we do get a rare glimpse inside Westview’s only thriving business, which is a real treat. For a second there I thought I was reading an entirely different strip, what with the throngs of shoppers (some of whom are SMILING!) and all.

    And it sure beats more dumb jokes about those awful annoying and armless band directors and those decrepit gags about selling band garbage door-to-door. But then again you could probably say that about almost anything. So be thankful for the small things is what I’m saying.

  3. Given that many Mega-Low Mart® derivative stores are now open on Thursday, the gag actually isn’t too far off.

    I’m just stunned that Batiuk actually did something that I was mildly amused at which didn’t involve Funky being (oh so deservedly) tortured by his masochistic trainer.

    If only St. Les the Righteous Smirker was the one being trampled underneath the crowd of shoppers… then that would be something to truly be thankful for.

  4. Is Dinkle’s autobiography (Part 3) already in the Black Friday bargain bin? If so, be sure to buy one for the Kathy with a C on your list. (P.S.: You’ll get change back from your dollar, hooray!)

  6. @TheDiva:
    That’s what you think. Obviously they’re all rushing in there to be the first to get a signed copy of Dinkle’s book.

  9. @Nathan Orbal: Actually, Les is the one getting stiff-armed by the smiling woman in the blue coat. Batiuk might not have intended it but he has thus given us all something to give thanks for: Les getting an elbow to the face.

  10. Yeah, it’s okay, just really more of a Crankshaft gag. Speaking of which, one year later and no payoff to his friend Mary eating alone! Good times.

    Thanks TFH! Happy Thanksgiving, snarkers!

  11. I don’t think it’s Black Friday joke – it looks more like a “Wal-Mart’s Open on Thanksgiving Day” slam.

    For Thanksgiving, I was expecting something more along the lines of a table with Funky, Holly, Funky’s father, and Holly absentmindedly setting a place for Cory

  12. I’m Thankful (hopeful) that we are one day closer to this strip being canceled by Brenden Burford

  13. Look a bunch of crazed shoppers are going to crush themselves and die. Happy Thanksgiving!!!

  15. It’s telling that the best FW strip in years involves no FW characters. Unless my Thanksgiving Wish has come true – Les is under there somewhere. In both panels, my friend. Happy Thanksgiving!

  16. Hey! I did a Google image search for “running of the bulls“. Here’s a comparison of panel 1 alongside the very first search result:

    I don’t expect Batiuk to spend weeks in Pamplona doing research, I just think it’s hilarious how this happens to match the first thing that comes up.

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