Another terrible joke in a terrible arc about two terrible characters from two terrible comic strips. What is the joke supposed to be here? Is the blonde student supposed to be someone I’m supposed to recognize or is it just the idea of a student reprimanding the two morons that’s supposed to be the gag? These jokes are getting alarmingly bad, like in a “you should see a doctor” kind of way. Hopefully this marks the end of the band convention arc because I don’t want to see how much worse this could potentially get.
Son of Stuck Funky 
She’s my new favorite character, just because somebody’s finally treating these people like the jackasses they are. Although given how Dinkle has continually been portrayed as a slave driver whose students were in terror of him, this makes no sense.
Is that Mallory? Was she a member of the band at some point? Is this supposed to be funny, heart-warming, thoughtful, ironic? Funky-fans, let us in on the this episode. If you dare. And can.
What’s really weird is that Batiuk can no longer draw characters in the flashbacks the way they used to look. and why would a marching band be dressed like an orchestra?
Dinkle and Crankshaft meet their greatest enemy: a person with an ounce of common sense.
We have six days of bickering only to end (please be the end) with someone telling them they’re acting like children while doing something incredibly stupid.
A bit of background, I used to drive a school bus. One of the things that was pounded into our heads during training is that everyone must remain in their seats while the bus is moving, NO exceptions. When you’re on a large vehicle its easy to forget to whole thing is in motion. If the driver has to make a sudden stop or maneuver anyone not in their seat will go flying. The fact that they’re in hazardous driving conditions would make it just that much more dangerous. That’s the reason that there’s a big rearview mirror in the front of the bus. It’s not to check the vehicles behind you (that’s what all the side mirrors are for), it’s to keep an eye on your passengers and keep them safe. However; in all fairness Crankshaft wouldn’t have gotten out of training with his attitude and lousy driving, so he probably doesn’t give a rat’s ass about his passengers safety.
Sorry about the tirade, but TB’s cavalier take on what it takes to be a school bus driver just gets to me sometimes.
You know how something is just so dumb, you have nothing to say? This is one of those times.
@DOlz: Thanks for the info! I’ve (hilariously) “gone flying” into my seat quite a few times, but only when the drivers seemed to be in a hurry. They would always scream for us kids to stay in our seats.
Meanwhile, in the spin-off, Crankshaft is evil because he doesn’t understand band language. In any event, the same man who cares not for logic when writing about cancer isn’t going to let a little thing called ‘physics’ stand in the way of a punchline.
The performance by both strips today absolutely deserves a “two.”
And whomever finds this installment funny by any means should probably seek medical attention as soon as possible.
@DOlz: I guess the excuse would be that the bus was going less than five miles an hour, and judging by the snowfall, that is quite plausible. (Now you’re making me remember when I rode on a school bus back in the previous century… standing up was darn difficult, when you weren’t reprimanded for doing so… not that it never happened to me, of course. ;))
But the whole storyline is even more ludicrous. If it was being held in Cleveland, then this silly music convention – which, as we know, is actually a thing – would have been cancelled or postponed due to the obvious snowstorm, wouldn’t it?
It’s called writing.
Sepia tones, photo album corner thingies… Wanna make sure we unemployed non-cartoonist cretins know it’s a flashback. Sometimes throw in a floating disembodied head to narrate. Thanks for looking out for us ungrateful, unappreciative mouthbreathers, Tomboy.
I see where The Queen of Medina is going with this epic power struggle between too stubborn jackasses, but it’s hard to appreciate the attempted “humor” while putting children through an obviously dangerous situation.
@Nathan Obral, I used to demonstrate how dangerous it was to be standing up to middle schoolers.* The way I did it was to make sure everyone was seated and warn them what I was about to do. I would get the bus moving at 3 or 4 MPH and slam on the brakes. Most of the kids understood how dangerous it was not to be in their seats after that.
*Middle school kids were always the most boisterous. They lose the natural deference of Elementary kids, lack the budding maturity of HS kids, and are all hormones.
DOlz, I would demonstrate that by gunning then engine and burning rubber while the little brats were still finding their seats.