SoSfDavidO here, ready for another snark! And holy cow, what a revelation today! From the look of today’s strip, it appears the publishers of the fine piece of literature that is the Adventures of Mr. Sponge and Son are after money. Notdoing the story of his adventures proud but money! And they’re willing to temporarily kill off a minor, easily replacable character to do it!
Month: March 2015
The Killing Bloke
Hi folks! SoSfDavidO here with another sneak peek into the workings of what went into making a comic book way back in the early 2000s in today’s strip!
Hoo-boy. Absorbing Junior. I’m assuming his sidekick has the same lame powers his big pal Mr. Sponge has but he can’t absorb as much. We’re talking pints to Mr. Sponge’s gallons.
If I know one thing about comics, (and this goes for books and movies, too) it’s that the target demographic wants a character they can not only identify with but fantasize about being. This is why Wolverine and Superman are so popular. Who wouldn’t want to fly, or be an invincible bad-ass?
This is also why Fantastic Four sucks so much. What kid wishes they could stretch their arms really long or be stuck as a walking orange cinder block? And the Invisible Woman? Geez, could that be more offensive? Johnny Storm is kinda cool but he’s a bit of a douchey showoff.
I’m trying to imagine some universe where Mr. Sponge could last as a super hero past a MadTV skit. It’s like watching Hell’s Kitchen and everyone is ordering risotto for a appetizer. It’s so dumb it’s baffling.
Dot The Eyes
Hi folks! SoSfDavidO here with another sneak peek into the workings of what went into making a comic book way back in the early 2000s in today’s strip.
Hey, great, just what this strip needs, another pudgy bald white guy that’s impossible to tell from another! I’m not sure what’s going on with Pete’s eyes but I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt on drugs and chalk it up to late night 4-Chan browsing sessions while downing a 6-pack of Jolt Cola.
Panel three Pete looks– well, I can’t read that expression at all but I think Batuik was going for “shocked” at the idea of of killing off a superhero for ratings. I mean, it’s not like DC Comics did that way back in 1992 or something.
It’s when in the Funkytime line, the early oughts? Comic companies were already crapping out zombie-variant themed books with multiple foil covers and crossing storylines over in such a way you had to buy 16 comics a month just to follow your favorite X-Man. The fact it’s all about the moolah should have been obvious to Pete even back in Westview when he was a collector.
Repete Week
Hi folks! SoSfDavidO here with a tip o the Funky Fedora for Beckoning Chasm’s most excellent stint here snarking! I feel like I’m following a bear on a unicycle juggling flaming chainsaws but here goes my hand at snarking on today’s strip.
From the looks of things, the Mr. Sponge story is still going on. Forgive me for a stifled yawn, but I don’t find story arcs about comic book writers all that… ABSORBING. Let’s SEA what TomBat came come up with after WETTING our appetite last week for this comic drama.
From the looks of things, it’s some kind of Popeye cross over? Is that misshapen blob wearing circus pants supposed to be recognizable as a human being? A word balloon is coming out of it, so I guess so.
Buckle up, ’cause we’re about to be treated to a full week of Tombat imagining what it was like to work for a major comic publisher in the early 2000s!
The Never Mind
Let’s leave aside the fact, a year or so ago, that the Lord of the Late was revealed to be just an aspect of Pete’s personality. That alone should banish him from the strip. (Imagine a monster, long since revealed to be Old Man Carruthers, the Caretaker, returning to menace the Scooby Gang as the same monster. They’d go right to the mask-pulling without even pausing for a musical number.)
Let’s also leave aside the charming picture of Pete furiously picking his nose in the penultimate panel. And let’s leave aside what is going on with the hand in panel four (first one on the bottom).
Instead, I have to wonder–has Tom Batiuk ever read a comic book? Because Super Villain Rule Number One is that you have to bedevil your designated hero at every opportunity. Saying “I’ll let the internet be mean to him” is just not done. Imagine the Joker refusing to plot against Batman because he notices the Batmobile parked in a loading zone or something, and is just giddy at the idea of Batman getting a traffic ticket. I mean, why is the Joker even there if he’s not going to act?
Same with the Lord of the Late. Why is even here, if his sole purpose is to announce that he’s not going to do anything? Making Pete “woefully late” is all he does. (Well, in theory. In actual fact, Pete always comes up with a remarkably stupid idea to save his career at the last moment.)
Granted, that’s not the worst thing a Funky Winkerbean character can do. At least it’s not Owen, asking why Humphrey Bogart didn’t use his jet-pack to rescue Ingrid Bergman in that poorly thought-out Casablanca film. It’s not Holly telling Dick Tracy, “It’s not what you eat, it’s when you eat it.” And it’s not Les doing, well, anything.
I mean, he’s not really here solely so we can hear about “internuts,” “twitter tots” and “tweet revenge” is he? Because that’s just sad. Look, Mr. Batiuk, I know you don’t enjoy criticism–few people do. But here’s how you get it to stop. Start actually writing stories, using interesting characters, and–this is key–ask for a new editor, one who will push you to use your strengths rather than sign-off on your work without even reading it.
Yes, I know, that’s not going to happen. It’s far easier to insult people and get all huffy than it is to change the path of a runaway truck. So it’ll be all dreck, all the time, on the way to that magical 50th. The thing is, the critics will be right along for the ride–you can’t shake them by having nothing happen in your strip, because that’s a choice as well.
Well, folks, I can see the sunshine finally appear as my SoSF guest-host stint finally comes to an end (for now). Please welcome David O as your new dungeon master starting tomorrow, as we ask the musical question, “Whose idea was this?”
Son of Stuck Funky 