Month: April 2015

City of Tiny Lites

Mason Jarr the movie star is nothing if not wistful. During his Ohio sojourn, he remarked that Westview reminded him of his dear old hometown, while tonight the lights of L.A. remind him of Christmas. They kinda remind me of the backdrop of the Johnny Carson-era Tonight Show.

We’re treated to another glimpse of Batiuk’s understanding of How the Movie Industry Works: the movie Mason was signed to star in last summer is slated for production “this year” (well that’s vague enough), but, as happened with the ill-fated Lust for Lisa telepic, the script still needs work. It’s certain that Les, who wore out his Hollywood welcome on his first try, won’t get the call. Perhaps Mason should offer to write the script, seeing as how he must now be an expert on Starbuck Jones.

Son of Stuck 5unky: Anniversary Waltz

It’s incredible to think that it’s been five years since SoSF rose from the ashes of stuckfunky.wordpress.com. I’ve taken this occasion to rewind and review some milestones…

April 9, 2010:

The first post at Son of Stuck Funky. Funky and Les were in New York to close up the last of the Montoni’s Pizza franchise locations.

February 12, 2011

WordPress.com pulls the plug on SoSF (and the dormant, original Stuck Funky) after receiving a Cease and Desist order from Batom, Inc’s legal team. Within 24 hours, the content was recovered, domain name and hosting secured, and SoSF is relaunched (minus the daily reproducing of the comic).

April 2011

Batiuk retcons Bull Bushka’s high school bullying of Les as an elaborate scheme to protect Les from the “real” bullies.

April 2012

The second anniversary happened to coincide with another bullying arc: this time Wedgeman picks on Cody (until Summer comes to the rescue).

April 2013

Les learns that Lisa’s Story has been optioned for a movie. Which will never see the light of day.

April 2014

Around the time of the fourth anniversary, Jessica Darling finally starts working on her ill-fated Dadumentary about John Darling, her father who was…oh, you know who.

Right up to the present day….

As increasingly wack as those aforementioned story arcs were, they only hint at the level of insipidity that has become the hallmark of Batiuk’s flagship comic in its fifth decade. The dialogue has become ever more stilted…the draughtsmanship increasingly inconsistent (save for the times when Batiuk straight up appropriates the artwork of others)…the gaping plot holes are enough to induce vertigo. Characters’ ages and even their surnames change on a whim or through sheer lack of attentiveness by the author. Comic books, and the people who hold them in proper reverence, are what makes the Westviewvian world go ’round. And the author’s defensiveness in the face of totally valid criticism has become ever more thinly veiled and has displaced most of the humor that once abounded within these panels.

So why do you read Funky Winkerbean and pick it apart. Every. Damn. Day?

Like a great many of you readers, I’ve grown up with Funky Winkerbean…we were in high school together, so to speak. As a band geek, I especially enjoyed the strips about the Marching Scapegoats. My memories of Act II are less fond, but I continued to read. Somewhere between acts II and III though, mortality and fatalism seeped in and overwhelmed the gags.

The interent, which was a gleam in Al Gore’s eye when Funky Winkerbean made its print debut, makes it possible, for better of for worse (ha!), for individuals to share common interests. Through a comment I saw on the awesome Comics Curmudgeon site some years back, I found such a niche community, whose interest was making fun of a comic strip. When that community petered out, I moved the party to another tent and was lucky enough to have some folks follow me.

Five years is a long time to be doing one single thing every day. The upside is being allowed to preside over the most civil, intelligent, and funniest online community I’ve ever experienced. There are plenty of places to critique comics, but here at SoSF, you don’t have to pick through off-topic or noxious comments. The downside, of course, is letting Tom Batiuk and his hackmanship dwell rent-free inside my head.

It’s been said that “Hatred corrodes the vessel in which it is stored.” I do not hate Funky Winkerbean, and even admit to sort of admiring Batiuk as someone who’s made a very good living doing something which, I guess, he loves. I do feel that it’s time for Tom to consider retirement, and free up some valuable newsprint space for someone else’s fresh comic vision.

I thought of quitting, baby, but my heart just ain’t gonna buy it

This fifth anniversary would never happen without the support and contribution of some kindered spirits, so please join me in raising a Montoni’s slice to my fellow authors who have helped keep this thing going:

DavidO:
David was the very first commenter at Son of Stuck Funky, as well as the first guest author. He has provided moral as well as material support to this blog for a number of years.

Epicus Doomus:
The most prolific author of posts here after yours truly, Epicus has become the de facto office manager here at SoSF, scheduling the rotation of guest authors and taking a ton of work off my hands.

Beckoning Chasm:
Knowledgeable not just when it comes to things Funky but across a broad swath of the cultural spectrum. Like Epicus, he’s pretty good at remixing FW strips in Photoshop.

Oddnoc:
Another erudite, well-read and witty snarker; his references have sent me to Wikipedia and Grandpa Google more than once.

billytheskink:
In my estimation, posessed of the most encyclopaedic knowledge of forty-plus years of Funky Winkerbean; excels at crafting Funky haiku.

And of course, thanks to you, the readers and commenters of this blog.

On behalf of Team SoSF, stay Funky!

Tom Hackett

Spill the Whine

To his credit, Mason allows the dinner discussion to turn to Cindy and her plans, and unlike Funky, does so without being condescending. Given the opportunity to discuss her pressing career concern with someone who actually seems interested, the woman who bailed on her alcoholic first husband instead raises her glass with a tiny hand. Guess these days it’s Cindy who’d “rather have a drink than a discussion”!

The Expedition

Link To Today’s Strip

“Lewis and Clarking“? Does anyone use that expression, particularly when thinking to themselves? The answer is kind of a “yes”, though “Lewis and Clarking” as defined at Urban Dictionary might get you thrown out of the restaurant. Speaking of the restaurant, the caricatures on the walls behind our couple lead me to believe that this date is taking place at the Beverly Hills Palm, where Mason grabbed a bite with Les last summer.