Dear snarkers, as we wait for today’s strip to drop, I’d like to point out that Monday marks eight years since we picked up the torch from the original Stuck Funky. After eight years and nearly 3,000 posts, I don’t have a whole lot to say that hasn’t been said before. No giveaway or contest this year (sorry!), just my sincerest thanks to Epicus Doomus and the whole roster of guest authors, and of course to you, the reader, for being part of one of the smartest, funniest, and longest-suffering communities on “the net.”
I thought of quitting, baby, but my heart just ain’t gonna buy it
Prolonged daily reading and commenting on a once beloved, now infuriating, legacy comic strip can take a toll on one’s patience, sanity, and sense of humor. That’s why it became necessary to recruit guest authors to share the pain, taking turns being tied to the mast for a week or two as we sail through a sea of incomprehensible narrative and haphazard draftsmanship towards Funky Winkerbean’s 50th Anniversary.
Until then, thanks again for being along for the ride, and for reading and commenting at SoSF!
Your pal,
TFHackett
Son of Stuck Funky 
Thank you, TFH, for your perseverance and leadership. Hosting the strip is definitely arduous…many, many times when my ticket comes up to be punched, I think, I can’t do this any more, it’s too horrible. It’s too boring and, at the same time, too self-righteous.
So thank you for your example, thank you for your leadership, and especially thank you for recruiting the various guest hosts, who are far funnier and more insightful than the strip itself. I am humbled to be in their presence.
It’s great having you on board! I feel that your strength is in pointing out the dark and surreal undertones in even the sunniest of FW strips. Thanks for all you do,
Thanks TFH!!! On behalf of SoSF I’d like to thank our excellent guest hosts, both past and present, and especially our commenters, who always bring their “A” game. I’ve carried a grudge against FW ever since “the change” all those years ago and without SoSF I’d be hurling the funny page across the room in a rage all by my lonesome.
What you said! And thanks again for lightening my admin load. Give yourself and the staff a 200% raise!
“Ranomized Header Images” have been turned on: each time the page is loaded, you’ll be treated to a different header image from the past. Enjoy!
That girl must really have low self-esteem.
The real victim here is little Skybird, who has to sit in back with Peet. I wonder who will be carsick first.
Pete is dropping Mindy off at her house while Boy Lisa and friends drives by in the car (I believe) they used to get to Ohio in the first place. So what car is Pete driving? And what happened to that weird black car they used when they met with Chester? Why would Darin and Jessica be driving around in Centerville? See, this is what happens when you try to pay attention to BatBlech’s little stories. You never end up entertained, only confused.
Thanks to everyone who makes this site so fun. 🙂 I look forward to coming here each day.
And really, Batiuk is just the worst at writing romance. I mean, he’s terrible at actually writing romance as a plot, since he does nothing with it but have two characters meet and then the next time they’re madly in love, then get married.
But seriously, his idea of “sweet talk” kind of makes me wish I was illiterate.
Happy anniversary! I discovered this place only recently, and I’m glad I caught it while it was alive. This blog justifies Funky’s continued existence.
Also, apparently Pete’s nose gets bigger when he kisses women.
You say “once-beloved” comic strip, but personally, I don’t buy that. I’ve never liked the thing, and the reruns from the beginning that are being made available from the Hearst people just confirm me in my belief.
Opinions and all, but I don’t think it’d have such a dedicated, er, “fanbase” if it didn’t have a genuine following back in the day. Media that outstays its welcome invites snark, media that was always trash just gets forgotten.
Eight years……and, if anything, things are just getting worse. As by way of example, I’m not one hundred percent certain that Jessica knows who Chester is or what his plans are or how that’s going to affect his life.
I mean “HER” life……….
So what happened to the “friend zone” conversation? Was apparently enough of an answer for Mindy? And how much time has passed since that conversation since it’s now daylight and we have Darin and appendages (including Mindy’s cousin) waiting in the car apparently departing on the return drive to LA?
And what’s going on with Chester’s scheme to print a new line of comics with Golden Age era plots?
I suppose we can at least be thankful that we appear to have avoided an appearance by Les.
Ok, so I have been out of the country for the past week with no ( by choice) access to the internet. So what have I missed?
Everyone in Westview had a stroke as evidenced by the strange facial gestures.
Having a job in Hollywood doesn’t impress young ladies, who think that leaving said job for a BS opportunity in Ohio drawing comic books for some rich quack is “brave”.
You can impress the young ladies of Westview by remembering how they like their popcorn.
What a week it was!
Unfortunately, all the words from the original script did not fit into the panel two word balloon. For your convenience, here is the line in its entirety:
“SINCE DUHRREN AND I JUST SPENT THE LAST TWO WEEKS COMING TO AHIA TO DISCUSS A CRAZY VANITY KOMIX PROJECT, THE STUDIO REPLACED US WITH PEOPLE WHO SHOW UP FOR WORK EVERY DAY… SO I’LL BE BACK BEFORE YOU KNOW IT.”
We apologize for any confusion.
–The management
Happy Anniversary! I’m conflicted. I don’t know whether to praise or condemn you — you see, I never read FW until I found this site many years ago.
Thanks @TFH and guest snarkers, This place is infinitely more fun than the piece of dreck that brought us here.
Happy Anniversary! FW is the only strip left that I read every day because of this site. I do worry that there is little left to be said, and only chime in when something really increases the idiocy of the daily strips.
Like here, depending on how one interprets Batiuk’s timelines, this nauseating couple could be in their late 30’s or 20’s. Batiuk always tries to present these particular dullards as just starting out, but they time-jumped well out of high school and presumably have been aging since then. A lot of words to just say Pete is repugnant.
The whole Mopey and Mindy storyline ranks among Batty’s most forced and contrived. Even if we found a way to accept one of Batty’s rare attractive female characters being attracted to an extremely homely guy like Mopey — and Batty seems to go out of his way to make Pete ugly — these two talked for like ten minutes after the movie premier. Next thing we knew, he was meeting Grampa Crank and they were talking about long distance relationships.
Next, Batty tries to show them interacting, and all we see is stiff, clumsy dating banter, and Pete saying things that would turn off any actual living female. The comic book themed wedding can’t be too far off.
Because writing.
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Meanwhile, happy anniversary! This site provides a valuable service in the snarking industry. People ask why we read FW if we dislike it so much. The answer is obvious. If the strip were simply “bad,” it would just be ignored along with all the other “bad” strips out there. But the writing is so profoundly awful, the artwork is so inconsistent and flaky, the characters are so detestable, and the stories are so improbable. Plus the author is a self-important fucking little pinhead about everything. As a result, snarking on it becomes Good Clean Christian Fun, and we’re better people for it.
God bless Son of Stuck Funky, and God bless America! Support the troops. Tip your waitresses.
That second part you keep on file. I’ve seen it before!
Happy anniversary! Thank you for this site which allows be to – in far too pompous manner snark/comment on a comic strip that touches greatness only in how bad it is – which combined with the “I’m doing art that nobody else did” attitude of the Author (never mind his sliver age Flash comic book fetish) makes it oh so snarkable.
As for this strip – I’m very confused – did Boy LIsa and spawn pick up Pete and Mindy after their pizza worship and drive her home or are they just here to pick Pete up – it’s the only thing that can account for the Give’m the horn line – as in cut it out we’ve got places to go. Once again the Author aims for cute and ends up at cringe worthy.
As for the actually romance – well I must once again quote Edmund Blackadder “No! NO!”
To: TFHackett,
You may thank us fans for coming along on the ride, but I want to thank you for providing the vehicle. When the original SF ‘folded,’ many of us whined about it; but you DID something about it. Even after the C&D, you hung in there and this place thrived. Even with rotating authors (who I admire greatly), the voice of this website has been consistent since day one. You get credit that. I don’t comment every day, but I read this site every day and you should be proud.
Thanks for a job well done and a sincere wish for many more years to come.
Thanks Bill! The staff and I appreciate your kind words, your readership, and your occasional comments 🙂
Hats off to you, TFH, and the circle of guest authors for doing the impossible – making Funky Winkerbean palatable. SoSF has been part of my daily routine since I discovered the site during the memorable “Lisa phones in a bomb threat from beyond the grave” arc. I don’t always comment, and my comments aren’t often amusing or relevant, so I appreciate the ability of the admins of this site to keep coming up with amusing and relevant content every day, which never fails to surpass in quality the actual content of the strip in question. Keep up the good work!
Thanks TFH and all others who have the wit and capacity to expound on this daily abortion.
Lucky Skylar gets to ride in the back with Pete.
Thanks for keeping this place going and helping me keep my snark sharp.
As for today’s strip, so the “confrontation” from yesterday petered out to nothing, which shouldn’t have surprised anyone. I guess you can show this last week’s comics if you ever need to induce vomiting in a person who hasn’t been inoculated against Batiuk’s writing.
Thanks to you as well, Charles, for taking your turn in the barrel!
Thanks so much, TF, for keeping the snark rigs pumping. I’ve loved this site almost as long as I’ve detested its target, ever since I created a parody Twitter account of one of our local politicians and had “him” tweet that his favorite comic was FW. If you hadn’t liked that tweet, I never would have known the bliss of watching this crappy strip hatcheted to death every day – and seeing it, like some horribly deformed phoenix, rise again the next.
So happy snarkiversary, and let’s make it to (whatever number makes 50 for FW)!
Happy Anniversary TFH and the rest of the crew! It’s been much appreciated even if i’m not here all the time.
I caught up on TB’s blog the other week with the ‘heavy math’ that years move about 1:3 in a comic strip. Just think, if he’d stuck to his guns after the last jump, we’d still be in Summer’s senior year, without speeding through the generation of characters he supposedly liked, and spinning his wheels for the last 4-5 years!
Sure it’s not much but it would have saved us about 3 generations of students i can’t even be bothered to remember now. “Glasses and Chullo”? wtf
Wait… Why couldn’t Pete just postpone his flight now that this girl is finally about to let him hit something for the first time in his life??