Holly’s look in panel three really says it all. I’m assuming that The Corporal is approximately twenty-three or twenty-four years old. He defused live bombs in Afghanistan and he is currently engaged to a mute woman. Yet for some reason he’s almost infantile today, blubbering about “visiting Disney” which, to my knowledge, has never “happened” in the strip. And Cory, bless his pointy little head, never came across as being a Disney World kind of guy either.
IMO the way everyone just completely ignored Cory’s miraculous transformation has been one of Act III’s more annoying (recent) developments. For a few years there Cory was the strip’s “bad guy”, an incorrigible scowling hoodlum who (gasp!) stole from Lisa’s Legacy, always had his hair in his eyes and had no use for anyone, generally speaking. Then he comes home and he’s suddenly Opie Cunningham but no one seems surprised in the least. It’d be like if Summer suddenly re-appeared with long curly hair and a jaunty sundress.
Son of Stuck Funky 
The artwork–and I use that term loosely–continues its slide into terribleness. Look at Rocky’s face in panel two–someone drew some dots on a sock.
You know, if Tom Batiuk wants to piss away his legacy, more power to him I guess. Sure seems like a petulant snit-fit, like a child who expects an award and never gets one.
Also, in panel 3 Holly’s mom looks like a reanimated mummy.
You’ll stay with Tony. Duh, Cory.
I wonder if he realizes that he’s just made her mind up to move back to Westview.
Batty—who writes walls and walls of text— just can’t make room to write “Disney World”.
Maybe Walt Didney sent Batiuk a cease and desist letter?
Disney’s lawyers are not to be trifled with, and I imagine they would not be pleased to be associated, however peripherally, with this garbage. I assume that thought went through Batiuk’s head before he clicked “Send.”
He’s saving Summer for the coming out story arc he will never get to.
See, I always thought he had a natural story line there with Cory and Summer. Cory comes home from the army all mature and straight laced, Summer comes home from KSU as a “fine young woman”, they get together and eventually get married thus bringing together the Moores and Winkerbeans. It practically writes itself and it has absolutely everything Batom loves…weddings, in-law jokes, mawkish sentimentality and even Lisa. But, BanTom being BanTom, he opted to create another new character he doesn’t know what to do with instead. Go figure.
But that would prevent the story of their generation’s Les-lite who loves Summer, !Cody! getting together with her.
Besides, Les is too precious to have a child with Funky as an in-law.
So many different noses on so few characters today.
The characters are just inhabiting a turquoise yuletide void today. That hack Ayers just can’t be bothered.
It’d be like if Summer suddenly re-appeared with long curly hair and a jaunty sundress.
I could get behind that. But no, she’s going to be wearing that damn hoodie and have the same 13 year-old boy haircut when she’s 40.