Guys, I’m just so conflicted here. Like, painfully so.
On the one hand, we have two 60 year old men getting excited about watching nearly 30 year old Batman cartoons. The overpowering flavor of nerds, soaking into the lumpy bland tofu of these soy cubes, nauseating me. It’s getting really old. The entire Westview landscape is nothing but men waxing eloquent about Batarangs. Everyone male is consumed by geeky interests. There is no escape.
On the other hand, I, a nominal adult closer to middle age than adolescence, love cartoons. I own more DVD’s of cartoons than I own pairs of shoes. I watch more cartoons than any other genre of television. So this entire strip feels like some kind of personal attack.
It doesn’t help that Batman: The Animated Series is not only an amazing, critically acclaimed cartoon that no adult should be ashamed to watch, but is also a cartoon that I remember watching as a small Harriet. I actually watched it as it was airing. A beautiful cartoon. A cartoon that deeply, deeply, wonderfully traumatized me.
There I was, a poor little girl, not even seven, sitting on the couch on Saturday Morning, watching the silhouette of a man held down and begging for mercy as he’s drowned with toxic chemicals.
An innocent girl, manipulated by her invisible and increasingly more unhinged father who loves her possessively and dangerously.
A mentally fragile man sobbing uncontrollably after the violent ‘death’ of the creepy puppet that was actually a manifestation of his dissociative identity disorder.
What I’m saying is, this show gave me some of the formative psychological horror experiences of my young mind, and if anyone wants to sit and rewatch it with me, well, I thought you’d never ask.
(Also, Batman TAS was produced as TWO seasons. the first was 65 episodes long to reach syndication length. They then made an additional 20. It was released on DVD in four volumes. So, you know; suck it Tom.)
Son of Stuck Funky 
Funky enjoying himself again…now I don’t know WHAT to think! Maybe BatYam finally decided enough was enough and at long last took his felt-tipped boot off Funky’s neck. Or maybe something REALLY AWFUL is on the horizon. It’s just so sudden and out of character.
I get it, CBH, although my formative TV trauma was the original “Outer Limits,” a show where the universe didn’t care if you deserved a happy ending (like a B&W Funkyverse, or a parochial school). But you just know that by Friday Batiuk will mess it up.
“Corpus Earthling” was–and still is–one of the most terrifying things ever shown on television. Even the producers were hesitant to air it.
Oh, how I fervently hope that Crazy got his Dark Knight animated cartoons confused, and what he brought over was the 1977 Filmation series in which Batman and Robin co-starred with Bat-Mite (To be fair, it did have voices by Adam West and Burt Ward).
I’d mock them further, but I’m a sixtysomething male whose DVD collection includes the complete run of B: TAS, along with sets for “Challenge of the Superfriends,” “George of the Jungle,” “Gravity Falls,” “Justice League,” “Rocky and Bullwinkle,” and “Wacky Races,” among others.
Speaking of Rocky and Bullwinkle gives me an excuse to share this link:
https://kipwblog.blogspot.com/2020/07/improbable-content-warning-sex-violence.html
You sir, are a gentleman of refined taste.
Knowing these two, they’ll probably watch the episode “I’ve Got Batman In My Basement” 7 times in a row. Interesting play by TB, reminding readers of something far far far better than anything he has ever come up with (and I’m including the terrible “I’ve Got Batman In My Basement” in that statement).
I too, grew up on B:TAS and the subsequent DC animated universe that it spawned. As mature as Batman often got (and as much as the artwork for Scarecrow in follow up series New Batman Adventures spooked the heck out of me), nothing stuck with me quite as much as the Superman animated series episode “The Late Mr. Kent”, which ends with a crooked cop, convicted of murder, realizing Clark Kent is Superman right as his execution in a dad gum gas chamber is carried out.
“Batman: The Animated Series” (as it was never officially called) was the beginning of one of the greatest animated realms ever. Followed by Justice League, Justice League Unlimited and (okay) Superman: The Animated Series. Plus Batman Beyond.
Batiuk should be ashamed for referencing work that crushes his amazingly pathetic efforts.
1. If we’ve got to have the comic book geek theme, I’d rather see the happy, smiling faces of Funky and Harry than “my wife made me get rid of my collection”.
2. Funky has managed to run a successful pizzeria for years (franchise attempt aside), so he’s earned a little down time to recover. Let him have his Batman.
3. If they’re going to binge watch a comic book related series, they’ve picked an excellent choice. As comicbookharriet has already eloquently recalled, Batman: The Animated Series is fabulous. Well-written, dark, and simply the best.
4. My husband and old college pals are all comic book/role playing nerds. They always will be, and yet they have managed to be fairly productive members of society so I can’t snark too much about this one.
I’m not sure what to make of this sudden tonal change. And all it took was a little eye surgery. Just think, if Lisa had cataracts instead of cancer SoSF might not even exist today.
Coming soon: a smiling and agreeable Les deems the final cut of the cancer movie a faithful and loving adaptation that definitely merits Lisa’s official seal of approval. Then he goes home and pays attention to his wife. Meanwhile Funky is elated when science offers incontrovertible proof that pizza causes weight loss, increased hair growth and virility. Pete wins a Pulitzer for “Rip Tide-Scuba Cop” and Frankie returns to Westview to offer his most sincere apologies, then donates one million dollars to the Lisa’s Legacy fund.
Another warm-and-fuzzy strip? OK, why not? Though if this phase lasts more than a week, I reserve the right to start complaining about the monotony.
Hey, remember how this arc started? Funky said that he couldn’t read the little clock on the DVR, and the punchline was that Holly couldn’t even see that there was a clock. Is Holly going to get cataract surgery too? Are the characters ever going to mention Holly’s eyesight again? (I’ll bet a shiny nickel that the answer is no.)
I’m just waiting for the other shoe (other leaf?) to drop. I won’t be surprised if the DVD player shorts out and causes a fire that burns Maison de Winkerbean to the ground.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Batiuk creates a way to diss the Adan West “Batman” (and if he targets the two-parter with Earth Kitt, the show’s hottest Cat Woman.)
Another nice strip I have no real complaints about. One little detail I like is that when you’re recovering from an injury, Batman: The Animated Series is exactly the kind of thing you want to watch on TV: familiar and self-indulgent. Especially if you still have pain and/or meds that make you less than 100%. One week I watched most of the run of Futurama.
It’s also nice that Harry took time out to visit his friend. I like to think that Harry actually has somewhere to be, but thought “eh, screw it, this is more important.”
Justice League Unlimited, or DC Superhero Girls or forget it…
But I spent all that money on DVDs of The Zeta Project!
I enjoyed today’s and yesterday’s strips, but it is difficult to do so as I know Les is lurking just around the corner.
I think the difference here is you were a child when the series was released, CBH. These two geeking out over a series that was released in their 30s or 40s…I don’t know.
You don’t understand my full shame. I, as an adult woman, Jimmy, have willingly gone out and bought Ninja Turtles DVDs, both the 2012 and the 2003 show. Because I am more amused by ‘children’s entertainment’ than say…Game of Thrones or Breaking Bad or How I Met Your Mother.
The thing is, the Batman shows (and the DCAU in general) were very well written. None of the writers seemed to think “Ah, it’s for kids, who cares?”
Contrast that with most of the sit-coms I’ve seen recently (admittedly a very small number) and the attitude always seems to be “Ah, it’s for idiots, who cares?”
I get it. My favorite recent programs were “Regular Show” and “Gravity Falls”.
Two thoughts here:
1. Funky is not an invalid. His doctor would have told him not to lift anything over 20 pounds for the first week after surgery (at least mine did). But you’re not stuck at home. You live your life and go back to work (unless you don’t want to).
2. Anything Bruce Timm touched was legend. His Batman:TAS, Superman:TAS and Justice League:TAS set a standard for Warner Bros animation that still hasn’t been matched 30 years later. But he stuck gold when he hired Andrea Romano to be his casting and voice director. She was responsible for getting the best out of the actors. When Kevin Conroy bellowed, “I am vengeance! I am the night! I am Batman!,” you darn sure believed it. Lastly, if you have HBOMax, Batman:TAS is available for streaming.
The entire Westview landscape is nothing but men waxing eloquent about Batarangs. Everyone male is consumed by geeky interests.
Everyone male in Westview is consumed by the same geeky interests. And, they all indulge them in the same way. And they all have the same lack of perspective, dragging their comic book fandom into their weddings and other places it doesn’t belong. The lack of any diversity is stunning.
The Simpsons‘ Comic Book Guy works as a character because he’s opposed to the main characters in some way. Everyone in Westview just agrees with each other all the time. Especially about comic books, Montoni’s pizza, and the cultural importance of Dead Lisa. It would be a shocking violation of Westview protocol if Funky replied simply “eh, I’d rather watch Adventure Time.”
I have a very vague memory of Funky dissing comic books. Can’t recall when, but it was something along the lines of “I grew up.” I’m not going to search for it, but it does worry me how some of this terrible strip drills into my brain.
Let me join in on the praise of Batman: The Animated Series – Which featured Mark Hamill as the voice of the Joker a definitive take on the character, it also introduced to the world one Harley Quinn who afterwards moved to the comics proper and movies.
Also the team behind TAS did Batman the Mask of the Phantasm a full length movie which I would say is one of the best Batman movies made showing among other things the psychic and emotional cost to Bruce of being the Batman. He desires love and happiness the same as any person, but fate has other ideas. If you have not seen it watch it. Alfred’s reaction to seeing Bruce in the batsuit for the first time still gives one a chill.