It’s probably just as well that TB is presenting this mini arc on his blog, as opposed to shoehorning it into his Crankshaft comic. If there are any readers out there who know only of Cranky and his pals, and are unaware of fifty years of Funky Winkerbean canon (big “if”), they’ve been confused enough by all these “new” characters turning up in Centerville. Also, kindly excuse my use of the word “canon” here, as Funky canon is, well, loose. We now know that “the ‘Eliminator'”, aka “Donald,” was really a young girl named Donna.
I know that yesterday I griped about Rick Burchette’s rendering of the Funky cast, but in today’s panel 1, at least he’s given us a realistic SUV; a nice upgrade from the robin’s-egg-blue Batiukmobile we saw the family packed into back in the spring of ’22. I’m less enthused about how he’s drawn the Klinghorn house. The bricks are certainly on point, but the details—that odd, pyramidal peaked roof, the railing across the front door, and a shrub that appears to be growing inside the picture window—are just goofy.
Son of Stuck Funky 
While It’s not as good as Ayers’ rendering of Lillians 1961 Rambler in Crankshaft many years ago, Burchett does draw a plenty nice 2005 Toyota RAV4. I can’t identify the models in the second panel though, beyond “off”.
Again with “Defenders”, TB… Now I’m almost curious how he’d butcher Zaxxon.
Oh, the symmetry actually makes that work really well. TB should retcons this “Defenders” business for the cabinet artwork alone.
“I think it’s sweet that your parents celebrate the anniversary of the first time they met.”
Because if there’s one thing Summer would enjoy, it’s a parent who makes an excessive number of remembrances to their spouse.
So these are ‘new’ FW strips that exist merely to re-hash old FW strips, in the most stupid and boring way possible?
Totally on-brand. No notes.
He’s rehashing the premise of a rehashed premise. It took him a year and a half to get around to this. It’s a fascinating “creative process”.
The art in the third panel is a pretty good Act I rendition. Unless it, too, is a cut and paste.
Today’s Funky Crankerbean:
This story arc in 2024 is the same as Mopey Pete moving into Montoni’s in 2008, but without Mooch/Sir Nuts-A-Lot, Darin and Fat Pedophile Skunkhead John
Today’s Funky Crankerbean
Cs decides to killbind onto Mopey’s piss-soaked bed, respawning on it a second later
And the stupid thing about the whole bloody thing is that we have to remember that deep down, Batiuk thinks of the women’s movement as being akin to United Girls Against Jughead. He thinks he’s owed stuff because he’s a dude because his dad said so and his dad was drafted to make sure idiot boys could gobble down cookies and milk while mommies gushed over them and didn’t say cruel and selfish things about their being more to life.
It’s the second “new” FW strip in a year and a half, and he’s ALREADY rehashing the premise…a rehashed premise, at that. It’s a re-rehash, or as it’s otherwise known, a Batiukism.
So what would happen if Batiuk got stuck in a permanent rehash loop, and just did years worth of strips where he did nothing but rehash the premise endlessly? Trick question, it’s be called “Act III”.
Except if Act III was even more rehashed
We’re certainly off to a brekaing-new-ground start with the new Funky revival. How much this recycles the old Act 1 panels is the real question as the week goes on, making us wonder if this long-awaited return is a true clip show or not.
Meanwhile in Funkyshaft, Pete is either the cheapest sun of a gun in the ex-comics industry or he signed some really bad contracts. Granted, I dunno what the alledged-Bendis type of writers made in wages and royalty cuts, but I feel like someone with his alleged talent and portfolio would be making more than enough bank for furniture. Or did he sell everything as part of the Montoni’s bid?