spacemanspiff85

We Have A Diet of Terrible Strips

Ugh. It’s yet another obvious filler strip, made with even less effort than usual.

Panel 1-Funky: “I’m going on a diet!”

Panel 2-Funky-“I’m not going on a diet, I’m just going to stick to my current diet!”

And why is Holly asking for clarification here? “Plant-based diet” is extremely self-explanatory. Is there an auto plant nearby, and how does Funky know what they eat? I have a feeling Batiuk just heard someone mention a plant based diet and in his pun-obsessed mind tried to come up with some punchline based on the multiple meanings of plant.

Rejected first drafts of this strip: (ha, like Batiuk rejects any idea that pops into his head)

“I’m going on a liquid diet! I’m going to eat whatever I want, and wash it done with a liquid!”

“I’m going on a Happy Meal diet! I’ll only eat “meals” that make me “happy”!”

“I’m going on the donkey diet! If you try to tell me what to eat, I’ll tell you to kiss my ass!”

Maybe He Peed Himself, Like Les

Link To Today’s Strip

In case you were wondering if there was literally any point to the Adeela storyline beyond “hey, my characters are eating Thanksgiving dinner with MUSLIMS, look how progressive and bold my writing is”, today’s strip should prove to you that no, there really wasn’t. This story was somehow dragged out for the past month (at least? I forget) and yet Batiuk somehow still couldn’t finish off this week with anything relevant to it, and instead just has another “old people are idiots/hilarious” “gag”. Batiuk couldn’t have a strip where Adeela thanks her hosts, and then maybe one where Wally cracks wise about how he’s glad he didn’t get a new partner?

I mean, why is Holly talking like this to her guest she just met? “Yeah, my father-in-law’s mind might be going. Or maybe he’s just trying to be funny, staring into space and looking extremely confused and disoriented. Either way, we’re just going to talk about him like he’s not a real person as we leave the room. The men are upstairs reading comics, and we’d better hurry if we’re going to provide them with enough cookies and chocolate milk”.

What is the “trick” even supposed to be here? I really can’t stand this typical Batiuk “wordplay” humor where he just switches two words around, but I really hate it when it’s in the service of mocking senility, which he’s been doing a lot of lately.

Happy Smirksgiving

Link To Today’s Strip

That is one long, narrow table. And I assume that’s Rachel’s kid sitting next to her, even though I’m pretty sure he should be in high school by now. He’s definitely going to be in my nightmares for a while though, the way he’s staring right at the viewer for some reason. He looks like he should be in a horror movie, where none of the people can actually see him.

Wally’s expression is also pretty uncomfortable, although it’s more of the incredibly smug variety then creepy. I guess his expression is supposed to be saying “hey reader, look how awesome I am, having MUSLIMS at my (uncle/cousin’s) THANKSGIVING! Isn’t this mind-blowing, and award-worthy?! Damn, Tom Batiuk sure is one HELL of a writer”.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. 🙂

He’s Smirking Because He’s Got Speakerphone On, And Likes Humiliating His Daughter

Link To Today’s Strip

So apparently Rana can’t speak for herself, and Wally has to clear this with her mom, because she’s eight years old and not a grad student. Wait, that’s not right.

I mean, why would Becky object? It’s the first time in like ten years Wally’s even been aware he has a daughter. Becky’s got to seize that moment while she can. And this will allow her and John to have a romantic Thanksgiving alone. Who am I kidding, of course it would be the two of them and Crazy Harry.

And it’s one thing for an individual to say that they personally are putting on the “freshman fifteen” (grad school fifteen is just lame and continues the long Batiukian tradition of thinking just switching two words is enough to be hilarious). It’s another thing for Becky to “joke” about this totally behind Rana’s back to her dad. It just comes off like complaining about her getting fat, which is laughable, but totally in line with the general mean-spirited nature of Batiuk’s strips.

Coming Soon: Montoni’s Baghdad

Link To Today’s Fine Strip

Based on appearances I’d say that age gap is maybe five years or so. Honestly, it doesn’t look like an age gap as much as a “Funky is a lot fatter” gap, since Wally doesn’t look like a young buck or anything.

It’s funny, Batiuk passing off forgetting the basic relationships between his characters as “oh yeah, that was a joke all along and you didn’t get it”. I assume coming up soon someone will say they call Pete by the wrong last name to be funny.