Christmas Past

TheDiva
December 22, 2012 at 12:06 am
Because we all know how much interest Funky and Les showed in music and singing back in the Act I days…well, I can’t think of any right now, but I’m sure they exist, because otherwise Batiuk would just be pulling random bits of backstory out of his ass for the sake of a cheap gag, and we all know he has too much artistic integrity for that.

I’m not using the above quote here to show up TheDiva, because I’d never have recalled this either (the most musical one of the gang was Crazy Harry with his air guitar). But today Batiuk gifts us with an Act I strip to prove that, yes, Virginia, they really did go Christmas caroling.

I’m convinced that TB’s reproducing a vintage strip here, rather than trying to recreate his old style, as he’s done in the past with mixed results. The logo in panel 1 is the old style. Even the lettering in the dialog balloons is somehow more cheerful. Compare it to the lettering in the weird snow globe that shows our current-day cast: the “L’s” had yet to acquire their painful hump.

Les and Funky, see how young and how likeable! The redhead, of course, is poor, doomed Livinia. I have no idea who the blond girl is, or why she’d have anything to do with Les, even back then. Dig those bell-bottoms in the penultimate panel silhouette! Lastly, it’s interesting to note that before he started taking himself so seriously, Batiuk could use excessive drinking to get laughs.

 

20 thoughts on “Christmas Past”

  1. Wow, I’m actually kind of glad to know it wasn’t another retcon job. I remember the “deadpan stare” at the reader after the punchline, something that might make Act III a lot funnier than it is now. There’s certainly nothing to lose by trying it.

    Good observation re: the lettering, note how even the word balloons themselves were more cheerful as well! All happily rounded, floating there merrily, as opposed to the angular monoliths that hover over everyone now, taking up space with all their hulking, pointy overtones. OK, I’m nitpicking now, but still.

  2. Well, when I’m wrong I’m wrong. Score one point for Batiuk, which pulls him within….6,362,103 of the lead!

    Also, it’s funny because Funky would later struggle with his own drinking problem.

  3. So TB inserts a TODAY bubble into a decades-old Christmas strip, and calls it a day. Given the crud he produces nowadays, I’ll consider this an early Christmas present. TB, you’ve reached the point where your greatest gift is the gift of Sloth.

  5. S. P. Charles: I guess we don’t really, but it’s close enough to get one bonus point for nostalgia’s sake.

  6. reflex76 comments alot on political comics at gocomic site if anyone gives a fck,one ? on todays strip why is Les face drawn so long ?

  7. Holly: “Hey, Cayla! Remember that one year the men in our lives treated us with simple human decency, including us in their plans and conversations without being begged, cajoled, and prompted? When they acted like they actually LOVED us, saw us as PEOPLE? When we knew we were the most important one in their lives?”

    Cayla: “No….no, I do not remember that. Ever.”

    Holly: “Oh gawd, I thought it was only m-me…”

    (Both women break down, sobbing, miserable. Les and Funky prattle on, beaming pink and gleeful as they talk about their favorite subject of all=THEMSELVES.)

    ************************************

    Merry Christmas, everybody.

  9. The fact that Les and Funky went caroling once doesn’t mean that they liked it/did it more than once.

  10. That may be in the Vol 1, but I’m not willling to go down to the basement to look it up. That “deadpan” stare Funky uses in the last panel gets kind of worn out when you realize TB would do it for 365 strips per year.

  11. Tommy Boy is getting into the school of Lynn Johnson… retro-con the old strips like what is going on in FBOFW.
    Going back in time only makes the present day more painful.
    News Flash TB… These characters are still not lovable…not memorable.

  13. I was also going to mention the Lynn Johnston thing. How long before TomButt pulls a Lynnuck Johnston and goes back to rerunning old strips? That way, instead of putting minimal effort into writing new stuff, he can just put in ZERO effort and rerun old material. Worked for Lynnuck, apparently.

  16. By the way, has everyone checked out this year’s ecard from TB?

    Crayola and daughter look as if they feel asleep face first on a screen door.

  17. There’s one thing I hate more than the deadpan stare and the superior smirk combined — When one or more characters laugh their nuts off at a punchline that’s not funny. (See “Curtis” and Foob Better or Worst for perfect examples of this.) If it’s funny, WE’LL laugh. Don’t worry.

  18. Oh yeah, I saw that “E-card”, not only notable for that weird Keisha/Cayla shading but also for that godawful Summer drawing where she looks like a handicapped kid seeing a Ferris wheel for the first time. No one expresses glee in a more annoying way than Summer does.

    Still, it’s arguably better than that “meet the cast” drawing that featured 27 characters no one’s seen in twelve years. I said “arguably”.

  20. Cayla’s head is ginormous in that e-card. And Summer is wearing a KSU hoodie judging by the color, so props for consistency.

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