The plot, such as it is, continues to thicken today. Frankie the Rapist Stalker’s got a partner in whatever he’s trying to pull here: the equally-shiftily-named “Lenny”. It also seems that his target is not Les (drat!) but Darin, whom he’s trailed to Montoni’s. TB actually rewards us with a pretty good punchline.
37 thoughts on “Frankie Speaking”
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Son of Stuck Funky 
A rerun of last week’s Sunday strip?
Hmmm. TB’s angstro-subtle clues lead me to believe that maybe this Frankie character is not to be trusted. Gosh, Just when everything seemed to be wonderful! Suddenly, a…fuck it. I hope they all die. Horribly.
TB is improving. This week’s artwork is consistent with last week’s.
For those tuning in late, at this time the link points to the same strip as last week. At least I’m assuming that this is a mistake and TB isn’t so proud of his work as to give us an encore. Of course I could be very wrong about that.
It’s possible that it’s just a Comics Kingdom error… I’ve seen the same Slylock strip run two days in a row before, it usually gets corrected.
I’m trying to decide if that’s better or worse.
I’m trying to decide if that’s better or worse.
Let’s keep Michael Patterson out of this, there are enough douchebags in FW.
Can’t read today’s, Comics Kingdom is screwing up.
I often wonder what it would be like if Frankie was the “hero” of the strip, resemblance to Mitt Romney notwithstanding, while a creep with a goatee and glasses watches in from a nearby car. Makes more sense, doesn’t it?
Okay, I’m confused? Anyone else – oh wait! That’s the point of this twit! Keep them guessing…tomorrow we’ll see Westview win the state basketball championship tournament! Does “Batman” have amnesia? Does anyone care! Tune in tomorrow and find that the same strip has a familuar ring to it…I think Tom needs a GPS for these strips!
Given how TB has portrayed Act II and III Frankie, how is his response to “what’s the word?” anything other than “Thunderbird”?
I’ll find out in half an hour, but I just gotta know, TFH- is Montoni’s suffused in a Creepy Blue Twilight? Is the light glinting off every reflective glass surface possible? Is the Green Pitcher on the back counter?
I suppose the true fans of Funky Winkerbean would say that, “If you don’t like reading last week’s strip, then STOP READING IT!”
I think FTR broke the space-time continuum in his car. Where’s Captain Picard when you need him?
Hot diggity, an evil accomplice! But, I must say, if fat jokes are the most diabolical thing they can come up with, they’ll never kill Moose and Squirrel.
OK, I scanned and posted today’s comic. Let me ask the readers: if the guy standing on the right in the last panel was not wearing a red Montoni’s apron, would you know that it was Funky?
Going to be very disappointed if we don’t get a Sunday strip when Summer comes home from College (because this special snowflake has no need for Summer Semester classes) and pops in the VHS tape marked “What to do when the skeevy father of your half-brother turns up.”
Les shared personal identity and location info for Lisa’s relatives in Lisa’s Story?
Crud, why doesn’t he just include their phones, passwords, and social security numbers in the screenplay?!?
Y’know, at this point, I’m rooting for Frankie.
TFH, thanks for today’s scan.
Even though it’s stalkerish behavior, I’m still not getting Batiuk’s intended “evil vibe” off of Frankie. He genuinely comes off as a guy who was deprived of the chance to meet his own illegitimate bastard son. Though it makes no sense that it took Les’s book to spur a reunion. Oh wait, yes it does, because Les is a god in Westview who performs such good deeds for his fellow townspeople all the time. After all, this arc is not about Darrin or Frankie — it’s about Les, Les, Les!!
Good on ya for going above and beyond. This also shows how badly a regular newspaper reproduces the half-hour-til-sunset shading Batiuk uses for a lot of these Sundays. On a page that’s soaked in flat, bright colors, it does call attention to itself, so I guess that’s worth something.
Yeah, the punchlines’s fine, and yes, that is more Funky’s grandfather than Funky. But is that 555-1212 supposed to be the call from Lennie? Really? Does Lennie work for directory assistance?
Seriously, WTF!!!! This story line makes zero sense. As has been asked many times: what can FTR & Lenny do after all years? First contact, just call the police and get a restraining order, QED! Gesh, BatStupid has really plumbed the depths of idiocy in this one — and he get’s $$$$ for this bs? Amazing.
I feel like I’m watching the Westview version of The Wire.
What the heck did Les write in his book? How did Frankie track down Darrin unless Les wrote:
“My wife Lisa was raped by Frankie X while she was in high school. Lisa gave up the child for adoption and he was adopted by the Fairgoods of Westview who named him Darrin. I suspect in 10-15 years he will move back to Westview and will long to connect with his raptist Dad.”
Color me puzzled…again…at TB.
What. The. Hell. I must say Tombat has my interest, if for nothing more than finding out what monumental dumbassery Squiggy is up to. With any luck, once Les realizes who is stalking him, we’ll see a puddle of urine on the studio floor and a frantic call to Bull to “save me, for the love of God, SAVE ME.” On the other hand, it could be priceless it see Les trying to engage Squiggy in fisticuffs over his deflowering of Saint Lisa The Doomed. Whatever. Next week could bring the absolute madness this strip has been missing, or it could fizzle altogether with tedious dialog and no action. No matter, at least Squiggy has added some tension. For what its worth, my money is still on Cayla to force a resolution to this whole sordid mess.
It actually IS a fairly decent punchline, you know? It’s just so rare to see a FW gag that isn’t centered around that annoying “life blows, then you die” philosophy. And Funky really IS a fat tub of goo, so there’s that too.
Another terrific job on the cancer book cover. I’m sort of surprised that the book doesn’t glow like the briefcase in “Pulp Fiction”. “Lisa’s Story”….the only cancer book you’ll ever need, a virtual “who’s who” of Westview’s twisted, sad denizens.
And Frankie’s car almost looks sort of like…a real car! This FTR character is bringing out the best in Batty, too bad Lisa’s going to eventually ruin the whole thing with her unbelievable foresight.
Props to Comics Kingdom, way to botch the only interesting FW story line in years. My pet theory (that no one at CK even reads or looks at FW regularly) looks more and more plausible every day.
The punchline would’ve been funnier if Lennie had said, “Tell me about the rabbits, George.”
But seriously folks. The Comics Kingdom crew seem to have the same devotion to their craft as TB.
Another way you can tell FTR isn’t a Westview regular: he’s using what appears to be a smartphone while not complaining about modern technology.
Maybe the whole thing will turn out to be a crime caper, with FTR distracting everyone while the mysterious “Lenny” breaks into Komix Korner to steal DSH’s priceless stash of Jungle Jim toppers.
Probably Ayrhead elbowed BatTurd awake in the middle of the night and told him the whole Frankie arc wasn’t NEARLY jiveass enough.
Ayrhead: “How about if Frankie has an evil henchman?”
Swishy Tom: “Ooh! Can I call him something evil like ‘Lenny?’ Oh roll over here and give me a sloppy wet kiss, you big bearded teddy bear, you!”
What in hell was in that book anyway?
Gyre, I was wondering the same thing.. that’s the cover to the very-much-in-existence Lisa’s Story collected from the Funky Winkerbean comics. It’s so Meta here…
So Les aired Lisa’s dirty laundry in his little book after she was dead. Classy. I wonder if he had her sign a release on her deathbed.
What is this? I just can’t figure it out.
What’s Frankie going to do? If he’s trying to reconnect with Darin, why is he hanging around like a cop on stakeout? Why doesn’t he just go in and introduce himself? If he has malevolent intent, what on God’s Globally Warming Green Earth is his motivation? “I want to erase all evidence of the rape”? And who’s Lenny and why is he involved? (Actually, I have an answer for that: Batiuk’s a hack and this is the only way he could have Frankie speak about his feelings/intentions without him having a week-long filibuster to himself)
And how does he even know Funky? And his setup suggests that he’s been keeping himself abreast of the entire class or something. (How does he know that some of Lisa’s classmates have died and why does that matter to him?)
I forgot. He’s evil.
I’d love it if this turned into a version of Haneke’s Caché, but Batiuk’s blown it already. We’re not supposed to know who’s tailing people from Lisa’s past. But man, if Batiuk loved Les just a little, uh, less to do that do him, it’d be a great story about him and his neuroses.
The punchline is ok, but I have a problem with the setup. The ranks are getting thinner? How many of Lisa’s old classmates has he killed off?
If Frankie doesn’t LIKE Lisa’s Story, why does he read it??
—If Frankie doesn’t LIKE Lisa’s Story, why does he read it?–
Maybe Frankie runs a snark website about Lisa’s Story.
Given Tom Batyuck’s thin skin and passive-agressive nature, I’m really surprised that he didn’t name Frankie The Rapist’s henchman “T.F. Hackett”.
Actually, JR, if TB took potshots at any of our names, that would be the best thing ever.
There’s going to be a “bet you didn’t see THAT coming” shock moment with Frankie. This just seems like a big setup.
Please note I didn’t say it would be an interesting or satisfying shocker, just that it will happen.