This trip just gets weirder. Today we seem to be in yet another part of town, which looks kinda less seedy than the neighborhood we were in yesterday. So is this their old place, or did they live in that house with the garbage piling up outside? Anyway, what’s the point of all this? Aside from giving Ann the chance to deliver the lame “pun”-chline.
28 thoughts on “"Hystery" Lesson”
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Son of Stuck Funky 
If the purpose of these horrific puns is to make me groan like I have an intestinal parasite, mission god-damned well accomplished. I still do not understand at all why Boy Lisa gets to ride up front, though. Nor do I understand what the f*ck is supposed to be going on here, but on the plus side, Les is nowhere to be seen. So there’s that.
Why is FW allowed to be published?
400 newspaper an counting ?? i call bullshit
Actually, you stupid age-shifting bitch, your old place looks pretty nice. Certainly nicer than the roach-engorged, oregano-drenched shit hole Dustbin and wife are moving into above Montini’s cardboard-and-ketchup pizzeria.
Also, bitch, your pun sucks. (And by “bitch”, I of course mean Mr. Batiuk.)
FW’s “run-down” neighborhoods are a lot nicer then my entire city. The citizens make up for it, though. I’d call it about even, except for the constant smirking.
When I goof off at work, no one can see me doing it. When Batiuk goofs off at work like this, readers of over 400 newspapers world wide get to see him do it.
(Are there even 400 print newspapers left in North America? That number always gets mentioned in his publicity boilerplate, but we found out the other day how up to date that is.)
Were puns and awful wordplay a key component of classic FW? Or are they the closest thing to funny that Batom Inc. will do now that the strip is only interested in “stretching the creative boundaries of comic strip narrative humor?”
Durwood: “This is my I don’t want to be here anymore face.”
Apparently BatButt thinks this PUNchline is slap-nuts funny because he has Fishstick Annie (current age – 47) leaning foreword and grabbing Dilweed’s seat, with a face that suggests she is within a K*nt State hair of pissing herself. Smirks all around! Fred even takes his eyes off the road so he can make his smirk symmetrical with Durrhey’s. LOOK OUT! IT’S CELL PHONE GIRL!!!
Of course, I’m not a world class “writer” like Bat Hack, so what do I know, but I’d like it better if a character delivered punnage in deadpan, like they’re just throwing it off. Then if it’s funny, it’s funny. But when the wisecracking character uses a face and body language to suggest they are about to say something so funny your balls will fall off, then the line is incredibly forced and lame, it makes you wonder if the “writer” has any idea what normal people laugh at. Good one, Tommeh Tonedeaf.
And the Smirk-Mobile rolls on…..yawwwnnnn.
Epicus, when riding in a really small car such as the one depicted here, it is standard procedure to let the small people (i.e. women) ride in the back seat where leg room is at a premium, and let the larger people (i.e. men) ride in the front seat where they are less cramped. We do that all the time when riding with my mother-in-law in her car.
It just dawned on me, if this was Fred and Ann’s first apartment then that means they have likely lived their entire adult lives in Westview.
This story arc is one of TB’s most depressing.
Well, that doesn’t look too bad at all! Stately Victorian-era homes that aren’t falling down? They may be a bit close to the street (not much of a front yard) but I suppose they have alleys. I’d rather live there than a crappy little apartment above a crappy pizza place.
I bet Darrin’s wishing he had his own car right about now. Yawwwwwwwn.
A story line this pure-D boring and limp has to be a deliberate attempt by Batiuk to make us miss Les and Summer. At least they evoke an emotional response in the reader unlike this drivel.
bobanero: OK, I suppose that does make sense. That’s one thing this month.
Flummoxicated: He’s always relied on awful puns, thing is that “back in the day” they usually had something to do with that week’s arc instead of being so….random.
Thank goodness we rushed past the Wedding Ceremony at the Center of the Universe and skipped the Coming Reception! Otherwise, we might have missed this!
I can only imagine Batiuk scribbles down random puns as they occur to him over the year, then uses weeks that should be a transition between storylines as a dumping ground for them, no matter the context, no matter the speaker.
So what was this about the doubt that 400 newspapers carry his tripe? I do find it hard to believe. (on a related note, how many newspapers carry 9CL?)
bad wolf: I have likewise assumed this for years. In fact I think he’s created entire arcs simply to use the bad puns and terrible wordplay he stores in that head of his. Regardless of whether the arcs make any sense or not.
Man, the pun is Dominic Deegan level bad and that’s something you don’t want to be.
60 newspapers carry 9 Chickweed Lane
I’ve always observed that older folks prefer big-ass, hulking cars like Buicks, Oldsmobiles, Cadillacs, etc. I’m not completely sure why that is, but I’m sure their ability to get in and out of the car has something to do with it. Oldsters struggle with getting in and out of small cars. The Fairgoods are supposed to be pretty old. 70’s at least. (Never mind that their appearance changes every day – that’s not the point.) I want to know what they are doing in that ludicrously tiny car.
My all-time favorite comment about how Batiuk draws cars:
Ann: “It’s a hysterical landmark!!!”
Fred: “BWA-HA-HA-h*…what’s wrong with you, Darin?!? That was witty! Laugh. Laugh, I say!”
Darin: “Listen, Pop…it’s a weekday. I’m worn out. I want to go home. I also don’t understand why you’ve segregated the sexes.”
Ann: *GASP* “Don’t you mention S-E-X in my presence, young man!”
Fred: “Maybe I should pull over. Unloop my belt. Teach you some respect, sonny.”
Darin: “…*…that does it. Jess! On the count of three, open your door! We’re jumping out of this car!”
Jess: “But it’s still moving! And this looks like such a rough neighborhood, what with the pristine white buildings in excellent repair, the tree-lined yards, the bright sunshi-…*…”
Darin: “Um, I think we’ll take our chances.”
I never learned how to draw cars correctly. For years (years) they were semi-circles with wheels (worse than Batiuk). But when I looked at an actual car and tried to draw from a picture, it turned out far less atrocious.
So I can’t criticize Batiuk on how he draws cars (because I think they’re a lot harder than they look). Sorry.
Fuck cars. The man can draw BRICKS! And FALLING LEAVES! Beady eyed nitpickers… *Beanie waddles off*
WHAT?! A pun using the root “hyster” that *doesn’t* involve a woman having health issues with her uterus?? Unbelievable.
Also, that’s just about the stinkiest portrayal of a slum I’ve ever seen. It looks instead like every older community in every city north of the Mason-Dixon line. Hell, I bet half the communities in Ohio look worse than that.