Son of Stuck Funky

I’d Like To Buy A Smirk

The first two weeks of The Burnings have been a puzzle so far.

But poster The Drake of Life said something that got me thinking:

(On Wednesday) it looked like something was actually about to happen, so (Tom Batiuk) had to slam on the brakes and give us his patented, “Look who it is! [Name], the [awkward exposition of character]!” This (is) bringing the momentum leading to a potential interesting action to a dead stop.
The Drake of Life, two days ago

Why would any writer do that? Let’s review what we know so far about the story, from the first two weeks’ strips, or the Cleveland.com article. Continue reading “I’d Like To Buy A Smirk”

Wake Me Up When September Ends

Comic Book Harriet here!

First, an apology. I know I’ve been scarce in the comments section lately. To the point of being lax in moderating duties. August was a busy month for me. My parents ran away to the blazing hot south to dunk their latest grandchild in devil-repellent. I had a friend from out of state stay for several days and we swam our way through the swarming crowds at the State Fair to heckle obese livestock. There was the usual moo-based shenanigans.

No, Principal Nate, “Suggested” Means “Not Legally Enforceable”

After wasting a week on Dinkle and book signings, Week 2 of The Burnings begins with a huge exposition dump.

Before we get to it, a question: if Tom Batiuk hadn’t put out this puff piece in the Cleveland newspaper, would you even know last week was the beginning of The Burnings? Last week saw three authors, two of whom are nationally relevant, standing around smirking at each other during an unrelated book signing. Which is a very common story in the Funkyverse. The Act III links above show that Les alone did book signings in 2010, 2011, 2017, 2019, 2021, and now 2024. Most of them were multi-week arcs. Today’s strip feels like the beginning of the actual Burnings story.

ESPN 8 The Ocho Presents: The World’s Smuggest Man Competition

COTTON (Gary Cole): “Good evening, sports fans, Cotton McKnight here, coming to you live from Village Booksmith in Centerville, Ohio, welcoming you to the finals of the World’s Smuggest Man competition! Live on ESPN8, The Ocho. And with me as always, my partner in crime: Pepper Brooks!”

PEPPER (Jason Bateman): “Yo! What’s up, Cot? Fist bump!”

I Am The God Of Hellfire, And I Bring You…

FIRE!

Arthur Brown knew how to make an entrance! Tom Batiuk, not so much.

The Burnings have commenced! Both the Daily Cartoonist and Cleveland.com ran puff pieces in advance of the story, much like we saw ahead of the CTE arc. We’ve been wondering about the nature of The Burnings for months now, and these stories reveal some details: