Holy shit on a shingle, it’s Tony! It’s been YEARS since he’s made an appearance. Ditto the infamous green pitcher. Tony is off to Florida for the winter, as indicated by his staggeringly gaudy retiree shirt, commonly used to establish retirement among adorable old coots. Which begs the question: why does he keep coming back to Ohio if he’s retired? I don’t know but, as I pointed out yesterday, at least it doesn’t involve Les or comic books, so the fact that this conversation makes almost no sense at all is largely irrelevant. Dare I say that as a longtime FW reader I’m actually almost enjoying this daily parade of long neglected characters, as I think everyone’s had their fill of Atomik Komix for the next few decades.
That’s A Good Boy
FW’s most beloved character (by far) is finally back! No, not that bizarre Wally impostor, whoever he is. Of course I’m referring to Buddy The PTSD Service Dog, who’s as fuzzy and lovable as ever. It’s about goddamned time too. That’s a good, good dog!
Mysteries abound in today’s somewhat peculiar installment. Did Wally always wear those scholarly glasses? Why aren’t Wally’s male classmates smothering Buddy with love as well? Why is Rachel so insecure? Didn’t Batiuk use this exact same gag at least once before? So people still say “co-eds” in this day and age? I really don’t know, but I do know that these idiots are a breath of fresh air after two hundred consecutive weeks of Pete, Boy Lisa and f*cking comic books, that incredibly clunky line of expository dialog in panel one notwithstanding.
Summer’s Finally Over
Summer is back in town, presumably “from college”, for the annual Falling Of The Leaves as is customary in Westview. Seeing good ol’ Summer there with her ever-so-twee hair and her trademark gritty hoodie brings back fond memories of how much I detested that character way back in the dark early days of Act III. She was around all the f*cking time with the basketball and the wry wisecracks and the Lisa gobbledygook, it was awful.
Summer was a major player there for a while but after she got the flu and won the Big Game he shipped her off to KSU and that was pretty much the last of her, she hasn’t had an arc to herself in years. Perhaps he just became enamored with his new up-and-coming crop of characters like Cliff and Chester and Phil Holt and post-Alzheimer’s Mort or maybe it was because he can’t write for a female character unless she’s feeding her husband straight lines, but whatever the reason Summer got kicked to the curb in what’s turned out to be one of (only) Act III’s more pleasant developments.
I’m deliberately ignoring the dialog, Les & Cayla’s already inexplicable and credulity-shattering courtship and marriage needs no further embellishment. God I hate that disembodied Les head so, so much. Seeing Les and Summer together like that really annoys me and brings back a lot of FW memories I’d rather keep buried. In fact this one could be my most hated strip of the year so far.
Fade Away And Radiation
His insurance company? “Hello, I recently had to spend over $48 on buying back some radioactive isotopes I accidentally mailed to a bunch of strangers without their knowledge. Does my policy cover that? There’s no need for that language, ma’am”.
And this “buy back”??? How’d THAT go? Everyone just readily agreed to sell their rings back to Chester no questions asked? Sure, Tom, sure.
“Uh, hello, JoeTheSoSFSnarker? I’m Mr. Doomus with SoSF. How are you today? Good, good. Listen, remember that free Les Moore cocoa mug we sent to our most loyal snarkers a few days back?”
“Yeah, it’s out on my deck. It repels insects for some reason. I should have killed you and your entire family for sending me that thing, you jerk. What of it?”
“Well I kinda sorta need it back, like really bad.”
“Oh, do ya? Why exactly? Oh look, it says right here that the paint on that mug is a lethal carcinogen! I’m suing you!”
“Sigh.”
Premise 5x + one line resolution + weak wordplay wrap-up = another week crossed off the calendar. It wasn’t really that bad of a premise but, as usual, it was just completely squandered. I wonder how long he’s been waiting to zip that “umbrella policy” gag in there? Bet you he’s used it before, too.
Stepping Away From The Box Might Be A Good Start
Well, it isn’t the worst idea Pete’s ever had, that’s for damn sure. While FW has long been hailed for being the very first comic strip to incorporate radiation into its stories, it’s refreshing to see it being used for laughs for a change. At long last Batom has harnessed the mighty power of the atom to generate comedy instead of using it to generate those annual puff-piece interviews in the Akron Daily Bugle Sunday supplement. Although “comedy” might be overstating things a bit.
I do like how Chester is apparently leaning on the potentially deadly box, absorbing its mysterious powers in a desperate attempt to do whatever a marketing team and legal department would do. If the casualties are limited to these four nitwits, no harm done.
Son of Stuck Funky 