"..and why do they call Funky Winkerbean a comic if readers never laugh?"

*bashes head into a wall*

First off, hats off to an eagle eyed reader that pointed out that yesterday’s anonymous band member was actually Cody! I could not tell. Faces and ages aren’t drawn with enough consistency for me to identify all of Westview’s various Marfan’s afflicted denizens.

Thanks to graduating off 90% of the high school characters, we’re now left with these two unlikable nerdlings who just happen to be into– drumroll please… comics!

Riddle me this: How did John from Komix Korner have trouble coming up with his rent when the only thing to spend money on in Westview is pizza or comic books!?

Hassle With the Castle

It’s already November and we’ve yet to meet a single student other than the perennial Sophmores Cody and Owen. Oh, wait! One of these faceless slumping shadows has been given a name!

Castle. Are we supposed to care about this guy? Are we going to find out he’s a regular at the Comix Corner and the love child of Lisa and DSH or are we never going to see him again!?

When It Rains We Snores…

Sourbelly: Meanwhile, you’re not missing anything in this strip. More “jokes” about high school marching bands marching in bad weather. For the TRILLIONTH time, I have to ask: Why is this supposed to be funny???

Sorry, Sourbelly, it looks like you’re going to have to ask a trillion and one!

It’s raining during another Battle of The Bands. Because band competitions happen outside, when it rains, marchers get wet. Somewhere there’s humor in this, or at least, 35 years ago, it was somewhat able to elicit a slight chuckle from the hardest core of band directors who have had rain affect any band competition they may have been in.

This sort of thing might be cute in a local band fundraising coupon flyer or something but for the most part it’s retread over schlock. Bill Watterson and Gary Larson are looking more and more like geniuses for leaving at the top of their game.

Too soon, too soon…

Tombat’s ability to uncannily dredge up natural disasters and acts of terrorism just as they’re happening in real life is in full force in today’s strip! With the official US death toll of Hurricane Sandy rapidly approaching 100, today’s little romp seems poorly timed. Most casual readers don’t know Batiuk writes these strips a year in advance; the whole thing just comes across as rather tasteless instead of the usual unfunny.

Happy Fillereen!

Cory is undergoing a life-changing event by starting his post-high school career in the military. What does Tombat decide to focus on? That woeful sad-sack of an absent father, Funky.

At least I’m guessing that’s what Wednesday’s strip is about. I’ll be at a Halloween party when this thing goes live.

I think Cory would have had a better chance at a happy life if he’d been raised in a war-torn third world country. Or heck, even a troupe of smelly baboons. Anything besides the World’s Lamest Dad.

EDIT:

My mistake, Snarkers! I thought that TomBat would dedicate more than just two days of filler to the title character’s son shipping off to a life in the military, seeing how there was a month-long arc about a kitten we’d never met before that was adopted by a character that was a complete stranger to us.

In today’s actual strip, apparently there is still a Westview High school! You’d think Summer graduating the school would just shutter its doors and windows but it appears life, however dreary, goes on.