Fair Shot

Rachel has apparently made it her mission to “cure” Wally’s anxieties by applying some tough love.

A friend of mine once commented, “With red hair, you’re either really good-looking…or really ugly.” Harsh, I know, but it was funny at the time. The thing is, Rachel manages to be both, at least the way Batiuk draws her. She’s actually one of the more attractively-drawn females in this strip. In today’s panel two, though, she looks like Ronald McDonald with no makeup.

Drive carefully, Wally. That looks like the same road where Uncle Cousin Funky totaled the Cruiser.

Date Night

http://www.chron.com/apps/comics/showComick.mpl?date=20100816&name=Funky_Winkerbean

We go from snowbirds to lovebirds…after a day of slacking in Montoni’s kitchen, Wally trades his olive drab tee shirt and schmatte for a dentist’s smock, and Rachel dons a puke-green maternity frock, and they wait until they are about to get in the car before making plans for the evening.

Tom Batiuk interview at CancerConnect.com

For those who are looking for a little extra insight into the guy behind the comic we all love to snark on… I’d like to share some video: an interview with Tom Batiuk: Prostate Cancer Survivor.

The full transcript of the interview is below the video, for those who don’t feel like watching, but it is worth watching, especially for glimpses of some art we haven’t seen before. TB actually comes across as a likeable guy. We see him doing what he does best, and I don’t mean cartooning: I mean justifying being such a self-important downer…here’s the interview, and Tom Batiuk, in a nutshell:

“I didn’t get the memo, you know, that you’re only supposed to be funny, but what I really owe my readers is to sort of challenge my expectations of myself, and challenge theirs as well.”

Across the Crazyverse

http://www.chron.com/apps/comics/showComick.mpl?date=20100815&name=Funky_Winkerbean
Click to view larger

Another Sunday, another episode of The Old Philosopher. Even Funky, in the throwaway first couple of panels, is beginning to lose patience with this old fool. “Oh shit…Harry’s formulating another one of his wacky observations…Hey! Hey! Postie! Get the hell outta here now. Really. Stop taking up space at my counter and go deliver the goddamn mail!”

But no, Funky the enabler has to ask him what he’s “thinking”. What follows is so thuddingly lame and nonsensical (“swallowing helium”? Swallow this!) that Funky cannot even muster a smirk.