Retcon Artist

http://www.chron.com/apps/comics/showComick.mpl?date=20101023&name=Funky_Winkerbean

When I just don’t know where to begin snarking, I resort to a bulleted-list format. There’s so much wrong here that this will be one of those times.

  • Les is “still not sure about having a book signing in a pizzeria”. If you weren’t such a pussy you wouldn’t have been browbeaten by Funky into having your event at Montoni’s. And is it a book signing or a launch party? Oh, who gives a damn.
  • “Meet LES MOORE author of ‘LISA’S STORY'”. Uh, I’m pretty sure that everyone in Westview already knows who LES MOORE is. And it looks like Funky went all out promoting the book signing with that huge, lavish sign. Looks like it’s handwritten on the back of a placemat.
  • “[M]y book, ‘Fallen Star’“…Are you talking about your manuscript that you lost in the city? The one that was retrieved by a bag lady who went on to become a literary agent who returned it to you years later? When did it become a book? I promised myself I wouldn’t waste any more time researching Funky Winkerbean history. The “unofficial” FW site cites Les as “author of a novel about the murder of John Darling”. TV Tropes says “In the later 90s, Batiuk returned to the storyline when Les wrote a book about the murder and through the writing process solved the mystery.” The web archives I’ve found only go back to 2004, and I’m not going to go to the microfilm. My assumption was: Les wrote the book, took the only copy of the manuscript with him to New York, lost said manuscript, had it handed back to him years later, and that Lisa’s Story is his first published work, which is why it’s such a big damn deal.
  • And if the book did come out around ’97, well, Les was not rocking the goatee and widow’s peak back then. He still had the helmet hair and goggles.
  • I hope those Cub Scouts go easy on Les. He does not interview well.

The Mourning Show

http://www.chron.com/apps/comics/showComick.mpl?date=20101021&name=Funky_Winkerbean

“Where’s the blurb whore?” “Oh, he’s out getting his feelings hurt some more,” answers Annie, clicking open her cigarette case. Poor Les: how can the rest of the world not feel his pain as he does? “My book, madame, is not a thing to be skimmed while driving!”

In the Funkiverse, where literary agents double as publicists, local tv presenters also direct their own shows: “O.K., I think we’re all set…when the red light comes on, look sad. Instead of looking like a smug douchebag. In five…four…three…”

Mo' Ho'

http://www.chron.com/apps/comics/showComick.mpl?date=20101020&name=Funky_Winkerbean

“Don’t talk to me about whoring, you little wimp! I survived on the streets of New York God Damn City for years!” Anyway, do we really need to see the word “whore” in the funny papers? Especially used by Les to describe himself? We’ve seen him give one interview only to get derailed two questions in. Boo frickin’ hoo. Man up, beardo.

Tuesdays with Les

http://www.chron.com/apps/comics/showComick.mpl?date=20101019&name=Funky_Winkerbean

We know she’s a reporter because she’s holding a little notepad and pen (judging by the way she’s holding it, that could also be a chopstick ). And Les is ready for his interview: he leans suavely against the counter, the suede patch on the elbow of his professorial jacket absorbing the grease of a thousand pizzas, his eyebrows at perfect 45-degree angles…then Sweet Polly Purebred’s second question stops him dead in his tracks. I can’t figure out what Les means by “How old are you?” Is it only young journalists who ask insipid, pointless questions? Do only people who’ve lived a certain number of years comprehend cancer? Is he…hitting on her?

In the background, Apple Annie pretends to have a cell phone conversation using what is really an eyeglass case…must keep up appearances!

Apple Slash Annie

http://www.chron.com/apps/comics/showComick.mpl?date=20101018&name=Funky_Winkerbean

Looks like the Book Launch is about to commence. Funky has brought out a table skirt to transform the pizza parlor into an upscale literary den. All the significant (living) females in the Life of Les are here: long-suffering Cayla, relentless stalker Susan, dutiful daughter Summer, and his “agent slash publicist” slash former bag lady, Ann Apple. Lisa is present too (when is she not?): this time in the (somber) cover art for the book. Except for the pink color, that book cover looks kind of familiar

It’s amazing that Apple Annie had the money for a plane ticket: apparently she owns only one outfit (that damn pink jacket).