Tag: Centerville

Valium-tine

While Jeff Murdoch apparently violates Twitter’s character limit in today’s strip, Director Martin Johns violates general decorum by thinking Jeff’s tweet is worth reading out loud to these Hollywood types lounging about in wicker chairs.

Prescient SOSFer erdmann hypothesized yesterday that this would lead to the premiere of Starbuck Jones at “that damn Crankshaft theater”. Today’s strip all but confirms that, and I can tell you that the next several strips will not dispel the idea. If you consider this to be a spoiler then you haven’t read Funky Winkerbean for very long.

In other news, Cindy has lost her right foot. Oh, and Jeff Murdoch is apparently both old enough to have seen and remember original-run Starbuck Jones movie serials (before Cliff was blacklisted sometime in the early 1950s) and young enough to have also been attending Kent State in 1970 (on a John Sebastian impersonator scholarship, apparently). To be fair, there is a window of time in which that works, but it is narrower than Crankshaft’s mind.

Meh-Moore-ial Day

Big hat tip to billytheskink for a great fortnight of Funky analysis and haiku. And my eternal gratitude to the generations who’ve fought and died so that we might enjoy our liberty. We honor them today and every day.

From the FW blog:
As I discussed in a previous post, Batman animated artist Rick Burchett is coming on board at the end of this month to work with me on Funky.

So the Batiuk & Burchett era is underway, and if not for the tandem signatures on today’s strip, you’d be hard pressed to notice the transition. But let us, with our beady eyes, nitpick this panel by panel:

Les and Cayla celebrate the holiday at their wedding venue (outside the Taj Moore-hal). Les’ smug expression refuses to so much as wilt, even over a hot grill. Speaking of which, don’t those, um…burgers? look tasty?

Looks like Burchett got the memo about drawing bricks, although it’s a 2-D view and not a perspective rendering…but look how many he gets into that little space! ++++

Burchett’s depiction of outside corners on wooden siding, however, displays none of the verisimilitude of his bricks. Les retains his Paulie Walnuts hair color scheme, and is smirking hard enough to give himself dimples to rival those of TV’s Pioneer Woman.

I actually like this panel 3 tableau of the Moores looking into the distance; though if the perspective is true, Les’ giant wheelbarrow is leaning against his two-story garage. Apparently Westview and Centerville are separated by a lush, wooded shire (and of course, “ten or so years”). Notice Cayla, though: while she’s her usual, bland gingerbread cookie self in panel one, here Burchett has given her a perceptible backside and the appearance of hips. This gives me such hope.

While we can expect the draughtsmanship to marginally improve, Batiuk will still be the one “writing” the strip. So don’t get your hopes up over plotline hygiene, more humor, and less gloom: this is still Funky Winkerbean in the 21st Century. But even a little visual polish couldn’t hurt. Welcome aboard, Rick.

He Who Talks Behind The Rows

SosfDavidO here, coming back after a power outage last night that knocked the humor right out of me!

In any case, here is today’s strip, which is a bit, well, alarming if you think about it, or just weird.

Any second, these kid’s parents are going to come back and see a strange man in a dark movie theater offering their under-12 kids a $20 bill. If Harry got the living snot beaten out of him you can bet no charges would be pressed, at least not against the parent.

Sleepless in SEATtle

SosfdavidO here, marveling at Tombat’s continued use of telling when he should show and showing when he should tell, like in today’s strip.

Here’s how this would have went down in the real world:

Crazy Harry: “I’m here two hours early for the movie!”
Employee: “Why?”
Crazy Harry: “To get the perfect seat.”
Employee: “Which one is that?”
Crazy Harry: “Well, um.. the one in the middle…”

But in the interest of *comedy* we have to go through a whole week of the employee actually leaving his ticket booth to see what the hell Harry is talking about. Who sold the newcomers tickets? Who knows!

How this should have went down:

(Harry and Holly are seated at the theater)
Harry: “Can you see the screen?”
Holly: Yes.”
Harry: “Is your seat comfortable?”
Holly: “Yes.”
Harry: “Are you in a draft?”
Holly: “No…”
Harry: “Would you switch me seats!?”