Hero and Goat

Whoa! Tread lightly, sporto! Today’s punchline is kinda funny, IMHO, but also problematic, given Batiuk’s well-intentioned, if incredibly hamfisted, treatment of Wally’s PTSD earlier in this strip. But it’s consistent with TB’s inconsistent, have-my-cake-and-eat-it-too ethos: bullying’s funny (until it isn’t), and PTSD is a serious topic (until it can be worked into a punchline). Can cancer jokes be far behind?

Lord of the Fries

Turns out credit for the ‘Goats’ run at the conference championship does not belong to Coach Bushka (and really, could it ever?). Rather, it was Owen’s unlikely heroics (which will be go down in Scapegoat football lore as the “Hail Nanny” play) that sparked the winning streak. In any event, Batiuk actually manages a pretty good punchline today. I’m even prepared to overlook the fact that Tater Tots®, not fries, were the bully jocks’ projectile of choice (probably for their longer range). These three had better hope “our team” goes all the way to the championship, or the bullies will be throwing more than just spuds!

Black Dahlisa

Props to anyone who gets the obscure Hollywood reference in today’s strip! I will be out of town this evening but will leave this up as a placeholder for snarkers far funnier than I!

Back from my trip! Let’s see how Les’s arc played out with the Sunda– are you kidding me!? Cody and Owen?! What about the arc we just suffered through for the last 6 days!? There was no resolution at all! The Series Finale to Alf had better closure.

It’s What’s For Lunch

Link To Today’s Strip

Well, I figured last week’s light-hearted, rather positive view wouldn’t last.  Still, it was fun while it lasted.  It may never happen again, but the fact that it did means that it might.

Today, the joke has been done before and better in this same strip.  I think it was done just a couple of months ago, though the “better” didn’t come into play then.

I’m not sure what else there is to say; the only personality these students have tends to be somewhat loathsome, so I can’t really sympathize with their plight.  If there’s anyone in whose corner I find myself, it’s the lunch-lady, once again having to deal with these cement-heads.

I thought Glasses (I can’t remember who’s who) was supposed to be the smarter of the two, so I’m puzzled by his use of the word “landed.”  Is there a food fight going on, with various flying objects zizzing around?  Does he think erasers are self-propelled, or that they’re manned by a tiny crew of aliens?  What the heck is a “cheese square” anyway–does the cafeteria just drop a brick of cheese onto a plate and say “There you go”?  Actually, I imagine that’s exactly what they do in the cafeteria since they hate these kids.  Everyone hates these kids.

Well, my time in the torture chamber is over and done, so please welcome David O as your new dungeon master, starting tomorrow!