Irony. It’s a word whose definition has been tortuously stretched since the mid-1990’s. So I don’t know if this situation is truly ironic, but boy, don’t you bet Cindy would love to have back that Channel One News set that she so blithely gave away to Westview’s high schoolers? I’ve seen hostage videos with more elaborate staging than what passes for a “news set” at buddyblog. All their budget must have gone into the signage on the building’s facade. Cindy, who yesterday was cracking snide about her boss’ youth, is taken down so many pegs that it’s surprising Batiuk didn’t resort to those Benday dots on her cheeks signifying shame or nausea. Or both.
Tag: Cindy
Echoes of a Summer
California! Home of palm trees, bicycles and bottled water. Cindy has picked up and relocated here, in a desperate bid to be near her younger, movie star boyfriend, but also having accepted a vaguely defined job with an undetermined salary from an internet startup who hired her because she was affordable. And not until she arrives on her first day does she meet, and proceed to dismiss, her new boss, who resembles a catatonic and even more androgynous Summer.
Gym-Nauseum
Link To Today’s Farce.
And as we enter the homestretch it’s “the WHS gym” making a TREMENDOUS run for the wire! Yep, it looks like we’re in for lots of sepia-toned “Les is stuck on the gym rope again” flashbacks featuring good ol’ Act I Loser Les! That’s right, folks. Way back when, before he was an award-winning author/martyr/smug obnoxious jerk whose wife tragically died, Les was a hapless dweeb! I know, I know…it’s difficult to believe, but it’s 100% true. In fact, you can visit the official FW archive site and take a gander at those old strips anytime you…oh, wait. Forget that last part.
“Six months ago”??? What? Does the reunion committee meet every two weeks or something? Why were they discussing a venue six months ago? And why didn’t they settle on one? Normally, a story starts making more sense as you add details…but not in the Funkyverse, where up is white and down is sideways and everything is coated with pizza grease, nonsensical developments and retconned nostalgia. And sometimes all the names are wrong too.
Why are there corner thingies in panel one? It’s just a flashback to six months ago, not a cherished old memory of happier days gone by. Either use them right or not at all, Author Guy! Retcon photo album corner thingies are a privilege, not a right.
A Load of Bull
Link to today’s strip when it appears.
I ask you–how could I resist a post title like that? Tom Batiuk must be a faithful reader here, and decided he was going to lob an easy pitch right over the plate.
I had no idea that Bull’s fantasy was to be a news reader, just as it came as a surprise that Ann Fairgood wanted to be a writer. I also had no idea how far he’d go to realize that fantasy (barring actually applying for the job). I mean, that looks damned dangerous the way he’s sitting in the back of the truck. Note that the desk is not secured in any way, so that if the truck goes into a curve Bull risks having his thighs crushed.
I also think yesterday’s answer has to be “joking.” There’s no way a second desk would fit inside that pickup truck. Heck, the desk itself barely fits. Sure seems like Les picked the most qualified person to oversee this task. (Okay, to be fair there’s probably a second truck, or some other vehicle since we saw three students and two teachers yesterday, and we’re missing at least one of each. However, being fair is no fun.)
The Joy of Sets
Link to today’s strip.
And just like that, we’re off on another storyline. Will it be more interesting than Planning-The-Coming-Reunion? Probably not–are you kidding? This is Funky Winkerbean–but we’re going to get it anyway.
You know, when someone simply pops in storylines only to abruptly drop them before they conclude, it makes it difficult for the readers to care. When anything can happen, and any story can get dropped for no apparent reason, then why invest any interest in them? Presumably, Tom Batiuk would like us to care about these characters and be interested in what happens to them. If Les and Cindy were attacked by a giant spider just now, I’m sure he would prefer that we be concerned about them rather than yawning it off. This isn’t the way to do it. Unless Mr. Batiuk is actually hoping to shed readers, I can see no reason for his current strategy.
So, anyway, Cindy offers her old newsroom set to the school. I assume she means the desks, and perhaps the backdrops; I doubt anything valuable like lights or a mixing board will be part of the package. Why desks and a backdrop would be things the school would covet, I don’t know, especially as the station is shedding them for something better. Last time we saw any “video journalism” at the school, it was just a face shot of Owen saying something stupid. Does he need a new desk for that?
Son of Stuck Funky 
