We can excuse doddering, effete Jim for fearing for his safety around creepy loner Jarod. But Linda’s name calling is nasty and jarring, though it fits in with the sheer, unbridled contempt shown by all Westview faculty toward the students. It sounds especially callous given that we’re led to believe (from Sunday’s strip) that Jarod comes from a troubled home. “Jerk in progress” smacks of one of those phrases that TB heard or came up with and salted away for use in one of his strips; I wish he’d saved it for use by (or maybe against) the truly jerky Owen and Cody.
Tag: coffee
The Man Who Wasn’t There
Greetings, fellow snarkers–tis I, BChasm, the guy who makes Les Moore look pithy and insightful, so let’s get to today’s offering before I get punched in the heart!
When Fearless Leader and I discussed this new arc, he offered that Tom Batiuk had totally forgotten how to draw Jim Kablichnik. I felt compelled to disagree, mentioning that Kablichnik taught science, and thus would probably be delighted that the arts-and-other-crap were being cut, thus allowing him to perhaps steal a desk to go with his new chair.
No, I had the idea that the greybeard above was actually a brand new character being introduced. Yes, with no last name, a first name already claimed by another teacher, no reference to prior appearances, and a character design that says that Jim Kablichnik, Les Moore and Crazy Harry fell into the Brundle telepod while holding hands and smiling into each others eyes.
Now, there is an argument that this is Kablichnik, now wearing glasses and a full beard, although the case is purely Batiukian. Check the “Jim” in the panel three word balloon. Note the amount of white space surrounding it. Tell me there isn’t enough room in there to name this fellow “Nathanial” or “Millicent” or “Wolverine” for crying out loud. So it may actually be Jim, meaning Tom Batiuk’s laziness (consistent character look, or handing out names) approaches legendary levels.
If it is a new character, an art teacher, those of you with long memories might recall that the Westview art teacher we’ve seen before was far, far less hirsute than this fellow, but not to worry–if this guy’s a brand new character, he’ll be gone before we can arrange a suitable memorial tribute. Probably in less than a week. The other fellow only got one panel, as I recall, before disappearing forever into “Funky Winkerbean characters I like, or at least don’t hate.”
As for the content of today’s jape (aimed at illustrating the problems of young people in a sensitive way, I’ll remind you), I might almost consider this “humorous,” since the sheer number of departments being cut (including lunch, for Pete’s sake) might be evidence of exaggeration for satirical effect…except that I think none of those words I just used have any meaning in Tom Batiuk’s world.
Not the Retiring Type
I “So she makes me come here [to Montoni’s] every day.” We know the feeling, Funkman: over the last three months, the majority of strips have been set in the pizzeria, a.k.a., the Chapel of Love, a.k.a. Center of the Funkiverse. Since today’s strip won’t be online until midnight, as a “treat” I’ve scanned the strip from my newspaper.
I looked through the rest of the funnies to see how other cartoonists use Photoshop for their Sunday strips. No doubt they all use it at least to color the panels, and a few more employ Photoshop to add small touches like background gradients. Doonesbury and Get Fuzzy are a little more judicious in their use of digital enhancement: used sparingly, it gives the panels a little extra depth. Tom Batiuk, or whoever colors his Sunday strips, pulls out all the stops, and the result is scenes that appear artificially (and dimly) stage-lit. Observe the two-tone highlighting on Funky’s big head. Where’s that blue light coming from? Have hours lapsed between the daytime first panel exterior shot and the interior shot in panel 2? Interestingly, over at Crankshaft, Chuck Ayers has a much lighter touch with the shading.
What the Heck Do We Care?
Now you know how many ‘holes it takes to fill Montoni’s Pizzeria.
TheDiva
July 10, 2013 at 11:50 pm
Okay, folks, place your bets:
Halle is drawn in the background of a Sunday spread in a listless nod to continuity: 6/1
Does Halle Dinkle’s presence here qualify as a “crossover” if nobody knows about her comic strip? She’s the one helpfully holding up a placard-sized “Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad” card. There’s another unfamiliar face in the crowd, above Dinkle’s head, whose identity will be revealed Friday (as an afterthought; TB’s just giving a shout-out to one of his music friends). Rachel’s been made to don the dreaded red apron but Wally (and his wonder dog Buddy) have been permitted to mingle with the invited guests. I would give Dead Skunk Head John a hard time for showing up in a t-shirt, but hey: we’re in a pizza parlor.
Get ready for another guest blogger: starting Monday, it’s the snark stylings of Beckoning Chasm!
I’m halfway ready for my close-up, Mr. DeMille
Finally, after spending a week laboriously rehashing details we already knew, the
story arc goes somewhere. Too bad it’s Saturday and Sunday’s color strip will likely feature Les helping Pete move out of the apartment above Montoni’s.
And calling all you eagle-eyed nitpicking snarkers out there! Has Lisa’s journal *ever* been mentioned before? I mean, I know she left a massive library of reconning VHS tapes but I don’t recall anyone every saying anything about any journal.
Son of Stuck Funky 
