Both Cory and Rocky seem to have gained the ability to reshape their noses in today’s strip, presumably as a part of their 5 second “acclimation” to returning to the United States from deployment.
If only our real servicemen and women could acclimate so easily upon returning home. If only.
Does today’s strip have some meaning beyond the desire to take a nice hot shower after a long and dirty trip? Is it some commentary on the previously unknown but particularly grimy nature of Afghan soil? I have no idea, so I’m just going to tell some old car jokes at the expense of today’s most prominent feature, the Batiukmobile®.
How did Funky double the value of his Batiukmobile®?
He filled up the gas tank.
How did Funky double the weight of his Batiukmobile®?
He sat down in the driver’s seat.
Funky walked up to the counter at the local Western Auto and said “I need a new set of wiper blades for my Batiukmobile®.”
“Throw in $20 and it’s an even trade” replied the store clerk.
Did you know that the Batiukmobile® has one of the industry’s best front-impact crash test ratings?
The tow truck takes the brunt of the impact.
You can buy a Batiukmobile® in any color you want, as long as it’s teal.
99% of all Batiukmobiles® ever built are still on the road.
The remaining 1% were able to make it to the repair shop.
What’s the difference between a hard-working, intelligent individual and a Batiukmobile®?
A hard-working, intelligent individual will get driven out of Westview.
How many haiku
Can today’s strip generate?
Maybe four or five
Funky cannot lift
As much as active duty
Soldier, surprising?
Where did Funky learn
To lift heavy things? Was it
On a fishing boat?
Off balance? Ha no
We all know “Weebles wobble
but they don’t fall down”
A dove in the park
Up on a helium tank
It makes a high coo
So sorry about
Last irrelevant haiku
Needed to get five
Check out today’s strip! Yep, we’re still at the airport. Looks like we’re in for a week of pacing that makes Rex Morgan M.D. look brisk (June Morgan, by the way, has been pregnant for 2 and a half years!).
But we’ve made it to the baggage claim at least, giving Holly her second opportunity in three strips to complain about the uniformity of military-issued equipment.
Rocky appears to have settled nicely into the engrossing role of panel periphery smiler. Wait, doesn’t Rocky have a mother named Carla who lived somewhere within a reasonable driving distance of Westview and who one would expect to be here to greet her daughter upon return from deployment? Why yes, yes she does. Kudos to beckoningchasm for reminding me.
OK, maybe Carla wasn’t able to make it as a working (single?) mother with two small children and two large golden retrievers still at home, but surely we’ll see her during this story arc, right? For the answer to that question, look at the status of her hope that she and Holly would become good friends…
The mystery of whether or not Holly can recognize her own son when he is wearing his military fatigues goes unresolved in today’s strip, as we do not get to see who recognized who before this embrace takes place.
Cory has no hug for Funky? No handshake? No “hello pops”?
Nope, just a stab at ironic humor that earns a pity smile from his mother and a slight change of expression from Rocky (or maybe a cardboard standee of her). Whether intentional or not, one can reasonably infer this as a nod to what I thought was the most underdeveloped potential plot line in all of Act III, Cory’s tenuous relationship with Funky.
Though TB has essentially ignored this fact for the entirety of Act III, Cory is not Funky’s “bio-son”, he is Holly’s son from a previous marriage/relationship and his attitude toward Funky is not unlike the attitudes that some stepchildren do display toward their stepparents. That strained relationship is a mine loaded with realistic and relevant drama, but TB really never tried to tap it. He hints at it, perhaps inadvertently, but the hints are there nevertheless. Cory was depicted as a petty troublemaker (even once a thief) whose behavior exasperated his workaholic father, but TB never explored why Cory behaved like he did. I guess that would have taken too much time away from the Lisa tape library.
What did Cory feel he needed from his parents, especially his stepfather, that he wasn’t getting? How did Cory feel about it being decided that he take Funky’s last name? How did being blackmailed by both Funky and Les affect his opinion of the two most prominent male adults in his life? Did Cory look to anyone else as a father-figure? How did Cory’s behavior affect Funky and Holly’s relationship? Why did Funky struggle or refuse to connect with his stepson?
All the readers got to see is that Cory was a hoodlum until he wasn’t, because the military builds character or whatever. Why and how that all happened could have been interesting, realistic, and relevant to a lot of people. Those are three things TB has been running from since about 1994.
Son of Stuck Funky 
