Tag: Cory

Priority Bored-ing

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.

Tuesday, Feb. 10

Today’s strip was not available for preview. Odds on potential happenings in the strip are posted below:

3-1 Cindy’s exclusive interview with Mason begins
1-1 Les, hanging around despite having no role in said interview, smirks
7-1 Appearance by the green pitcher
27-1 Appearance by the Montoni’s pie case
6-1 Starbuck Jones is mentioned
12-1 “Lust for Lisa” is mentioned
250-1 A cameraman will be present to record the interview
0.5-1 Nothing
1,000,000,000,000,000-1 Humor

Turkey Meltdown

“Sitting on my mind” is a rather odd turn of phrase, and it’s a rather odd perspective in panel 1 that makes it appear that Cory’s face is smooshed into Funky’s backside. Today’s strip gives the answer to those of us puzzled by how a middle aged man who jogs regularly and goes to the gym manages to maintain the physique of a couch potato. He’s beaten booze, only to replace that addiction with one to food: he eyeballs that leftover turkey the same way he contemplated that leftover bottle of bubbly a few New Year’s Eves ago:

Merry ChristmAAs

“Nice to have you home son, even if it could potentially trigger an alcoholic relapse!” Props to Funky for being painfully candid with Cory about his condition (“…when my self-esteem bottoms out”? Lawd!). So ol’ Wade is still around…he was not looking so good when we last saw him at Christmas 2011.