Link to today’s strip. (It’ll be there soon, trust me.) (FINALLY)
That sentence, “Same old same, old man” sure is jarring, but the saddest part here is Pete Rugose…and not because he looks like he’s ten years old.
He’s a far more successful writer than Les Moore–he’s written for Marvel, he’s written Superman stories, and he’s a screenwriter on a highly anticipated upcoming film. Yet visiting the Flash Museum is the one act that he thinks will define his life. Of course, those other things I mentioned involve writing, and whenever he has to write, he bitches about how hard it is and how everyone should stop making him do it. So maybe being able to write comics isn’t something he celebrates, he sees it as just one big burden.
Harry’s expression in panel three is similarly sad. I’m going to guess that the Flash Museum is not located atop an inaccessible mountain peak, nor is it anchored in the benthic depths of the ocean. It’s probably right here in America somewhere, so if visiting it drives Harry to high levels of ecstasy, then why haven’t you gone, Harry? I seriously doubt that the entry fee is too high–remember, we’re talking about a museum devoted to The Flash. Many museums are supported by visitor donations, while for others the fee is pretty nominal. They want people to come and see what they have, although I suppose in the Funkyverse maybe it’s the opposite, and they’d rather not have anyone visit unless they happen to be the “right” sort of folks.
The only way any of this makes sense is if the Flash museum only opens once every fifteen years, and only stays open for one hour. Then, all this talk of how awesome it is to go to the Flash Museum might make sense. It could be the basis of a great story, too, how Dullard and Pete Ratchet thought they had plenty of time, but got stuck in traffic and got to the museum only to see the “CLOSED” sign be hung in the window by a swift hand. What an opportunity for misery that would be!
But then, Tom Batiuk couldn’t show drawings of the Flash. So of course Dullard and Pete Radish will get to see the museum, and so will we. Sigh.
When they’re at the museum, I hope the staff can sell them razor blades and cyanide capsules at the exit, because if their lives are all downhill from here, why shouldn’t they end it all on a high note?
