Holly carries her bulk up the stairs to the Komix Korner. Speaking of bulk, Owen’s goatee does little to conceal his double chin; when did that happen? That flight of stairs is probably the only exercise that any of the characters in today’s strip get.
Anyway, business at the Korner seems to have picked up since last December: not only can John now afford a nicer Christmas tree, but he’s sporting one of those cool t-shirts with a Batman logo that magically disappears!
Holly’s Komix Kwest 4 Kory has yet to take her beyond the Westview city limits. Today she browbeats Crazy Harry into revisiting the humiliating circumstances that led him to sell off his most prized possessions. You’d think Harry might know whether or not Komix Korner has sold his Starbuck Jones comic, given that Harry now works there.
I know of something that could possibly act as a “cooler”. It’s called a “refrigerator”. It’s like a cooler, only bigger. Seriously though, nice try at one of those “these damned kids today” strips but no, I’m fairly certain that young people today are quite familiar with glass, what with their beer and bongs and meth pipes and all. This one reads like it probably should have been left in the outtake pile or maybe the blooper reel. Although I always love how he draws that creepy Komix Korner staircase, though, one of my favorite things in the strip in fact. It’s like a portal leading to some insane geek hell dimension.
And isn’t there probably a cooler full of drinks right downstairs in Montoni’s anyway? I take back that “nice try”.
“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.
“Truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.”
Matthew 26:34
“I’ve just alerted all of our friends…” Hey Westview, you’ve got mail! Frankie and his “reality TV crew” (Lenny with a camcorder) are coming to get some dirt on St. Lisa. Not so as to waste any time, the “crew” does away with advance calls and pre-interviews and just shows up on the doorstep rolling film. Rather than flat-out telling Frankie to GTFO, they’ve been instructed by wise Les just to play dumb; i.e., to lie. Funky follows these instructions to the hilt, practically channeling his senile father. Bull, as always, is able to get by with physical intimidation: “Never heard of her.” SLAM! And Crazy Harry’s just dim; doesn’t realize that Lisa Crawford is that Lisa.
I 
Son of Stuck Funky 
