Tag: Darin

Tiny Tuesday Terribles

Link to today’s strip.

As noted yesterday by Fearless Leader, today’s strip was not available for preview…nor will tomorrow’s Thursday’s.  It’s really weird the way Batiuk and his publisher feel that these things have to be protected like precious flowers that will wither if subjected to too much light.

So, yesterday we were introduced to “Kitch Swoon,” a name which has a level of dumbness fairly typical of this strip.  In a world of Mason Jarres, Butter Brinkles and Zanzibars, what’s Kitch Swoon but another addition to the eyeroll list.

Apparently, she needs help which only a comicbook publisher’s staff can provide.  Let’s guess:  she’s having some grand opening, with a number of famous guests, and she needs terrible artwork and poorly-written bios to help publicize the thing.  Either that, or she needs help moving and lifting heavy things, in which case she should prepare for disappointment.

No matter what, I bet we’re on the way to being hit with more awards!

One Mere Monday

Link to today’s strip.

Monday’s strip was not available for preview.  I’m going to guess it’ll be the start of the threatened “Funky-Crankshaft” crossover, and it will involve Pete and Mindy going to the state fair.  There, they’ll talk about how melancholy it all is.

Sorry for pulling a Batiukian move like this, but I’ve got early morning work tomorrow and can’t stay late enough for the thing to drop.

Perfectly Gross

More confirmation that this strip has devolved into nothing more than the author’s favorite characters having their wildest dreams fall into their laps today. Given how all we’ve really seen of Darin’s drawing skills is Sophomoric Sightings I don’t think this is really saying much. And I strongly doubt Pete’s writing skills would produce much of a woman, either.
What do you think Jess and Darin are talking about? I think it’s either “Did you know chimpanzees and silent film stars can be part of a murderous love triangle?” or “Wow, your significant other only wears Flash Underoos, too?!”.

Weak Impact

What are the odds that Skyler still lives with his grandma, even after Jess comes back? I’d say very, very high. If Batiuk still put any effort into this strip, I’d see this resulting into another time jump when Old Lady Jess is berating Skyler about how she threw away a promising Hollywood career to stay home with him and his bum dad Darin who ended up running away to live at the Flash Museum with Pete.

I’m all for women (or men) choosing to spend more time with their families, even if it means career sacrifice, but I really don’t like how this is presented as kind of an either/or thing here.  And she was apparently willing to spend years in Hollywood finishing up a single documentary about her dead dad, but not working for an actual Hollywood production.

And is it just me or does Darin look not quite human in the last panel?

Darin Blows

Ha. I just spent several minutes Googling what being an assistant cinematographer entails. It doesn’t seem to be a very common job title. The closest listing I could see was just someone posting looking for someone to assist the cinematographer by carrying heavy cases and cameras for them. Which I do think Jess is more qualified to do that than anything involving actual camera work. The actual cinematographer oversees all lighting and cameras for the entire film, so there’s no way Jess is even close to qualified for that.
I do think it’s pretty hilarious that Cindy recommended Jess for that job. Either Mason is doing the hiring, or Cindy just walked on to the set and told the producer to hire Jess, or maybe Buddy Blog is actually making the sequel themselves. None of those would surprise me.
This strip really is kind of amazing, though. Batiuk brings up a dilemma-will Jess take the job?-and resolves in a single panel. I can’t remember the last time he didn’t drag this kind of thing out for days.