Funky Winkerbean – Son of Stuck Funky

When Did Funky Winkerbean Jump The Shark?

Such opinions are highly subjective – I’ve told my story in detail – but I think there’s a new way to identify roughly when this happened in Funky Winkerbean.

Here is the cover blurb for The Complete Funky Winkerbean, Volume 14, 2011-2013, released in January 2025:

[this book] sees the sons and daughters of the original Funky gang starting to make their mark on the world by playing in basketball championships, climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro, and being deployed to war zones. Along the way there are graduations, weddings, and anniversaries––including the 40th anniversary of Funky Winkerbean.

Now here’s the same blurb for the brand new Volume 15, 2014-2016, released just three weeks ago:

the Funky gang are now in their late forties and raising teenagers of their own. Batiuk continues the Starbuck Jones storyline from the previous volume, as Holly searches for the final five issues of the comic book to send to Cory in Afghanistan. Elsewhere, there is a memorable class reunion, the character of Mason Jarr is introduced, and the cast decamps to Hollywood as Lisa’s Story is about to be adapted into a movie.

Notice the difference? Volume 14 at least sounds like a comic strip someone might want to read. Volume 15 has nothing to sell. Starbuck Jones! Mason Jarr! The Lisa Movie (which wouldn’t even be completed until 2022)! That stupid time travel class reunion, which was basically another Lisa story! Oh, and someone’s in Afghanistan, but don’t worry – his mom is collecting comic books for him!

I submit that 2013-2014 is the time when Act II’s overambitious sloppiness finished transforming into Act III’s lazy self-indulgence. Because Batiuk can’t even polish this turd anymore.

Happy Anniversary, Funky Winkerbean!

Pardon the interruption, but I’m Banana Jr. 6000. If I give you a Susan Smith reaction, will you all stop asking me about it?

Let’s spend Five Good Minutes on the legacy of Funky Winkerbean. I know we’re here mostly to celebrate its… not-so-good aspects, but let’s take a moment to acknowledge its place in history. For its first 20 years, Funky Winkerbean was a snarky lampooning of life in high school and beyond, long before the word “snarky” was even invented. It even had an iconic debut strip:

After FUN*K

I haven’t posted since the heat death of the Funkyverse. Special thanks to TFH, everyone who’s contributed, and, of course, CBH, who’s exceeded my already lofty and unrealistic expectations with her special brand of Batiukian madness. I’m mildly surprised and definitely pleased to see SoSF still more or less chugging along. I genuinely had no idea what to do or what would happen, but it’s all just kind of worked itself out. And how many things can you say that about, eh? Thank you, Harriet, and by all means, carry on. I wouldn’t even attempt to try and stop you at this point. You don’t want to fool around with farm people, they have wiles.

Continue reading “After F*U*N*K”

But You Don’t Really Care for Music, Do Ya?

The Duck of Death
December 19, 2022 at 8:22 am
Guys. Guys, is he gonna have the whole freakin’ cast from both comics in this church and pan over the crowd while the ensemble sings the Hallelujah Chorus?

Is this how it’s all gonna end?

baeraad
December 22, 2022 at 1:52 am
I… think Batiuk thinks he’s going for a heartwarming all-the-lovable-goofballs-come-together-in-a-church-on-a-snowy-Christmas-night sort of thing for his ending…

Sourbelly
December 22, 2022 at 10:56 pm
Batdick has spent days establishing the fact that every Westview citizen who matters is driving to the Jazz Messiah Nonsense in dangerous weather. He has spent zero seconds explaining why.

As confounding and confusing as this strip has been over these final months…you can’t say that a lot of effort wasn’t put into today’s strip, the last-ever Sunday panel of Funky Winkerbean. Nearly seventy people (and one cat) are packed into St. Spires. I was even able to recognize most of them…but there are a couple head-scratchers. Continue reading “But You Don’t Really Care for Music, Do Ya?”

All of My Friends Were There

Cindy was the most popular, so she gets to talk about getting left out TWICE. Or we’re supposed to interpret the start of this interminable pity party on Tuesday as a private conversation between Funky and Cindy, and thus she warrants a second confession to the entire group. Continue reading “All of My Friends Were There”