Tag: Funky

The Mote In Funky’s Eye

Link to today’s strip.

Pretty weak word-play in panel three…yawn…what I’m curious about is Funky’s statement in panel two.  Really?  He…he–Funky– uh, gets emotional?  “Pretty Emotional”?  Really?  I mean, honestly, no foolin’?  Emotional–Funky Winkerbean?  Tears in his eyes blurring his vision–as, um, opposed to the food court thing, where Funky was like, Dad, eat your Mall Food Court Sammich.  Damn you.  And now…How, exactly?

Talking to his dad about Dad’s diet of coffin nails, he seemed more–well, alarmed than sad.  Like, Oh crap, I’ll probably have to , argh, you know, INTERACT with this “Dad” guy (shudder) way more than I wanna.  Funky’s downright phlegmatic most of the time, showing it with his rarely-changing mask of a resigned, weary face.  In the (cough) actual panels we saw with Pa Winkerbean, Funky didn’t look sad.  He looked like someone had just told him he’d have to stay an extra half hour, as the staff was still cleaning Pa’s room.  And they were really concerned about the toilet…

Reflections in a Jaundiced Eye

Link to today’s strip.

Not much to say about this one, although I thought Pa Winkerbean was already in a nursing home.  Live and learn, I guess.

The visuals in panel three are pretty good, though it’s kind of an odd choice–Funky’s supposed to be thinking about what to do with his dad, and yet there are his own faces looking back at him.  I suppose it represents his self-centered nature.  To be more effective, in a character sense, I’d think lots of Pa’s faces looking back at him would be more thoughtful–of course, I’ve never been nominated for a Pulitzer, so what do I know?

Where There’s Smoke

Link to today’s strip.

More bizarreness in yesterday’s vein.  And like yesterday’s episode, if Mr. Batiuk is going for “wacky” he’s still missing the mark.  There should be a punchline in panel three, rather than a flat statement.

It’s as if Abbott said, “The baseball players’ names…well, Hu’s on first, Watt’s on second, and Ida Noah’s on third,” and Costello said, “Hey, those aren’t real names.”  And…scene!  Okay, folks, that’s a wrap!

This is the first time I can recall seeing Pa Winkerbean speak, other than the “Father’s Day in the Food Court” Sunday episode of a couple of years ago–and all he did then was repeat himself over and over.  (Those wacky Alzheimer’s people!)  I must say, Funky and his dad are looking more and more alike.  I guess that’s easier to draw.  Though I’ve never seen Funky as relaxed and at peace with himself as Pa in panel three.

Also, is it just me, or has 2014 really been Funky’s year so far?  He seems to have featured in more stories than in the last couple of years combined.  Not that I’m complaining too much, because as we know, there are far worse characters he could feature….

Puffery

Link to today’s strip.

Well, this…this is just damned stupid.

For those of you new to the strip, Funky ‘s dad is in “Bedside Manor,” an assisted living facility.

In other words, it’s a place to administer health care to seniors.

They’re not going to allow anyone to smoke.  Even if they’re on fire, they’re supposed to douse them.   The receptionist might just as well have said, “He’s out bending steel girders with his teeth.”  Or “He’s on the roof, getting ready to jump into a dumpster full of broken glass.”  This is senseless.

I just can’t figure out what the hell is supposed to be going on here.  It’s not funny, except in a “Wha–?” kind of way…the way the strip sometimes was back in the 70’s.

Is that it?  Has Tom Batiuk decided after all the years of angst, whining, smirks and weak word-play, that it’s time to reboot into a wacky fun-time strip?

Well…if that’s the case, that’s certainly a good thing…I guess…I just hope he kind of gets better at it.

Unless this is going to be some kind of ham-handed treatise on medical marijuana.  If that’s the case, then this episode becomes evidence that there are a whole lot of people not giving a damn about what goes into Funky Winkerbean, starting with Tom Baituk.