And another plotline deflates with a soft, farting noise, like a balloon animal lying long forgotten in a dust-covered toy box, in the attic of an abandoned house sitting silent in the rain.
This whole “Harry’s 50th Wedding Anniversary” arc has been dull even by Funky Winkerbean standards and folks, that’s saying a lot.
Let me mention something here. I was originally scheduled to assist Fearless Leader some weeks ago, but that conflicted with a trip out of town, so Fearless Leader wisely scheduled Mr. Epicus Doomus in my stead. A good thing too, as it turned out I had no internet access (other than a smart phone–have you ever tried to blog with a smart phone?). I mention this not because it’s interesting but because it illustrates the way in which most stories are told–something begins, there’s a crisis to be resolved, people work to resolve the crisis, and there’s a satisfying conclusion.
Now, my new superpowers only go as far as “sidekick” so I have no idea if this Harry-Crapper continues next week. But this story is like one told by a five-year-old. “There was this man and he wanted to give a lady a special party and he did and everything was great and then they went to Niagara Falls.” No tension, no drama, nothing unexpected–it’s as if Lucy promised Charlie Brown that she’d let him kick the football, and he did, and it was a pretty good kick. In other words, boring.
It does lend some credence to my idea that the characters in this strip are avatars of folks in Tom Batiuk’s real life, and that their portrayal rises and falls depending on how his relationship with them wavers. Note Fred Fairgood, who gave a little tour of his old apartments and then suddenly suffered a crippling stroke. I bet the real-life Fred’s Christmas card wasn’t quite up to Tom’s standard. Bull Bushka is the opposite example; once a bully and nemesis, now he is generally treated pretty well in Westview. I think Tom Batiuk met the real-life Bull a few years ago and the two of them found they got along pretty well.
So, I’m guessing that Harry Dinkle was an especially beloved teacher. (Unless he’s another author avatar. Shudder.) Harry is always treated with respect (in the strip) and so far as I can recall, he’s never interacted with Les. That’s the only reason I can see that Les was barely at the party, and he never gave out lame smirks and worse puns. Harry’s not to be smirked at, nor punned into.
But that’s no excuse to have nothing happen.
Pretty sad is the idea that this represents how Tom Batiuk’s own 50th anniversary happened. Even sadder if this represents how he wished it happened.
Son of Stuck Funky 
