Tag: Funky’s dad

Wheel Me Out

It also “helps with the adjustment” if you avoid standing behind the person and talking about him like he’s not in the room. Oh, Jeez Louise…have we hit new depths of depression with today’s strip? Pa Winkerbean is still a blank slate: we know nothing about him except that he “belongs in a home”, but my heart is breaking for him. I suspect, though, that TB expects us to feel sorry for his son. At least Pa’s needs will be met. Funky goes home to his own resentful problem child, and a pizza business on life support.

The Silent Treatment

At last we behold Pa Winkerbean in the flesh. Introducing Funky’s dad into the strip presents a dilemma for the artist: having already aged Funky well past his ostensible late-forties, he needs to distinguish son from father. So Funky gets a cartoon facelift, while Pa gets the white hair, a few wrinkles, and the Crankshaft nose.

Since we know next to nothing about the elder Winkerbean: is his silence due to a loss of faculties? Or is this “still strong and mentally sharp*” old man showing his resentment at being sent off to the home?

* in a lot of ways

The Wanderer

Oh, man. TB’s gonna play this for laughs? I understand that Batuik’s had first-hand experience with cancer, but has he had to deal with aging parents who need care? We’re not talking about a pet who keeps sneaking under the fence. Sigh. Speaking of cancer, Wally’s looking mighty gaunt.

No Place Like Home

So this answers the question “Where’s Wally?” I’ve got another one: where’s the joke? Another thing, whether Wally is Funky’s nephew or cousin…Pa Winkerbean is still kin to Wally. He’s not aware of the senior Winkerbean’s situation? There is no sense to be found here. Give TB credit, though, for tapping a new vein of human misery: adding “Putting your parent in a nursing home” to his grim repertoire of cancer, alcoholism, suicide, divorce, mental illness, teen pregnancy…