Tag: Holly

You Kiss Your Mother With That Mouth?

Link to today’s strip.

Well, I have to say that Holly in panel three is a sight for sore eyes.  Finally, someone moved to exhibit an emotion, and it isn’t abject despair!  This has got to be a Funky Winkerbean first.  Even Funky didn’t approach this level of anger when he learned that Cory stole the Lisa’s Legacy funds.    The force of her rage has actually flattened Cory’s head!  Well done, well done, Mr. Batiuk!

It now pains me to point out that the sentence structure sure suffers by comparison.  For one thing, Holly was vacuuming, not sweeping–and there is a difference.  “Cleaning” would work in this case.  But the third panel really shouldn’t be a question, based on the content of the first two panels.  Panel two should have been “When I noticed something…” which could easily fit the available space in that word-balloon and wouldn’t make the final panel seem so awkwardly put together.

I guess the least aspect of this episode is the idea behind it.  Holly collected the comics for Cory and gave them to him.  That’s the end of the matter; he’s free to do with them as he pleases.   I guess in the Author’s mind, a gift isn’t just a gift, it’s an actual aspect of the giver, and thus must be treasured forever as that aspect instead of being appreciated as an object with its own function.  Thus, selling the gift is a terrible, terrible insult.

(I guess.  In my mind, I have an amusing picture of Tom Batiuk in high school, and a “friend” of his finishes a candy bad, then hands the wrapper to Young Batiuk.  “Tom…I want you to have this,” he says, trying to hold back the laughter.  “It…it meant a lot to me.”  At home, Young Batiuk has whole shoe-boxes filled with candy wrappers et al which he would never consider parting with.)

Well, at least we got a classic face out of today’s episode.  It’s the best thing I’ve seen in this strip since…well, it has been a while, let me just say that.

The First Monday in November

Link to today’s strip.

Cue the shrieking violins from Bernard Herrmann’s Psycho score.

In a town where calamity awaits around every corner, what exactly did Holly expect would happen?  Did she really expect that Cory would appreciate all the “effort” she put into completing his collection?  I seem to recall a lot of commentators here saying that Cory’s reaction would be, “Thanks a lot, mom, but I’m not into comics anymore.”

I do have to say it’s kind of clever how Holly discovered the empty box.  A full box would not have moved from a simple bump, but an empty one slides easily.  I wonder if she’ll call the police?  That would make sense, but “making sense” is seldom on the menu here.

Anyway, it’s a week of comic books!  Again!   What is it about comic books?  I mean, there are things that I like, things I enjoy, but I don’t wallow in them 24/7, nor do I push them into every context in which I find myself.  There’s nothing wrong with enjoying something, but to base your whole life around it seems like going way overboard.

But I guess extremism in the cause of comic books is no vice.  Or something.

Other than that, how was the play, Mrs. Winkerbean?

Nefarious deeds are afoot in today’s strip. Where is Cory sneaking off to with his Holly’s collection of Starbuck Jones comics? It’s a mystery… for anyone who didn’t read yesterday’s strip.

What is more surprising? That someone other than the Westview high school drama department is putting on a play within driving distance of Westview or that the Winkerbean household owns TWO Batiukmobiles®?

The latter, I guess. Now that I think about it, Funky and Holly’s play probably is being put on by the Westview high school drama department and owning two Batiukmobiles® is the only way for a Batiukmobile® owner to ensure that they have a greater than 50% chance of being able to start their car.

Tuesday, October 20

Today’s strip was, again, not available for preview.

Until current content becomes available, we’re going to take a trip in Mr. Peabody’s WABATIUK machine to the distant past. Tis a past so different, and yet not so different from our own time… A past in which Westview has an operating post office, DSH wears a ponytail, and Wally Jr. still exists… But also a past in which Lisa “lives”, Les holds his students in contempt, and Holly snowplow moms up the joint…

Travel with me, won’t you all, to March 6, 2007 (Act III’s 1997) and see that Holly snowplowed away consequences of actions when Cory was quite young, giving him the clear route he took to criminal miscreancy.