C’mon, doc. If he’s wise to that “scream when the toilet seat falls” bit, do you really think Fred Fairgood is gonna fall for the old “pull my finger” routine?
At least TB gets all the hospital details right: that’s either a nurse wearing a ḥijāb, or else Igor has wandered in from the lab of Dr. “Froderick” Frankenstein.
Just as we saw the leaves in Westview falling every day during October, this winter has seen snow every day. This does not deter Les and Funky from their jogging, as they eschew the park for what looks like an icy, glass-slick sidewalk. And once again we wonder how a man so devoted to jogging (and tennis, played with a wooden racquet) manages to stay so goddamn fat. Do you think Funky’s ever the one who has to ask his running partner “How’re you doing?”
While we often take Batiuk to task for his “tell, don’t show” storytelling style, let’s give him a pass just this time for not actually depicting Crazy Harry in the throes of his “happy dance”. But he gets no points for rehashing yesterday’s panel 2 reaction shot in order to milk this gag for another day. As a bonus, we get another rendering of John’s lumpy mug and some tortured, redundant sentence structure from Owen. And anono-hoodie is going to be haunted for the rest of his life? Not to worry: as far as this strip’s concerned, your life is over and you’ll never be seen again.
billytheskink
January 10, 2013 at 9:13 am
All I really take from this storyline is that Crazy’s “happy dance” is not spontaneous in any way, but rather, a premeditated event purposely intended to scar those who view it. Frightening.
Spontaneous? No. Frightening? Presumably. I don’t know. John sure seems pretty used to it. Owen looks like he just got a whiff of something bad. Cody and the peanut head in the blue hoodie just look fearful. Blue hoodie kid has some kind of jagged sparks emanating from his head, signifying perhaps that he’s “on something”.
Batiuk continues to stretch the “happy dance” gag, which might have been acceptable as a one-off, to ever-more-absurd lengths. John produces a release form for the boys to sign if they insist on staying to witness Crazy Harry’s routine. Give TB credit today for “writing what he knows”; he certainly has experience with legal documents. Of course, since Cody, Owen, and Little Blue Riding Hoodie are minors, it’s doubtful their signatures would be legally binding. And what the hell could be so “soul-scarring” about this spectacle unless it indeed involves Harry getting naked?
Son of Stuck Funky 