Finally, a special occasion that actually deserves to be celebrated at Montoni’s. The joint hasn’t been this packed since Darin discovered breakfast pizza. Everybody’s here…of course, Becky and Wally have to slave away back in the kitchen, and Khan’s been a persona non grata since opening up his own eatery nearly a year ago. Holly and Donna are in the same shot, proving they are not the same person; ditto Summer and Pete (wasn’t he leaving town?). Dead Skunk Head John and Bull are either gazing lovingly at one another or have just finished sharing a joint.
Tag: Jessica
Flu-yah!
Seizing the opportunity to have Moore Manor all to themselves, Mr. and Mrs. Freeloader go with the old “flu bug” excuse to get out of having to go to Columbus, though the “swallowed whole” angle is just overkill. Funky’s cocky attitude is starting to give me some flu symptoms, mainly nausea. “We’ll bring him a championship t-shirt”, as if the shirts have already printed and are waiting in the She-Goats’ locker room, along with the cases of post-game champagne.
Old
Growing older is a big deal in the Funkyverse. I spent a good deal of time trying to figure out Summer’s “gift” of “a senior’s discount card to gateway drugs“. I’m assuming that somewhere in Westview (or maybe Centerville) is a drugstore called Gateway Drugs. Because “gateway drugs” (no caps) usually refers to “the theory that the use of less deleterious drugs may lead to a future risk of using more dangerous hard drugs and/or crime”. Or to quote George Carlin: “Mother’s milk leads to heroin”. Note Summer’s dimples: another of TB’s devices, whenever a character thinks they’re being clever, the dimples appear.
In other aging news, after going from age 50 to 75 yesterday, the Fairgoods have snapped back to middle age. What the hell?
Delivering Darin
Happy birthday, dear Darin. In your honor, TB is showcasing his full array of fancy, non-hand drawn visual effects:
- Panel 1: whenever an image is displayed on a screen or is behind glass, it must be faded and have highlights streaking across it (and what does today’s panel 1 have to do with the rest of the strip? ).
- Panel 2: when lit candles are depicted, apply a glowing effect to suggest an arc welder’s blinding glare.
- Panel 4: When depicting past events, if photo-album corners are not used, make the colors even more washed-out and muddy than usual, and apply halftone dots over all.
Bonus (hand-drawn) visual effect: check out how Darin’s adoptive dad Fred Fairgood ages about twenty years between panels 2 and 5!
Holly Wha'?
Don’t forget: in honor of our 500th post, SoSF is giving away a copy of Lisa’s Story: the Other Shoe! Click here for details.
Jinx is willing to work for nothing? No wonder “she’d be perfect“. Where does Tom Batiuk get his notions of “Hollywood”? I always thought Hollywood stood for glamour and success! But in the mind of TB and his characters, Hollywood is a soul-sucking void that only takes, takes, takes. That certainly fits in well with the depressing Westview worldview, I guess.
Son of Stuck Funky 
