Today’s strip was not available for preview. Odds on potential happenings in the strip are posted below:
3-1 Cindy’s exclusive interview with Mason begins
1-1 Les, hanging around despite having no role in said interview, smirks
7-1 Appearance by the green pitcher
27-1 Appearance by the Montoni’s pie case
6-1 Starbuck Jones is mentioned
12-1 “Lust for Lisa” is mentioned
250-1 A cameraman will be present to record the interview
0.5-1 Nothing
1,000,000,000,000,000-1 Humor
Hey SoSFers, billytheskink here for my second tour of duty. Please bear with my pointless observations and references that usually only I find amusing and continue your excellent snark and discussion in the comments.
So much, and yet, ultimately, so little is going on in today’s strip.
Let us start with the so little, for those whose memories were fried by the back-to-batiuk Dick Tracy and Crankshaft crossovers, this is the auspicious beginning of the interview with Mason that Les arranged for Cindy. Today they are introduced… and that’s it. Mason is remarkable cheerful bout meeting Cindy, considering that this interview basically is happening because of the silent threat that Cindy might reveal Mason’s presence in Westview on the Cleveland evening (Clevening?) news. Funky’s comment is perhaps supposed to give us the idea that Mason’s cheer has to do with Cindy’s looks, but considering that she does not move an inch between the panels I think it is just as likely that TB accidentally put a space between “in” and “action”.
On to the so much…
– This is probably the first time in 30 years that a man kissing a woman’s hand wearing a Members Only jacket has been called “charming”.
– I just now noticed that the Montoni’s man on Funky’s apron is really just a dismembered head and hands.
– Cindy is pulling off the difficult one-handed awkward turtle in panel 2.
– She is also remarkably calm having her hand so close to Mason’s face. Look at thing, you could cut a roast on it.
– The green pitcher is always a welcome sight amidst the general schmuckery that occurs at Montoni’s.
This one’s a real puzzler. Why would BanTom resort to an Act I retcon job here? Les wasn’t a “published author” until a few years ago, so his retconned Mary Sue memory is less than totally irrelevant here, not to mention totally out of place. I think Mason was just trying to be polite, or perhaps it’s just nervousness over being forced to ride in that very unsafe-looking Batiukmobile while Les is all hunched over the steering wheel in a most peculiar way.
I can’t believe they’re already on their way to visit the Winkerbeans. I figured it’d take weeks if not months before the story progressed that far. Then again, you know he’s just chomping at the bit to get back to those comic book fantasies again. After all, it’s been like a week and a half since comic books were front and center. I’m gonna go out on a limb here and predict that we’ll see a big box of comic books by the end of the week. Call it a hunch.
Check out Les’ dainty little pose there in panel two as he models his (apparently) new shirt. And what the hell is he doing with his hand in his pocket like that? Annoying and disturbing all at once….ladies and gents, the most repugnant character in the history of everything.
Speaking of repugnant, I see that Summer finally changed out of her trusty KSU hoodie…into yet another KSU hoodie. She’s nothing if not consistent. The combination of those eyebrows and her saying “hunky” in the same panel make this one of the more uncomfortable strips of the week for sure. Based on that square-jawed expression he’s wearing in panel three, she’s giving Mason the heebie-jeebies too. That ridiculous Basketball Jones costume of hers might have flown back in high school but man, the real world is gonna eat that kid alive. She has future WHS gym coach written all over her, am I right?
I wonder how many years he’s been waiting to finally find an excuse to use that gag? Well done, BanTom, well done. And what’s the deal with that tiny dining room table? That whole town is overrun with leaves every year but there isn’t a single table leaf to be had. Go figure.
And what the hell is up with Mason’s rapidly-receding hairline? I thought he’s supposed to be some sort of Hollywood pretty-boy, so what’s with the enormous forehead? Come on, Batom, the guy’s only been in town for like a day, the effects wouldn’t be hitting him THAT quickly. He kind of looks a little like Andrew Jackson there in panel one IMO.
Their reaction to Mason’s joke is actually totally logical if you think about it. They sit there stunned upon hearing Mason’s joke because let’s face it, how many actual jokes do these people hear? It’s like if you visited some long-lost indigenous tribe in some remote rainforest and showed them your smart phone. They just can’t comprehend it fully, there’s nothing to compare it with. Then they burst into laughter as if his joke was the funniest thing they’ve ever heard, which it very well could be. And Les is totally devastated as he realizes his dumb puns and stupid bits of wordplay will now be held to a whole different standard. So the whole thing is pretty plausible IMO. In a way, Mason Jarr is their new god. Now all he needs to do is get his hands on the holy scrolls aka Holly’s SJ collection and he’ll rule that town.
Son of Stuck Funky 