Les – Page 99 – Son of Stuck Funky

Blightmare

Here’s something I like about today’s strip. No, it’s not the idiotic word-play. It’s not the artwork, the falling leaves, or the grotesque slab of Les’ greasy hair in panel two. (Seriously, look at that. I mean, we all want him to melt in agony, yet here it is and it isn’t any fun at all!)

No, what I like are the expressions in panel three. Those are three of the most bitter, most miserable people in the world. Even the guy who’s delivering the pun doesn’t look pleased with himself–he looks as if he’s really loathing himself for having to do this.

What we see here are three people realizing that they are mere toys in the hands of an angry god, and they must dance for his pleasure or burn. They have one freedom left: the freedom not to smirk at a pun. They can withhold their approval in this one thing without fear of annihilation.

No wonder both Les and Cayla envy Les’ dead wife. Even though the dead can never rest, they can’t die again. either.

Of course, Les’ expression in panel three is typical of him when someone else delivers wordplay. It just galls him when someone beats him to the punline. I recall Barry Balderman’s remark about “Life is like masking tape, the more you use, the less you have” (or whatever he said). Les’ face then was just Boy do I hate you. Boy do I hate you. Lisadamnit, I’m supposed to do the clever stuff.

Given what passes for “clever” in these parts, I suspect most cast members would be happy to pass it off to Les. “Happy” being the completely wrong word, of course….

Long Arm of the Lawn

Link to today’s strip.

Or, even better, Long Yarn of the Yawn.

I remember reading Dick Tracy years ago, and a retired police chief had opened a gardening supply store named Lawn Order. I thought that was pretty clever, as puns go.

This? This isn’t clever. I bet there are hundreds of tree-care folks who use this as an actual slogan. In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me at all of Tom Batiuk was driving around, spotted this on the side of a truck, and thought Well, there’s a daily strip right there.

I don’t know what is more sad. That Tom Batiuk did twenty years of gag-a-day strips, and thirty years of bland garbage, or that he actually thinks those thirty years are what will constitute his fame.

(Yes, in the “thirty years” I’m including from now to March, 2022. That’s the only endpoint left here.)

For Leaf Closure

Link to today’s strip.

Dear Mr. Batiuk–

Look, we get it. You killed off one of your favorites to win a prize, and when you didn’t win that prize, you’ve tasted ashes and been filled with regrets ever since.

But it doesn’t change the fact that she’s dead, and you need to stop bringing her back. Either that, or finally give Cayla a small bit of dignity and have her divorce Les for “irreconcilable differences.” She can even make puns on the way out the door. Then Les (and Summer) can wallow in Lisa memories until March 2022.

She’s not poignant. She’s not insightful, or funny, or even interesting. Les’ continued need for her makes him look even more pathetic than he actually is. Here’s the thing: The more you bring her back, the less special her death becomes.

It’s like the dork who finally gets a laugh with one of his dumb jokes, so he repeats it endlessly until everyone was sorry they laughed in the first place. And they wonder why they laughed at all.

One thing I’m sure of. I’m willing to bet real money that the Pulitzer Committee is not reading this strip and thinking, Wow, we really made a mistake. This is great stuff. Let’s award him a do-over prize! No, like most of humanity, they’re not reading this strip at all. And if they did, they’d think, Wow, we were lucky on that one. How did we even nominate this? Were we drunk?

We get it. “Lisa’s Story” was your crowning achievement. Typically, when one has a crowning achievement, one retires. Otherwise, as one’s crowning achievement recedes more and more into the distance, that crowning achievement begins to look a lot less like the result of talent and more the result of blind luck. And one ends up as one of those sad old people whose every sentence begins with, “Hey remember when I…”

Union Pathetic

If you are reading this, I’ve been stuck on the road quite a lot longer than I anticipated and was not able to preview or provide anything more than this filler post for today’s strip. I do apologize, but I know it is the commenters who are the real draw to this site and that you all will bail me out with some top shelf snark. Thank you in advance.

I wrote the italicized text above in case I was not able to get back to the computer in time to type something relevant about the strip before publishing time. I leave it up here, even after getting to a computer in a timely manner, because it’s as relevant as anything else I could write about this strip. Fire away everyone.

Thanks for putting up with me for a couple of weeks. The always-excellent BC takes the ringleader’s top hat starting tomorrow.

If Ever I Would Leaf You

Lisa’s beloved autumn leaves are falling so heavily that it’s all Les can do to keep up. Especially with arms that are barely thicker than the handle of the rake he’s holding. The Other Woman, properly chastised and accepting of her secondary status, presents Les with Lisa’s third-party hug along the second ~~tape~~ DVD. Her dazed grin signifies her complete submission to the Will of Lisa’s ghost. Les, meanwhile, appears startled that eighteen years after her death, Lisa’s recorded nagging continues.