Tag: Mindy

Schlock And Roll

Link To Today’s Strip

Vomit, barf, retch, yuck. The single most nauseating FW strip of all time this arc. Not only do we STILL not know whether they’re accepting the Atomic Comics gig, but now, EIGHT WEEKS into this thing, we’re suddenly forced to endure this idiotic “romance” and Pete’s bizarre (and extremely disturbing) facial contortions too. I mean seriously, what the hell is he supposed to be doing there in panel three, impressing her with his terrific Bell’s Palsy impersonation?

It’s almost difficult to believe how he’s suddenly turned the entire strip over to these two horrid, boring and loathsome characters. Pete and Boy Lisa don’t merit eight weeks a decade, much less eight weeks in a row. It’s tough to remember an arc this long where so little has happened. I mean of course there are probably several thousand arcs that fit that description but I can’t remember any of them right now.

Critical Mess

Link To Today’s Strip

Pete meeting up with a girl seems “serious” to Jessica? Again, it’s difficult to imagine how her standards could be much lower, unless she started dating Les or something. Boy Lisa didn’t even remotely indicate that anything “serious” was happening but doormats are gonna doormat, I suppose.

“Critical mass” normally means something entirely different in the Funkyverse. Don’t take my word for it, just go ask Lisa, as she’s due to pop up again at pretty much any time now. So this marks the end of week six (correction: seven) and we STILL have no idea whether they accepted the offer or not. Excluding Sundays there have been 78 FW strips so far this year and this arc has accounted for 42 of them. That’s right, he’s spent more than half of 2018 thus far on a job interview and we still don’t know how it turned out. Unbelievable. The last non Atomic Comics week was that Claude Barlow Dinkle nonsense back in early February, which seems like many lifetimes ago.

Sex, Lies And Pizza Mis-shaped

Link To Today’s Strip

Sorry about the title. It’s late. For a strip that features as much pizza-eating as FW does it never seems to really get it right. I realize that’s supposed to be Montoni’s famous indigestible cheese-like substance that’s all stretched out like that but really it just looks like alien goo. And he’d better pay attention there in panel three, as that blob of glop at the end of his slice is about go plop.

“Bleep”??? Man, what I wouldn’t give to have a ringtone that spells words right out in the air like that. This sitcom-like bro-banter is a crime against the language arts all on its own but on top of that is the fact that I have absolutely no idea what these cretins are jabbering about today. What did Boy Lisa assume he knew? Is he talking about this week’s insipid dialog or something else? Is Pete lying about this week’s insipid dialog or something else? Because if Pete is implying that everything he said about his communication issues regarding Mindy was a lie, it means Batiuk wasted an entire week of a six week long and counting mega arc on day after day of absolutely worthless dialog.

And a Pulitzer (nominated) word balloon filler would never do that. Seriously though, if there’s a worse storyteller anywhere on the planet please post a link as I refuse to believe it before I see it for myself. They could have heard Chhester’s offer, taken the job, said goodbye to Mason, Cindy, Cliff, Vera and Marianne, packed up Derwin’s special pens, lugged everything back to Ohio, settled in and ordered a pizza by now with plenty of time left over for wordplay. Yet here they are in week six, making a mess in Montoni’s and sharing cell phone images we can’t see with one another.

Just To Be The Man Who Walks A Thousand Miles To Maybe Get Around To Returning Your Call

Link To Another One

So, Pete’s struggling with his long distance relationship, mainly because he refuses to grow up and put a little effort into communicating with the great love of his life, Mindy. Just like his dear old pal Boy Lisa, Pete’s “girlfriend” is an afterthought, someone he’ll get around to eventually, probably. She’ll no doubt make a fine doormat when he finally allows her to marry him in some heinous comic book-centric ceremony, perhaps they’ll even have a seldom-seen comic book-themed named child or two.

Apparently the gag here is that Pete is a perpetual man-child, notorious slacker and lazy slob, which of course you already know, as Pete has been so thoroughly fleshed-out and developed over the years to a point where he’s a familiar old friend, like Klabinchnik or Mallory or Morty. A comics page icon, if you will. Armed with this wealth of Pete knowledge, you immediately laugh along with Boy Lisa at his good friend’s weary-eyed foibles. The work of a true master craftsman who’d never taint his work with some hoary old sitcom-style trope for a cheap chuckle.

BlehTom’s bro-banter is just as bad as his chick-banter is, especially when these two dolts are doing the bantering. Either move back to Ohio and marry Mindy in that goddamned gazebo or don’t, enough with the pathetic waffling and the godlessly plodding banter already. Pete’s discussing the woman he’s supposedly crazy about and he looks for all the world like he’s discussing his inflamed prostate and subsequent urinary issues there in panel two. This nonsense would be boring even if you did happen to be into hypothetical “old school” comic book companies and idiotic comic strip crossover long distance relationships, assuming such a person exists which they obviously do not.

I suppose I should mention Rachel but honestly, why? She works at Montoni’s, she lives above Montoni’s, life is already snarking on her as it is. Why pile on?

 

Fear And Loathing In Ohio

Link To This One

Because Ohioians FEAR Pete and Boy Lisa’s return because they LOATHE them so much. GET IT? Suddenly it appears that these two imbeciles will indeed be returning to the community of their portentous youth, Olde Westview Towne, home of half-price large pies (pick-up only) on Tuesdays and the world’s smallest and least-comfortable comic book store. Boy Lisa has already decided what to tell his wife to think so he’s on board and Pete is pining away for that annoying Crankshaft girl he hung out with that one time and everyone knows that the sin and decadence of Hollywood is no match for the simple-yet-wry homespun Westviewian values that go hand in hand with meeting women from other comic strips and starting a comic strip family, so all signs definitely point to him being on board as well. Sounds fantastic, can’t wait (sound of shotgun racking).

But no one cares about that idiocy. The artwork really takes center stage today. There’s Boy Lisa’s awesome leather jacket in panel one….”ayyyyy, it’s the Darr! Whoa, sit on it, Pete! Step into my office, Reynolds! Whoa!”. The most unintentionally hilarious moment of 2018 so far. Then there’s Boy Lisa in panel three…wow. That is simply epic. I have NEVER seen the term “lantern-jawed noodnik” embodied as well as it’s embodied there. And the way the back of his head has that perfect 90 degree angle, it’s literally a block. And that hair…I assume he gets it done at the place where the cast of 90210 used to go. A spectacular effort by the New Guy, just superlative work.