Wally and the Eager Beaver

Why does Funky not take Wally’s earnest interest in being the new Darin seriously in today’s strip?

Is it because he doesn’t trust Wally to manage Montoni’s or pay his rent?

Is it because he’s mad that Rachel hasn’t shown up for work at Montoni’s since she married Wally?

Is it because he believes that anyone who shows that much enthusiasm in Westview is a Soviet spy or alien pod person?

Is it because he’s mad that he wasn’t able to send Cory to the orphanage that has apparently taken in Wally Jr, Tyler and Little Abbey Klinghorn, Jamie and Kerri Thorp, and now Rachel’s son whose name I don’t remember?

Is it because he’s emphasizing the word “worked” in an awkward phrase while trying to subtly tell Crazy to get back to his job at Komix Korner and quit downing free refills of his $2 bottomless cup of coffee because he’s sick of calling the Royal Cup delivery man every other freaking day?

Is it because he’s a schmuck?

Say Goodbye To Durwood

Get a load of today’s strip… Darin and Jessica are going off to pursue a risky but exciting opportunity in California, leaving poor, pitiful Funky having to replace an employee AND a renter. “Oh woe is me. I now have to assume the common responsibilities of both a small-business owner AND a landlord! Oh weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Where the heck is the Green Pitcher?! I think the readers have earned the little respite its presence provides. Instead, we get Wally wandering out of the kitchen with a tray of telephone pole insulators. At first I thought they were drinking glasses, but Montoni’s is never busy enough to justify owning a whole tray of those.

Darin To Be Stupid

In today’s installment, Darin has his recent life choice validated by a guy who is the antithesis of every person ever depicted in a Coffee Achiever commercial.
And… that’s it. Frankly, I’m surprised Crazy’s dream career arc is aimed as high as it is.

All this talk of storyboarding, however, has reminded me how much Act III Crazy looks like the late Jim Mateer. Mateer was TB’s high school art teacher and an accomplished artist in his own right. He had a week-long appearance in FW back in 2006, painting several lovely murals on Montoni’s walls, murals that appear to now sit under 3 and a half coats of Sherwin-Williams’ Urban Putty.

Storybored

Today’s strip is simultaneously one of the most realistic and unrealistic FW strips in recent memory.

That a film studio outside of The Asylum (and maybe not even them) would hire a pizzeria manager to draw storyboards for a movie, even a straight-to-cellphone one, is tremendously unrealistic of course.

That Jessica is super eager to pack up her young son and everything they own and get out of Westview as fast as possible… Does this make too much real-life sense to actually happen in the Batiukverse?