Tag: Montoni's

Pant-a-losers

He’s been spending a lot of time in the past, Batiuk has, dating to this past spring when Les got yoked into being reunion chairman. The reunion committee meetings reacquainted us with Junebug and Barry Balederman, and set the stage for a Lisa tribute. The reunion itself of course was the setting for the time pool silliness, in which the Act I cast were trotted out to meet their present-day counterparts (uh, sorry Lisa!). We’ve had a couple Sophmoric Sightings sightings. And speaking of sightings, we saw Les sharing the park bench again with Lisa’s ghost. And speaking of Lisa, we’ve once again dragged out those damned VHS tapes , this time to bake ’em and digitize ’em and preserve ’em for. Ever.

Along the way, Batiuk has of late altered his visual shorthand: the flashback scenes retain their photo album corners but are in full color instead of washed out sepia. Like the central triptych of today’s strip, which offers a perfectly passable gag and which for all we know is a redraw of a published strip from that era. Compare and contrast Coach Jockstrap’s humorous, deadpan style with that of his protege Coach Bushka, who harangues his players with Crankshaftian malaprops.

Hallmark Monitor

Today we’re finally treated to the Sunday strip whose pencilled preview Batiuk teased us with a year in advance. Make that a 53 weeks in advance: this strip would have served as the coda to the “Owen Learns He’s Not Good at Bullying” arc from the week before last, but Batiuk decided we needed to have a week of Les moping about life. I hope that in addition to Senior Lit with Mr. Moore, Owen is taking remedial math: he’s waited three years, not four, to become a senior (he’s entering his fourth year).

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.