OK, so Darin and Jessica had been living at the Taj Moore-hal while Les and Summer were in Africa, meaning Les’ OCD episode was totally pointless. Today Darin, the web and wireless app maven must borrow the work computer to search for an apartment. In bursts Pete to inform his landlord that, after much soul-searching and careful deliberation, has decided he must tear himself away from his friends and his hometown to go and be among the backstabbing dirty dealers Back East. Rather than offer Pete their best wishes and tell him how he’ll be missed, Funky and (Pete’s best friend) Darin only care about how this benefits them. They don’t even try to conceal their glee over Pete’s imminent departure.
Tag: New York
The Way We Were
Sigh. I don’t want to pick on TB’s 9/11 effort…but I must.
Remember in Act II when the Westview High School Band performed at Carnegie Hall? Me neither. But let’s just say it happened. So excited are Wally and Becky that their faces have become frozen masks of maniacal glee! Of course, that was before shit got real. Flash-forward to — today? Or sometime in the past ten years. Sgt. Wally (we assume) in his dress uniform, is going to or returning from Iraquistan, by way of New York City…looking glumly at the “new normal” skyline, his smirk turned upside-down.
Meanwhile, over at Crankshaft:
More careless time-jerking from Batiuk. Late last month TB posted on his “blogs“:
“I jumped everyone in the Funkyverse ahead in time in 2007 and I didn’t do the same with the cast of Crankshaft [emphasis mine].”
But in today’s CS, Cranky sits in front of the TV, watching a news program entitled “9•11: TEN YEARS LATER”. The reporter is none other than Cindy Summers, reporting from Ground Zero; apparently following the attack, since she’s surrounded by the ruins and ashes of the Twin Towers. Cindy must work for the only U.S. news outlet using pink and yellow in their 9/11 onscreen graphics instead of red, white and blue.
Could Be a Movie Deal Here. Or Not.
…See, an option (despite what Tom [Batiuk] thinks and is depicting in-strip this week) does NOT mean the studio plans to actually make the darn movie! All it does is make sure one can’t sell the story to anyone else while they decide whether or not they want to put it into development.
Les (and TB) are a little slow on the uptake regarding what “optioned” means, and Apple Annie’s explanation clears things up not one bit. I guess “straight-to-cell-phone” is one notch below “straight-to-DVD”? Who knows? Even if the movie never gets made, though, Les does stand to see a nice chunk of change (and his agent slash publicist will get her cut). Maybe he’ll be able to afford one of those newfangled cordless phones.
Cease and Desist
Well, now we know why sonofstuckfunky.wordpress.com (and stuckfunky.wordpress.com) got the plug pulled. Here is the letter that Batiuk’s lawyers sent to the WordPress.com folks. They are not happy with the “unauthorized use of the Funky Winkerbean name, trademark, or comic strips” on the site. They go on to ask the WordPress people to provide them with my name, address, and email address.
I’m still reeling from having the plug pulled, then was feeling great about being able to move the blog so quickly. Now I’m feeling pretty anxious. I don’t have a lawyer, I (obviously) don’t have a deep knowledge of copyright, and really don’t need to get sued.
This turn of events ought to tell you everything you need to know about Tom Batiuk’s sense of humor.
I will collect my thoughts and decide on the course of action going forward. In the meantime, thank you, friends, for your support.
Stay Funky.
TFH
I’m Bad, I’m Nationwide
Les is in mad demand. The Widow Darling has heard of Les’ success and wants him for the “Today” Show. Les’ friends are beside themselves with glee. Susan appears to slip her hand into the back of Les’ skull and work him like a ventriloquist’s dummy.
If it’s any consolation, the Puppies Behind Bars arc should kick in after next week. ‘Til then I’m sure we can look forward to more gritty, true-to-life New York street scenes, and maybe cameos by Matt Lauer and Meredith Viera, drawn so you can’t tell them apart.
Son of Stuck Funky 
