Pavel Chekov Lefty yells as some unseen old people in today’s strip… and thus continues August, as FW’s semi-official ollllllllllllllllllllld folks month.
August was once a time when this strip would fix its gaze on the high school and its students and teachers preparing for the new school year. Well, its gaze remains fixed upon the high school this August, but TB has imported infirm, elderly seniors in lieu of high school seniors. It would be bizarre if it wasn’t so uninteresting.
This is the arc that never ends
No, it goes on and on, my friend
Today’s strip… promises an end in only one more day
But they’ve been in Ohio since mid-week so I must say…
This is the arc that never ends
No, it goes on and on, my friend
TB has… concerning issues writing about old parents
They seem to have a death wish, which in Westview makes some sense…
‘Cause this is the arc that never ends
No, it goes on and on my friend
I have… avoided song parody but now am forced to cave
I apologize to Shari Lewis as she rolls in her grave…
This is the arc that never ends
No, it goes on and on, my friend…
Believe it or not, today’s strip IS different from yesterday’s strip.
Well… I mean, some of the words are different between the two strips, that is all. It isn’t really different in tone or subject, the “gag” is derived from the exact same idea as yesterday’s strip, the artwork features the same characters in the same poses from nearly the same angles (what is this, Garfield?). It begs the question, did TB hatch this story arc because he decided that writing unpleasant elderly people is his wheelhouse (he wouldn’t be entirely wrong) or did he honestly believe that Funky Winkerbean was lacking in unpleasant elderly people (self-awareness is not a TB hallmark)?
A hearty salute to Epicus who, like all of our fine folks here at SOSF, deserves credit for finding something to say about this strip… especially when it spends two weeks on a remarkably contrived and amazing uninteresting road trip. Yep, billytheskink here to play tour guide on this journey from an Ocala retirement community back to Palookaville, Ohio which, of course, continues in today’s strip.
Holly’s mother is a nag. That’s it. I’m reasonably sure TB used this same gag with Jeff’s vile mother over in Crankshaft several years back. If TB stretches this gag out over the week there are going to be a lot of short posts.
Well, Dullard’s li’l quip would have been quite the knee-slapper…in 1998, say. Nowadays, it reads a lot like Pluggers. Actually, it reads like a school-assigned book one has to write a report on for homework; yes, that dull. Yes, everyone uses email, but there are still long lines at the post office? For something people rarely use? Is this the joke?
It reminds me of Mel Brook’s old joke about two old ladies in a restaurant. “The food here is so terrible!” “Yes…and such small portions!” Except that, you know, that’s actually humorous. (Edit: Apparently that was Woody Allen. Whoops!)
Art-wise, well, we sure have a nice line of decrepit folks depicted here (and yes, I’m including Dullard). Nice to see Walt from the nursing home out and about. And if you’re wondering why the old guy in the brown striped shirt looks seriously pissed off, well, it’s obvious: he’s been standing next to Dullard for a while now, having to listen to some truly moronic “observations.” I’m normally a pretty easy-going person out in public, but even I’d probably turn around and say, “Hey, pal, can you pipe down a little? I’m trying to listen to the Muzak.”
Son of Stuck Funky 
