A Lowell in the Action

Today’s strip takes us through space, from London to Lowell, Massachusetts, and through time, to the mid-nineteenth century, to finally arrive at a weak “pun-chline” which a year or two ago would have been served up by Cory “Call Me Fishmeal” instead of Cody.

As an aside: a long-running comic to which FW is often (unfavorably) compared explains how “small lapses in continuity and art…only add to the charm” of “artisanal comics” such as Funky Winkerbean…check out today’s Doonesbury!

[Edit: Link to today’s FW and to Doonesbury were incorrect; I’ve fixed ’em now]

The Flamenco Bits

While we often take Batiuk to task for his “tell, don’t show” storytelling style, let’s give him a pass just this time for not actually depicting Crazy Harry in the throes of his “happy dance”. But he gets no points for rehashing yesterday’s panel 2 reaction shot in order to milk this gag for another day. As a bonus, we get another rendering of John’s lumpy mug and some tortured, redundant sentence structure from Owen. And anono-hoodie is going to be haunted for the rest of his life? Not to worry: as far as this strip’s concerned, your life is over and you’ll never be seen again.

Scar-struck Babies

billytheskink
January 10, 2013 at 9:13 am
All I really take from this storyline is that Crazy’s “happy dance” is not spontaneous in any way, but rather, a premeditated event purposely intended to scar those who view it. Frightening.

Spontaneous? No. Frightening? Presumably. I don’t know. John sure seems pretty used to it. Owen looks like he just got a whiff of something bad. Cody and the peanut head in the blue hoodie just look fearful. Blue hoodie kid has some kind of jagged sparks emanating from his head, signifying perhaps that he’s “on something”.

Dolt with a Poult

Westview is truly a town without pity, as Owen finds no takers for the thawed and bleeding bird he’s schlepping from door to door. As a parent, I’ve been around my share of fundraisers. People tend to be inclined either to give, as long as it’s for a good cause; or not, in which case they simply refuse to answer the door. The folks in Westview, though, insist on asking pointed questions of the seller, before finally declining to buy. And forget about how that turkey was raised, ma’am: its thawed carcass has been conveyed through the streets of town for the last three days tucked ‘neath the arm of a hippie. You do not want that turkey.

Tuesday Turkey

Charles
November 19, 2012 at 7:40 pm
Perhaps if Becky is looking for potential improvements in her program and its acceptance in the community, she could advise her students who are soliciting door-to-door to clean themselves up a little bit when they’re interrupting people to ask for money…Owen looks so shabby in this strip that I’d almost think he’s homeless and he found the turkey after it fell off the truck and is now trying to sell it for glue-huffing money.

If only those band turkeys could sell themselves, because between Owen’s shabby appearance, complete lack of manners and salesmanship, not to mention his ignorance of basic food safety guidelines, he’s sure as hell not going to sell any. Certainly not to this guy, who buys only band candy, not turkeys, and only from quirky redheads.