park bench – Page 9 – Son of Stuck Funky

Kili-Krankshaft Krossover

Has Coach Bull already abandoned the “project” of whipping Les’ sorry ass into shape? He’s nowhere to be seen today. No matter: here comes motivation in the form of none other than Ed Crankshaft! Yes, it can be no one else; just peep this Crankshaft comic from July 2009:

The above strip is from that weird flash-forward arc where Crankshaft becomes unstuck in time, leaping Billy Pilgrim-like between scenes of his present-day, younger and older selves. This appearance lends support to the theory that Crankshaft, while also set in Ohio, takes place ten years in the past.*

Note to Cayla: if the prospect of being left to plan your wedding on your own, while your fiance goes off with his daughter to climb Kilimanjaro, doesn’t convince you that you’re making a huge mistake, well, you’re on your own.

*…while the Crankshaft strip from September 11, 2011 disproves this theory.

Take Off, Hoser!

And the wacky hi-jinks ensue. Les’ lack of event management skills (despite having organized this event for the past four years) puts the participants at the mercy of Centerville F.D.’s water cannon. This being the Funkiverse, the fireman, just following orders, lacks the common sense to shut off the hose, and the runners lack the common sense to run around the deluge. Oh, boy.

Les Who's Coming to Dinner

I’m looking forward to Labor Day to see if TB follows through with introducing Les (and us) to Cayla’s family. There’s a lot of plot potential in such a meeting. It would go a long way towards giving us some insight into why a fairly young and (occasionally) attractive woman like Cayla would fall in love with such a douchebag as Les Moore. Even your humble scribe cannot see that far into the Funky future, but I’m going to bet right now that the meeting takes place “off-camera”, and we’ll catch up with our newly-engaged couple after the fact.

Ring Me Up

Riff Chick
August 18, 2011 at 12:25 am
God, even when he’s proposing he’s still the most obviously self satisfied jerk in comicdom. He’s not even asking for Cayla’s hand in marriage, he clearly assumes she has no logical choice but to accept Les’ generous permission to clamp on the ol’ ball and chain.

Remember, Riff Chick, endings have to be earned!Les finally gets around to a proper proposal, proffering the ring box with his fat little pasty hands (but still not getting down on one knee). What is with all the tight closeups in today’s strip? ‘Specially in panel 3! Yikes.

Indecent Proposal

The real surprise today is that Les doesn’t make Cayla get down on one knee while he proposes.

Let’s rewind, though, to panel 1: Who starts a sentence with “In the main…?” I’m surprised Les went with that cliché instead of “At the end of the day…” And the park is “kind of a touchstone” for him? Oofah! There’s just something about Cayla that gives Les verbal diarrhea…For her sake, I sure hope that diamond is more genuine than the dialogue in today’s strip.