Tag: Pete

Durwood and the Pete-meister, signin’ copies…

Much thanks to Spacemanspiff85 for taking the helm over the past two weeks, and for having a screen name that always reminds us of how good the world of comic strips can be. I am sorry I cannot claim that “billytheskink” will make you think of anything good, but I will do my level best to cover the rest of this role effectively.

Looks like time jump #4 happened in today’s strip, because apparently May 4 is here now… and hatchet-faced white men abound! This Sha-Na-Na reject is about 25 years too late to the world of post-Silver Age comics speculation, as if copies of Rip Tide: Scuba Cop and The Scorch are headed anywhere but the bargain bin.

Also, Lisa’s Story is a graphic novel again, maybe…

Cry For Help

So Flash just randomly dropped by the same time John had decided to randomly drop by. Okay then. Plotting is difficult, apparently. It always amuses me how Batiuk just obviously thinks people know who this random minor characters are and that everybody just immediately recognizes them and is thrilled to see them back. I barely remembered who Flash even was and I have to be in the top 1% of people who give a crap about this strip. I like how Darin is just inviting people to make appearances at John’s store.
It’s fun how the artist made sure to get John’s creepy spiky gray hair and Pete’s eye bags just right, but barely drew a face on Mindy. I’m not even sure if what she has there technically counts as a nose.
This strip is more fun if you imagine Flash’s words as a little Easter egg expressing Batiuk’s desire to be done with all this.  It’s totally not necessary though, I mean, the entire strip gives off that vibe.

Quasi Fake Humor

“. . . it’s worth more now as a quasi fake computer than it was a real computer”.

This has to take the prize as most awkward, crappy sentence in the history of Funky Winkerbean, if not comic strips as a whole. I mean, wow. There’s a word just obviously missing “as a real computer”, for starters, showcasing the lack of crap-giving on the author’s part and the fact that nobody else reads these strips before they’re printed. Then there’s just the fact that so many words mean literally nothing. It’s now a “quasi fake” computer? What does “quasi fake” even mean? It’s either fake or not. It’s like saying Lisa was “quasi dead”. If anything it’s more of a real computer now, since before it was blatantly cartoony, making wisecracks, and now it’s just an Alexa/Siri knockoff. Take a bow, Tom Batiuk, this has to be your peak.
Oh, and Chester apparently has something worth two-million dollars sitting around the abandoned old building where Pete and Darin work all day. And somehow a piece of junk from a movie a year ago is now worth millions of dollars.

It’s Funny Because They Think They’re Rock Stars

Aw, isn’t that sweet, the comic book creators are helping the comic book store owner out with something comic book related going on at his comic book store! Who would have seen that coming? And what a refreshing change of pace for this strip to focus on comic books for a change.
Two things about this strip. It’s kind of funny how nobody in this strip calls or e-mails anybody for simple questions like this. I mean it’s obvious why not; if they did then Batiuk wouldn’t be able to stretch crap like this into multi-week arcs. I also think it’s kind of funny how neither Pete nor Darrin have to check with their boss or with family to see if they have any scheduling conflicts. Comic books always take priority after all.

Someone Sure Likes Drawing Bricks

I know it’s not exactly a huge company, but I’m still kind of shocked that someone can just walk in off the street totally unannounced right into where Pete and Darrin work. Now why couldn’t that have been what the epic gun violence storyline was about?
Pete’s face in the second panel is absolutely hideous. Is there any point in yelling like that? I’m pretty sure everyone is in one room, except maybe Chester who isn’t too far away.
I’m also pretty sure that Batiuk had Pete and Darrin bowing to someone and saying they were unworthy really recently. Wasn’t funny then, not funny now. Also, if there’s a giant Atomik Komix sign on the outside of the building, why is there one on the inside?