Before reading anything I have to say (as if), I urge you to check out BillyTheSkink’s posting of Coach Jack Stropp’s epic takedown. While in a way I think Bull had it worse (Stropp’s arc ends with him smiling in reminiscence, Bull’s ends with him shuffling into darkness) it’s interesting to see that, if you’ve sinned in Tom Batiuk’s eyes, he’s a very wrathful god indeed.
Today’s strip puzzled me for a moment; I thought Starbuck Jones was supposed to enrapture all who beheld its glories, but here’s this news-anchor mentioning it with a thinly-veiled dismissive comment. Then I remembered–the “Zeton Warriors” don’t actually come from the comic book, they’re add-ons dreamt up by the current director. While he (and the studio) no doubt consider them canon, the true fans see them like the Gnostic Gospels–something that’s trying to impose itself on the sacred texts.
If nothing else, today’s offering does show that when he’s not drawing the regular cast, Tom Batiuk is capable of rendering attractive people. We’ll probably never see (*guffaw* *chortle* *knee-slap*) “Beverly Hill” (ha ha ha ha ha ha ha) again, for which she should be grateful. This strip is proof positive that the old adage, Familiarity breeds contempt, is not just a good idea, it’s a lifestyle.
Son of Stuck Funky 