Tag: Skyler

Pull List Surprise

Mindy is the last person in the room who needs to apologize. Pete literally had his back turned as his fiancé got in a shouting match with a stranger. John was nowhere to be found while this was happening, and even after the jerk is gone still does not come out from behind the counter.

Sourbelly
December 8, 2021 at 10:52 pm
Why not just tell this weirdo the truth: “Sure, loser, we produce garbage, but we make 100x more money than you do, and we barely do any work! We win!”

Yesterday’s strip may have been the big F you to the critics, but today we get the victory lap. OK, we’re talking comic strips vs. comic books, but those checks from King Features Syndicate keep rollin’ in. And you and I may not have to pay for the privilege, but we snarkers are his most loyal readers. Not because we like it, though.

Minsplaining

The Duck of Death
December 9, 2021 at 9:23 am
[Tom Batiuk] knows or cares so little about actual women that when he actually has one show a little spirit, it’s only in the service of what he, a man, wishes he could say.

Now it’s Mindy’s turn to be the one intimidating a stranger. She leans into Travis Brickel’s personal space: commenting about his “butt,” poking him in the chest, and mingling/mangling sporto metaphors. Only when Mindy’s neutralized the threat does Pete feel emboldened to step in, though he still feels he must use little Skyler as a human shield.

Godiva, But with Her Pajamas On

At this point, the Komix Kritik “Travis Brickel” is literally in Mindy’s face, complaining about Atomix’ women characters unsuitability for, uh, one handed reading. Even if her riposte is once again less than scathing, Mindy’s gaze is steely, and she’s clearly standing her ground. We can’t expect her to rely on Pete to defend her: he’s got his back turned to her and Skyler, perusing a comic book whose pages are solid blue. Now that’s some #@!*🌩 coloring!

Color Me Badd

The proofreading sucks, too! It should be spelled “ATOMIK Komix”

Still gotta question Mindy’s wisdom in engaging with this lunatic, particularly with someone else’s small child in tow. And what kind of shopkeeper would not immediately intervene in a shouting match between customers involving his comics professional friends for cryin’ out loud?

“The coloring” seems such a weirdly specific thing to like about a comic book, but there’s a creative achievement Eisner award for “Best Coloring.” A number of which awards have been earned by women, likely none of whom lucked into her career the way Min-duh did.

Nothing Is Really Work Unless You Would Rather Be Doing Something Else

“You really work for Atomik Komix?” “Well, I generally come in at least fifteen minutes late…ah, I use the side door…that way Chester can’t see me, heh heh – and, uh, after that I just sorta space out for about an hour. Yeah, I just stare at my desk; but it looks like I’m working. I do that for probably another hour after lunch, too. I’d say in a given week I probably only do about fifteen minutes of real, actual, work.” Yeah, I stole that from Office Space, which is light years funnier, truer to life, and more timely than Funky Winkerbean.

For a comics geek, this guy is more than a little intimidating. His menacing demeanor, drab coat, and especially his Mohawk remind me of DeNiro in Taxi Driver…let’s call him Travis Brickel. Not only does he swear in front of a small child, by panel three he’s advanced on our group. And he’s totally just ignoring Pete, which is hilarious. I don’t think Pete’s panel 3 expression is fear; he’s just really hurt by what the guy said.

This strip actually might have been compelling had Batiuk kept it to only two panels. Check out my hastily composed edit:

Instead, he just has to give Mindy a comeback. Instead of shooting back with some #@!*🌩 of her own, the best sick burn she’s able to muster is a passive aggressive “Nice to meet you too!” Batty doesn’t even bother to put her words in one of those speech bubbles with icicles hanging off it.