Baby Skyler‘s freakishly rapid development continues apace. He’s about twice the size of most four weeks-olds, and sits erect, holds his head up, and can point at things.
Tag: smirk
And I in My Cap
Did you think that Funky dropping one of Santa’s reindeer off the roof yesterday would be the setup for anything more than a one-off “dear/deer” punchline? Like maybe it landed on the cop who wrote Funky a ticket for his reindeer four years ago? Lower those expectations, people! Today, as snow continues to fall from a seemingly clear blue sky, we see that no reindeer (or cops) were harmed.
Pop the Korner
Holly carries her bulk up the stairs to the Komix Korner. Speaking of bulk, Owen’s goatee does little to conceal his double chin; when did that happen? That flight of stairs is probably the only exercise that any of the characters in today’s strip get.
Anyway, business at the Korner seems to have picked up since last December: not only can John now afford a nicer Christmas tree, but he’s sporting one of those cool t-shirts with a Batman logo that magically disappears!
Rocky Road
And now, we see the big reveal as the mysterious “Rocky” is unveiled to us. To give Tom Batiuk credit, it is a genuine surprise. To take back a bit of that credit, though, it’s mainly a surprise because I’ve never heard of anyone named “Roxanne” who chooses to go by the name “Rocky.” It’s generally “Roxy” isn’t it?
The surprise is also unexpected because we’ve never really been given any reason to care who Rocky might be. I note that no one in the comments this week has hazarded any guesses about Rocky–Rocky has always been referred to as “he.” And why not? The focus of this arc has been on comic books, with nothing much about Cory and Friends other than their sudden interest in those comic books. If Funky or Holly said, “Say, who is this ‘Rocky’ anyway?” that would have laid the groundwork for today’s strip; as it is, it literally comes out of nowhere. It’s as if, in tomorrow’s strip, Carla should say “Oh, by the way, I used to be a man,” well, that will be a surprise as well. (That’s if Carla survives for another day. Her descent from “looks like a Popeye character” in panel one to “prop from a horror film” in panel three is pretty alarming.)
By contrast, Holly’s appearance has been consistent enough that I wonder if Tom Batiuk simply has a set of Holly colorforms that he just moves around.
Another thing for which Mr. Batiuk deserves credit is that Rocky actually appears to be attractive (as much as we can tell in the artwork). However, I have to dock points here as well, because, if you look closely you’ll see that Rocky is also smirking.
The Anti-Social Network
TB’s flagrant abuse of registered trademarks continues unabated today, as do Funky’s witless insights into this newfangled “computers” thing everyone’s always talking about. “Holly and Cory”…remember that, kids, because it’s going to be relevant real soon! I wonder how long that “face to Facebook” gag was clanging around in that delightfully pointy little head of his?
Check out Rachel in panel one, I have no idea what that particular little sidewards glance is supposed to indicate, but whatever it is I don’t like the looks of it. And panel three is a Batominc masterpiece, with Funky’s wry nonchalance and Rachel’s bemused background tilty-headed smirk. I would imagine that’s how every Montoni’s conversation unfolds (and I bet the visual evidence would back me up on that, too).
Son of Stuck Funky 
