There’s really not too much to make fun of in strips like this one, unfortunately. I do get a kick out of the wild disconnect between the art and the dialogue. Holly’s expression makes her either seem like she’s senile and has no idea what’s going on, or she just found out that Cory stepped on a landmine behind Montoni’s.
I would like to know how much time has passed since Holly’s surgery. It feels like it’s only been a few days, so I feel like the doctor would have given her some actual real pain medicine rather than having to go through so much Advil.
Tag: squiggly lines
Knitty Gritty
I’m guessing this is a gag about her torn muscle or broken bone knitting together? I totally didn’t get it at all the first time I read this, but that’s the only thing I can think would make any kind of sense. I’ve never been a fan of Batiuk’s tradition where he has someone make a joke in the second panel and in the third panel someone sneers at them and acts like it wasn’t funny. I don’t really get why Batiuk thinks it’s funny or worthwhile, and usually the jokes aren’t any worse than the ones Batiuk actually presents as his actual punchlines.
How long do you think it will be before Holly murders Funky with one of those needles?
Chock Full of Crap
I’m assuming nobody else has heard this phrase, although I could be wrong. I Googled it briefly, and apparently it’s a phrase that World War II pilots used, so I’m assuming Batiuk either heard it on a serial or read it in a decades-old comic book. Which doesn’t explain why this would be Holly’s immediate reaction upon seeing a scooter. I wonder exactly when Batiuk gave up on making his characters unique and different and just made them all stand-ins for himself.
Did the doctor not give Holly one of these? Or recommend one? That seems odd. Although given that the medication Holly clearly has her high out of her mind, clearly she doesn’t have a great doctor.
Kiss of Death
I’m not entirely sure why Funky is smirking, since yelling to someone that you hope they break a leg when they’re going into surgery (I’m guessing, Batiuk hasn’t specified) for a broken ankle (again, we don’t know because it hasn’t been specified) seems kind of like a jerk move and not really at all funny. It’s definitely not worth the “aren’t I clever” smirk we’re getting in panel three. Funky sure isn’t acting like someone would if a loved one just suffered a painful injury and is going in to be operated on. Given how the week started with Holly being questioned about if her home is safe, Funky shouldn’t act like he’s having so much fun.
And it is me, or is it kind of odd how we’re almost through an entire week in the hospital and haven’t been told a single thing about Holly’s injury or what the treatment will be? All it would have taken is one world bubble of “We’ll have to perform surgery to repair the torn ligament”, or whatever. But I guess that would’ve taken space that was better used on Funky joking about carrying a purse, or this hospital employee telling Funky to kiss his wife, which is kind of disturbing to me.
Wigged Out
It’s a hell of a mishap when a flying pole with burning rags wrapped around both ends gets away from the majorette. It might cause the football field to catch fire, as Buck Bedlow can tell-not-show you. Which is a funnier circumstance than that of a girl forced to spend her teenage years hiding hideous, painful deformity to please her twirler mom. Oh, and the spelling you want in panel 2 would be “trouper.”
Son of Stuck Funky 