Tag: Susan

Crank Calls

I was not so intrigued by Susan Smith’s reappearance yesterday, neither by today’s cameo by a…younger? Ed Crankshaft. Nope, what set these beady eyes to nitpicking was Ed’s peculiar POV in panel one. That angle and that distance just seem impossible on that narrow bridge. My curiosity compelled me to construct the scene from the opposite perspective:

Weird camera angles aside: so it looks like Batiuk’s gonna play the suicide card again, and for the second time on the same female character, and over the same leading man. Unbelievable. At least he knows better than to have Les come hastening after her to talk her down. Unless he’s about to leap out of Crankshaft’s bus. Speaking of old Ed, if indeed this strip is happening eleven years ago, he really went downhill between June 2011 and this cameo in June 2012!

 

Excuse Me, Have You Seen the Bridge?

“Several years ago…? Could “several” equal eleven years ago? Because this gal looks a lot like Susan Smith. Her hair and attire even match Susan’s when she said her goodbyes to Les and Westview in late June of ’11.

For anyone who’s just picked up reading Funky Winkerbean (or this blog) within the last decade, here’s a quick recap: Susan Smith was one of Les’ students. Susan quite understandably developed an insane crush on Mr. Moore, and her suicide attempt was thwarted by Les himself. Susan surfaced again in Act II, as the abused girlfriend of Matt Miller (again to be rescued by Sir Les-a-lot); seven years after that she showed up at Westview High as a student teacher.  Early in Act III, she returned to the WHS faculty. She was greeted there by school secretary Cayla, who would become her rival over, who else, Les.  Susan bestowed on Les an impulsive kiss that led to a small scandal that led to, as we see here,  her boxing up her belongings as smug Les looked on. So yeah, I’m guessing that this is the same woman. And given her past, the fact that she’s parked her car on a bridge does not bode well.

A tip of the SoSF fedora to “anita the last vcr” (@saleintothe90s) from whose tumblr I cribbed my knowledge of Susan Smith’s background!

Hall-ucinations

Tell me what I’m missing here…
As she takes her final walk through the halls of Westview High, Susan spies a student at a locker. But wait, aren’t all the students gone for the summer? There’s something familiar about that girl, though… Whoa! That geeky girl in the bobbysox is Susan’s teenage self!

A little further along, Susan encounters another female, who, judging from her trajectory, has emerged from a solid wall to cross Susan’s path. Can anybody reading this (Mr. Batiuk?) tell me who the hell this woman is? She’s wearing an ID badge, so she must be a teacher…but surely we’ve met all 5 or 6 members of Westview’s teaching staff. Before she was forced to turn it in, Susan was never pictured without her ID badge…so is this the ghost of the future that Susan would have had? The hair’s a different color, but we’ve seen Susan as a blonde.

There’s no ambiguity in the last panel, that’s for sure. A mop, two brooms, and a garbage can bear witness to the final disposal of Susan Smith Westbrook.

Don’t miss this month’s excellent installment of FunkyWatch: June’s 12 Most Depressing ‘Funky Winkerbean’ (and Crankshaft) Strips over at Comics Alliance!

Les Sticks It In

Epicus Doomus
June 29, 2011 at 12:44 am

…Les is easily the most obnoxious, annoying jerk-off in the history of comic strips, if not entertainment as a whole.

..and today’s strip confirms it!

It wasn’t enough for Les to show up to an empty school and stand over Susan as she gathered her personal effects. It wasn’t enough for him to name-drop his “real” girlfriend and call Susan “crazy” to her face. Before he walks out the door for good, Les has to be sure to fan that little ember of Susan’s doomed, unrequited love.