Apple Slash Annie

http://www.chron.com/apps/comics/showComick.mpl?date=20101018&name=Funky_Winkerbean

Looks like the Book Launch is about to commence. Funky has brought out a table skirt to transform the pizza parlor into an upscale literary den. All the significant (living) females in the Life of Les are here: long-suffering Cayla, relentless stalker Susan, dutiful daughter Summer, and his “agent slash publicist” slash former bag lady, Ann Apple. Lisa is present too (when is she not?): this time in the (somber) cover art for the book. Except for the pink color, that book cover looks kind of familiar

It’s amazing that Apple Annie had the money for a plane ticket: apparently she owns only one outfit (that damn pink jacket).

Read-undancy

http://www.chron.com/apps/comics/showComick.mpl?date=20100905&name=Funky_Winkerbean
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As the Pizza Summit drags on, Les’ Harem of Two cannot get enough of The Grounded One’s wisdom. We learn that as a kid he was, what else? a fan of comic books. But rather than stash his comix away as a hedge against economic uncertainty, Little Lester would endlessly re-read them, “always hoping that the endings would change.” But didn’t Einstein once say that “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”? So much for Les being the last sane person on the planet.

Les’ point about writing one’s own endings, though, should strike a chord with readers of this blog. A number of you have come up with some endings of your own: a lesbian affair for Summer…a catfight between Cayla and Susan…Wally going out with guns blazing…all of these more compelling and plausible than the “endings” that TB makes us “earn”.

Bonus maddening detail: Les has been wearing what looks like a yellow Livestrong bracelet on his left wrist that seemingly appears and disappears, and goes from  yellow to white and back.  Nice attention to detail, TB.

Chalk Talk

http://www.chron.com/apps/comics/showComick.mpl?date=20100904&name=Funky_Winkerbean

Les continues TB’s manifesto from yesterday. Interesting qualifier in the very wordy panel one: “I used to spend whole mornings in the summer making what I considered to be beautiful chalk drawings on the sidewalk…” Substitute Tom Batiuk for Les, and this strip for chalked scrawls on the sidewalk…It’s clear that our author considers his work to be a “masterpiece”. The rain, of course, represents haters like us who go and piss all over it.