This week, Tom Batiuk gave us a classic Funky Winkerbean story. Also, he posted some nonsense on his blog about Harry and Donna going back in time to play “Defenders” again.
This week’s Crankshaft is once again worthy of comment as an extension of Funky Winkerbean Act III. It gave us a Funkyverse staple: the “young people just starting out” story. Tom Batiuk loves this story, as he loves any story where he can just walk the characters through the procedure again. Even when it doesn’t make sense for the character, as it doesn’t with Pete.
Many of you discussed the problems with the Crankshaft story in the comments. A sampling:
- “This story arc in 2024 is the same as Mopey Pete moving into Montoni’s in 2008.” – csroberto
- “Pete is either the cheapest son of a gun in the ex-comics industry or he signed some really bad contracts.” – Andrew
- “Pete, who’s one of the biggest comic book writers in the world, who’s written screenplays for massive Hollywood blockbusters, is just starting out, yet again.” – Epicus Doomus
- “Mindy is seeing Pete’s apartment as if for the first time, even though they’ve been together for 5+ years and they’ve been on trips together.” – me
- “There are two pillows on the mattress, in a configuration that does not suggest one person sleeping on both. If Mindy was unaware that MoPete sleeps on the floor on a mattress, then who’s using that other pillow? His partner, the Pizza Box Monster? Is this a DinklePedic™ fund-raising mattress?” –Hannibal’s Lectern
To say nothing of how they got Timemop’s space helmet back, after we saw Harry and Donna throw it away and a cat disappear into it, presumably taking the helmet somewhere else in time. But I think there’s something more interesting to talk about this week.
I think Tom Batiuk is trying to soften his legacy.
We’ve all seen Skunky Funkybuns. We’ve all seen Funky Cancercancer. Tom Batiuk doesn’t acknowledge criticism, parodies of his work, or its reputation for bleakness. But I bet he’s well aware of all this, and this week we’re seeing his answer. His first “new original Funky story” was a good-natured Act I flashback, instead of one of his usual agendas. The same is true of this week’s Crankshaft: it repeats a classic trope with new characters.
Yes, both stories violate canon in a hundred different ways. But I think that’s less important now.
Think back to the recent Bloom County / Calvin & Hobbes crossover. Does it make any sense that Oliver Wendell Jones dug the Banana Jr. 6000 computer out of his closet? Does it make any sense that he still has it, when it was canonically thrown out for being obsolete? Does it make any sense that Oliver is still a child, when the ambiguous ending implied that Calvin is now an adult? No. But that’s all beside the point. Which is: damn, it was a blast seeing these characters again. Berke Breathed and Bill Watterson gave their creations a story worthy of their presence.
That’s what I think Batiuk is going for here. It’s lazy and misaimed as usual, but I think its heart was in the right place. This is what he should have been doing in late 2022, instead of propping up yet another character to write yet another book and get yet another recognition.
I think this is also why Dinkle keeps showing up in Crankshaft. Dinkle is Tom Batiuk’s best creation, by far. I’ve called him “the pointy-haired boss of his day”, and I stand by that. I think he’s still a great character. The strip changed in ways that Dinkle no longer made sense within it, but Batiuk kept using him anyway. I wrote at length here about why Dinkle doesn’t work anymore.
In my prediction of Funky Winkerbean characters that would appear in Crankshaft this year, I put Les and Lisa as #3 and #4. Halfway through the year, neither has been seen, or even mentioned. Instead, #5 Dinkle has been the star. #1 Pete and #2 Mindy’s move out of comic book world has been front and center. #12 Mason Jarre has been prominent. Batton Thomas, Jeff, and Inner Child have been Batiuk’s vehicle for comic book wanking, rather than the main Funky Winkerbean expatriates.
Yes, it’s all as sloppy as ever. But I hold out hope that the Funkyverse is at least trying to be fun again. And shouldn’t we all embrace that?
Son of Stuck Funky 
