Crazy Harry: “Cool story, bro. Now get your ass behind that counter and rustle me up my free cup of coffee. This mail ain’t gonna deliver itself.”
Yes, Tony has long been known for his wacky marketing ideas. But maybe the world was ready for a Bucket of Pizza. Someone in Michigan apparently had the same idea…40 years ago…
In case you’ve been wondering whether the 40th anniversary “flashbacks” are the actual vintage strips, today TB tips his hand. Compare today’s panel 2 (at left) to the original, taken from the archive page on the official FW site. 
It’s a shame, really, because you’d expect the redrawn version to be better than the original.
billytheskink
March 27, 2012 at 11:16 am
I kinda like seeing the old, original FW artwork. It was the closest thing this strip ever had to charm. It’s not entirely coincidence that the further TB moved from this artwork, the further the strip sank.
It’s natural for a cartoonist’s style to evolve, especially over four decades. But the “charm” that billytheskink mentions is absent in the redrawn version. Check out the facial expressions, Les’ comical posture, and the sweet checkered tablecloth. Compare both panels: imagine the dialogue balloon is not there, and consider which one still tells the story.
Doesn’t anybody in Westview know how to neatly apply Scotch tape? Tony, per favore, keep holding that sign right where you have it: you’re sparing us all from another glimpse of Funky’s huge ass. At least today’s retro flashback is good for a chuckle, taking us back to the days before Darin’s “I-Phone” app.
Still with me after yesterday’s post? Thank you, reader.
Let the celebration begin. By some remarkable coincidence, both Funky Winkerbean and Montoni’s Pizzeria celebrate their fortieth anniversaries this week!
Jimmy
March 23, 2012 at 2:05 pm
So, 40th anniversary strips coming up? If Bathack brings us in the wayback machine, I get the feeling they’re going to be a reminder that Funky Winkerbean wasn’t all that good in the 1970s either.
Into the Wayback Machine we go: looks like TB’s going with a “now and then” theme, and if every day is like today’s strip, snarker Jimmy may be on to something. If panel 2 is indeed an original, and not a “reimagining” a la Lynn Johnston, there was probably an original first panel that set this up as an actual joke (Funky dashes into Fred’s office: “Mr. Fairgood! I need to use your phone! It’s an emergency!”). The absence of humor here leaves us to contemplate the young, likeable, slender Funky, whose cargo pants conceal the merest suggestion of a butt that forty years later would threaten to burst right through Montoni’s window.
The end of summer means hauling the outside patio furniture down into the basement (unless they do this every evening for some weird reason) and gives us a chance to see what cruel ravages dementia has wrought upon poor ol’ Tony, who, by even conservative guesses, must be pushing 80 by now. Thankfully, the time jump was much kinder to older characters like Dinkle and Tony than it was to Funky. A halfhearted attempt at humor is made, punctuated by a chime-in from the new employee at Montoni’s, who appears to be baked off of his ass.
Oh wait, that’s Summer,who lives with Les, goes to the same school Les teaches at, and works at the same greasy pizza dump he manages.
I know they say running away never solves anything but whoever said that obviously never spent any time in Westview.
Meanwhile, Tony, sliding comically into full blown dementia, complains that Darwin confused him with all of his technical gobbly-gook talk about application programming, probably in a desperate attempt to justify his salary, to which one thinks; hey, boy wonder, if you can’t explain what the hell you’re doing to the average layman then you’re probably not a very good MBA.
Son of Stuck Funky 
