Tag: traveling green shirt

You Move Me

Pete is a disorganized, dysfunctional wreck. He’s arguably Westview’s most successful writer (sorry, Les), and was already established in his field when he inexplicably moved back to town nearly five years ago. Does a professional at this stage of his career not understand how deadlines work? Pete has no girlfriend, wife or kids, and friends who only appear when he’s moving in or out. What distractions could he have from his writing? It might be plausible and amusing to have him deal with writer’s block once, but Batiuk has gone to this same well several times.

And now he’s supposed to sit on the floor to do his work? I guess Darin, Montoni’s Chief Technology Officer, never installed WiFi in the pizzeria.

Cojones Grown

Well, today’s strip is just so epic that I’m gonna invoke “fair use” and reproduce it here. Today’s our payoff, snarkers, our “ending earned”; here’s where it all comes together. Why did TB dredge up not just Roberta, but her limp dishrag of a husband? Why did Nate, instead of dealing with Roberta in his office one-on-one, assemble “every student, teacher, and parent volunteer“? Why, it was all setup in order to provide old, fat, evil Roberta’s very public dénouement, at the hands of the aforementioned wimp husband, no less.

In all honesty, panel 3 had me confused for a moment: I didn’t get why Summer was gasping “Dad?” while Dad was standing way behind her. Then I noticed the highlights in her hair were not blue, but brown, and realized I was looking at Becky. Please, please let her startled expression not be due to Dad finally asserting himself, but rather because she’s just witnessed her father being shanked by her berserk, hateful mother.

I Suppose You're Wondering Why I've Called You All Here Today

Their walkout averted, the Westview kids trudge to the gym to listen to What Mr. Green Is Going To Say. It’s heartening to see that Cody and Owen are already completely over their mutual crush on Summer: she’s walking about ten paces ahead of them and they’re not even looking her way.

Summer Bummer

TheDiva
April 12, 2012 at 12:53 am
…Tom Batiuk just cannot draw an attractive woman to save his soul.
O.B. Dan
April 12, 2012 at 8:24 am
Tom Batiuk can’t draw an attractive anything to save his soul.

Haha, it’s true! Check out Cody’s rival! He has Ed Crankshaft’s nose. Of course, he’s an Adonis compared to Cody, whose looks on in abject dismay. If I were directing this strip as a movie, panel 3 would be a “dolly zoom” (I had to look up the term), aka the Vertigo effect. I’ve worked up a crude animation to illustrate.

No Wonder

His near-beatdown at the hands of the bully Wedgeman apparently has triggered PTSD-induced hallucinations in Cody. Or could it be…love? Whatever the case, Batiuk does Summer no favors with this side-by-side comparison with the Amazon Princess. Wonder Woman’s curves (those thighs!) only call attention to Summer’s androgynous form. And anyway, I thought Summer’s comic book analogue was Supergirl.