Aw, check it out, a sight-gag! Much like a exploding vacuum cleaner or face full of chimney soot, at least this is a comic I understand. Today’s comic still has those rascals obsessing over Wedgeman’s ring. It’s unhealthy. And hopefully Wedgeman’s main squeeze finds a better way to support that massive chunk of metal or coach is going to have to come over to rehab her back.
Tag: Westview High School
Who’ll Stop The Rain
Gah, six panels to extol some piece of software–not long after Harry decided that software was worthless for anything human beings do. Tom Batiuk must be really impressed with some app he’s recently downloaded, because otherwise this episode would end with a smirking Dinkle saying something like, “Well, you could just look outside,” or “My system of yelling at them is better,” or some terrible pun. That’s the best thing about today’s strip–Loathsome Dinkle doesn’t get a single line of dialogue.
I recall (from comments here) that the Battle of the Bands was always rained out. So we’ve gone from showing a running gag every year to just talking about a running gag? Huh.
Take Another Little Piece of My Pulitzer, Baby
At first I thought Les was admonishing Naughty in his office, in a private conference so as to steer her away from Chullo’s former crime (I seem to remember “It says Wikipedia right at the top.” “So that’s what gave it away.”).
But then I note Nice sitting there, and I realize he’s actually berating her in front of the entire class. Apparently being a dick is nothing compared to being Les Moore. That’s quite a level of ass-hattery to deploy against a student who’s barely been in his class for a week. I guess when Les has to smug his superiority (“I am familiar with all the Pulitzer-award winners…as well as several deserving nominees…”) woe betide those who happen to be in his view-finder.
Which is what makes the third panel so…delicious. Naughty is full-on denying Les his ability to give a half-lidded-eye smirk! She is being a dick right back, almost effortlessly! And look how Les, denied his pun-portunity, takes it! Look how he is practically boiling with rage, barely able to contain his fury at being de-punned. If this strip was set 100 years in the future, his next line would be “Jetson! YooooOOOOOOOOOOOuu’rre FIRED!!” You might think the impact of panel three is lessened by not seeing his full squeeming visage, but I would offer instead that it allows us to imagine it. And what I imagine is glorious.
I think I have a new favorite character in the Funkyverse.
Say The Secret Word
For once, the wordplay isn’t terrible, though I imagine it’s awkward as hell to say out loud. But it doesn’t seem like a real problem here–if you can’t think of a rhyme for a word, choose a different word that says the same thing for which you can think of a rhyme. Unless…unless Les has given them a list of words that they have to use in their work? I can think of several he would choose–Lisa, cancer, smirk, no one can understand me, roses, December, endings, earned, and of course the word “pun” itself. Lists the students are fantasizing about–dickhead, douchebag, punchable, smug….
What makes this an exceptional episode is panel two. Aside from Nice, everyone looks stymied and miserable, even on the verge of panic as they craft poems destined to be punned over by Les. Les himself–now there is a man just beginning to climb the hill of self-loathing, and that look on his face is awesome. The dawn of self-awareness never looked so deserved.
Thursday’s Child Has Far to Go
Thursday’s strip was not available for preview, but one assumes that it will be more Nice-N-Naughty contrasts as they banter with a bemused Les. Smirks will be had, and all will have those hooded half-eyes that I really, really hate. So, fellow snarkers, in a short while, the game’s afoot!
Son of Stuck Funky 