The only surprise today (probably the only surprise in this strip all month) is that Bull’s NFL suitor was “the then St. Louis Cardinals” and not the Cleveland Browns, given Batiuk’s Ohiophilia. Alas, a blown knee ended his gridiron career, but being a natural physical therapist, Bull was able to rehab himself.
Tag: Westview High School
Me and You and EMU
Epicus Doomus
March 20, 2012 at 2:03 am
For anyone who’s ever wondered if TB becomes enamored with some bit of idiotic wordplay and then builds some sort of half-assed arc around it, I present this week, which exists solely for the sake of doing a gag based on EMU.billytheskink
March 20, 2012 at 11:48 am
…[Eastern Michigan University] are a Mid-American Conference Opponent of TB and Les’ Kent State Golden Flashes and Cayla’s Akron Zips. The EMU in this strip is probably a placeholder for them or any other MAC school that isn’t Kent State or Akron plus… flightless bird joke!
Make that a flightless bird joke right between the eyes, for the benefit of the handful of readers who didn’t see it coming. No one will accuse EMU’s recruiter of lavishing their prospect with expensive gifts, that’s for sure. A ringer tee? You shouldn’t have! No, seriously. You shouldn’t have.
Don't Stropp Believin'
Once again,Les’ upper lip has retracted under
his mustache
Sunday’s strip got my hopes up that we would at last be done with BasketBull. However, today Les’ mention of that damn highlight reel triggers in Bull a sepia-toned flashback. Well, not a flashback, because Bull wasn’t there. The coach (he’s the one in panel three wearing the t-shirt that says coach) is the late Jack Stropp, who not only fostered Bull’s athletic development but also passed along his gift for malapropism.
Whale Meet Again
Oh thank God, no basketball.
I strongly suspect that today’s strip was originally supposed to run last September. Mainly because Mr. Moore is assigning his language arts class their “first book” of the year…a week before the beginning of spring? Also because said book is Moby-Dick, which you’ll recall figured in Maddie’s plagiarism arc six months ago. I’ll let this go, though, knowing how much Batiuk hates it when his readers pay more attention to his strip than he does.
Hide Yo' Ballz
A puffy-looking Les congratulates his old tormentor on the AnnieGoats’ championship bid. Bull responds with an inane story about his “old coach”. Aren’t there enough “old coaches” in this arc? I guess the “hidden ball” “gag” is “funny” because, well, gosh, a basketball would be kinda hard to hide. Beyond that, it’s hard to see what application a ploy to deceive a baserunner would have in the game of basketball.
