Funky Winkerbean - warning: spoilers

Thanks for starting the thread, Bill. I had wanted to but didn't for some reason.

To see the January-June 1999 strips where the Lisa storyline began, go here and scroll to the bottom:

http://www.kingfeatures.com/features/comics/fwinker/about.htm

 

That's weird; this E&P feature said that the relaunch was to happen on Oct. 21.

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003648740

 

I'm just stunned by this thread. I had absolutely no idea anyone read these things. It's like a whole area of pop culture I was unaware of.

 

You had no idea people read the comics pages?

 

Not the serious, running dramatic ones with story lines. I thought maybe shut-ins were keeping those going. I scan Dilbert and a couple others if I'm going by the comics page, but it would never even occur to me to read Funky Winkerbean.

And this is no judgement on them -- they might be awesome, I have no idea. Clearly they have a following in demographics I would not have imagined.

 

It is rare that a comic strip will deal with death. I think Doonesbury did a few years back but mostly comic books touch the subject. Hell, I still well up thinking about Gwen Stacy's passing in Spider-Man (She was his first love, NOT Mary Jane).
The demise and rebirth of Superman and the recent death of Captain America was distrubing to me.
Haven't read Funky Winkerbean in more than 15 to 20 years. I kind of out-grew the strip.
Always loved The Far Side, Marmaduke and The Born Loser. Beetle Bailey and Family Circus are still favs.

 

So is that Les on the couch in the comic today?

 

Yes, and your point?

 

"Who got the thread locked?!"
"Ida Know!"

 

Yes, indeedy.

All I can say is, thank God for Dilbert.

 

My wife actually has FBOFW as her home page on her computer, and after we got home from work we talked about Funky and FBOFW.

She does not read Funky, but she remembers Farley's passing and how emotional it was at the time. I explained to her that I am fascinated by lovable characters, characters you laugh at and are funny, dieing. This is very powerful stuff.

I asked her if FBOFW had taken a serious turn before Farley's character heroic act. She said they had, but I do not even read the comic and it got dusty in here yesterday. Maybe it is just that when we have characters die in tv shows or in movies and books, that when we start to read or watch the story that we are ready for people to die. If Jack dies on Lost this year, or another character drowning last year, it will not hit 1/100th of this dog dieing or the character in Funky dieing.

I'm not complaining, but I just think it is worth noting how much more powerful a member of a comic strip dieing isthan in other forms of fiction.

Good boy, Farley. You're a good boy.

Damn dust.