Funky Winkerbean User Reviews

By: Tom Batiuk
Average User Rating: 3.9 out of 5 (27 reviews)

User Reviews: [Add/Edit Your Review]

rktompsett 
It ties nicely with Crankshaft

True_Fable 
This is the most thoroughly DEPRESSING comic strip in the history of ever. Cancer, cancer, cancer, lose an arm, give up a baby, lose a leg, go to Iraq, cancer cancer, go on a lame school trip, cancer, looking for birth mom, get medical records mixup and lawyer cancer patient LETS IT PASS, doesn't get mad, just quits being a lawyer. I would too if I wasn't a better lawyer than to not hire someone to look into it. Look, I'm a cancer survivor and Tom Batiuk makes me and many other cancer survivors furious with his "wry humor". Done right, the cancer storyarc could be good, but weeks and weeks of lame puns and "pity poor me" pathos-laden dialogue gets old fast. Make her keep fighting it, Tom.

jafco11 
Very true to life...continuity over many years...in-depth characters...tackles very important human problems and doesn't provide simple answers

fnramey 
If you can't be funny, then either get out of the business or use another venue to post your "comic" strip. I used to enjoy reading your strip along time ago before you decided to focus on social issues. My sister (who reads the comic regulary) is currently going through an extremely tough time with cancer. She takes meds that mess with her head reading your strip doesn't help her situation. Shame on you.

Darkwingdave 
For those complaining about it not being a 'comic'. I respectfully suggest you go to your local comic book store and pull a few at random and see if they're all happy sunshiny topics. It's the attitude that they're supposed to be kid like and happy is the problem store owners face and even game producers. No, comics aren't always for kids and they don't have to be funny. If you want strictly funny then stick to Garfield and Hagar. Next you'll be boycotting Mary Worth I'm sure...

skp 
Tru_Fable wrote: "Look, I\'m a cancer survivor and Tom Batiuk makes me and many other cancer survivors furious with his \"wry humor\". Done right, the cancer storyarc could be good, but weeks and weeks of lame puns and \"pity poor me\" pathos-laden dialogue gets old fast. Make her keep fighting it, Tom. " AMEN!

oldreaderdave 
In their own way, comics can be great literature. So can soap operas, epic novels, and Shakesperian plays. I've loved Funky from way back when Les and Lisa were in high school. Then Batiuk snapped the characters into adult life and explored the humor and pathos they and their friends could experience. This story arc with Lisa and breast cancer is Pulitzer prize material. It's a lot more than just about cancer. It teaches (not preaches) about family reactions, hope, despair, resignation, hospice and death. Because this is a "comic" it reaches a much wider audience than any book ever could.

dtm 
You suck! Why are women always your victim? Lisa dies. Becky loses an arm. A young girl damn near commits suicide...I could go on but won't waste my time---anyone who reads your "comic" already sees your pattern.

ironrose 
I'm guessing you are a short boy who was abused by a female at some point in your life--why else would your strip be so misogynistic--woman hating for you Neanderthals. The men in your strip never suffer--unless their girl is suffering --such as Les. Why only women? Do you like playing God because you are so inadequate in real life? Your forever depressing outlook for your strip's female characters has taken all the joy out of reading the comics. I am going to lobby our newspaper to drop you.

deniseelizabeth 
I think this comic is very well done. Sometimes the use of humor when dealing with cancer makes it a little easier to take. My dads sense of humor when was dying of cancer helped a lot. He and I worked together almost to the time he died twenty seven years ago. I have re read the last month or so. See my dad was not the first one in my family. My precious brother died ten years ago from prostrate cancer and my aunt died of breast cancer last year. It sure was a lot like what Les was going through. I got to see her in those last stages. She was a tough lady till the end and was very honest sometimes too much. Denise

drmynatt 
As a person with leukemia, I'm not happy to see someone die of cancer anytime no matter the form. It's a sad event for everyone. To accuse Batiuk of being a woman hater because he addresses the issue from a man's side of a woman's event is like being unable to enjoy a trip to the Grand Canyon because the road there is hot and dusty. Give it a break and be satisified that you can be sad.

cap129 
First off, I'm going to preface this statement with the fact that I'm a woman. For the love of all that's holy, all you women who are claiming that Batiuk is somehow misogynistic because, horror of horrors, a woman died in his comic strip - give iit a friggin' rest already. It's just a comic strip, it's not governmental policy for crying out loud. Women die all the time, are we supposed to blame men for that? If anything, I think it showed more courage on Lisa's part to recognize that continuing treatment wasn't going to do anything but postpone the inevitable, and that she was going to take charge of her healthcare. Batiuk's account of her passing is very similar to my own father's, who will have been gone for 8 years later on this month. Women who go around blaming men for every single little misfortune that happens to befall them make it all that much harder for women as a whole to be taken seriously when men really do something to women.

schmee 
Oct 4th 2005 My mother died of cancer, weird but true, My mother and I where both diagonsed with cancer with in 2 days of each other, mine was 4th stage squamis cell throat cancer. we where both told that we where in the late stages, Lisa's story down to the last " I love you" was a duplicate of My mothers illnes, She to decided that it was hopeless, when my mom passed away I was in the last 2 weeks of radeation and chemo.... so you can relize where I was. This comic was a god send for those who dont understand cancer and what to expect.... as far as women a target, BS, did you know of all cancers out there that Breast cancer has more reserch dollars than any two other cancers????? so whats fair. That is up to the indiziduals. After my mother passed I recieved a miracal, My cancer went away, and now I am 2 years cancer free, this comic reminded me that I need to take care of my self and eat right so I will be around for a long, long time, God bless you Tom, great job, a little weird though, this could have been my moms story even the date of death....

fos1946 
get to life

AlP36 
I started reading F-W many years ago but had to stop when I moved. Lisa's story touched me greatly since our daughter died from breast cancer at 38 yoa. Even though I know it is "just a comic strip', I still get weepy when I read it, but it is life. I was glad Darrin found her before she died.

mack13 
I have lost a cousin and my best friend to cancer in the last 4 years. Thank you Tom for taking a stand in the awareness of the fight against cancer. Though Lisa was a comic strip character, you gave her the dignity she deserved as a human being. Been reading this strip for over 30 years, and will continue to do so.

perguen 
Like many readers I am on one side of the spectrum or the other. For me, this is one of the best things in print. I feel bad for those who don't think a comic can be anything other than funny. Look at comics like "Get Fuzzy" and you see what happens when you try to be funny for too long. It becomes a commitment to read it in hope that it can be funny again. Yes, I have lost a sister to cancer. This is a defining point in my life and it is the watershed moment for which Funky Winkerbean will always be remembered. Tom Batiuk chose to be true to himself and that was a smart move. Berkely Breathed couldn't do the daily routine anymore and we lost "Bloom County" as a result. Rather than burnout, Tom went in a new direction and now he is going to have steam to write on for the next 10 years. As I mentioned earlier, it is not a strip about making solid laughs all of the time. It is about irony, perspective, empathy and hope. Now that I've just turned 37 it is odd to see things cycle again. When I was young, they were older than me, than my age, than younger, then my age, now they are older again. My kids are 1 and 3 and I can read cute cartoons about what it means to have little kids, but this shows me what it means to be moving into middle age and what I'll have to look forward to with teenagers in 10 years. After my kids, my big love is movies. Plenty of people have seen movies I recommend (usually at their request) and come back with something about how they were bored, it was hard to follow, they really just wanted a fun movie. This is fine. Sometimes you just want to laugh. But there is more out there that can give you more than a passing bit of enjoyment. "Lisa's Story: The Other Shoe" was a cautionary tale that should be in every high school library as an inspiration for girls to get checked throughout life and to educate young men on a danger that is to someone other than themselves. It's not funny, but there were times that I laughed at it. And others that I cried. Act III of Funky Winkerbean is so far removed from the early years that you need to squint to see the strings. If it were not for the second act I think it would have failed. But because of it I think this is something that will be mentioned 50 years from now on lists that show the top 10 storylines and comics strip moments and such. It fills your belly as well as the fluff, but it gives you something to take with you.

gmadot 
I love this comic and always have, I am just have a problem with the jump ahead he made. I feel it is too much of a jump, and that he should have spent a bit more time after lisa's death, maybe not dwelling on her death, but spending time on how they adjusted and went on with their lives.

brown_id_girl 
I think the jump ahead was good. For those people struggling with the issue, there is a comfort knowing that it will eventually be okay. I agree, though, that there is much to be told in the years following Lisa's death. I enjoyed the flash forward, but I'm ready to see how everyone got there.

rhett1940 
I think it's a great comic strip, but am also curious as to why you jumped 10 yrs after Lisa's death. Also, what happened to Wally Sr???? Did I miss something along the way?

doonie 
I really enjoy this comic, but I think that the readers have been cheated by skipping the last 10 years. It would be nice if we could at least get a recap on what happened with the rest of the characters.

dickfoto 
I agree with the others who don't understand how they could have jumped ten years ahead. They did this once before, and Iadmit that was needed. How long can you stay in high school. But this time, it was a bit much. They have a lot of life to live.

agss241 
With regard to the 10-year jump ahead, I'm most particularly wondering about what happened to Wally, Sr. He usually gets around to answering things like that in his own good time, just wish he'd go ahead and tell us!

Misplaced_Mage 
With regards to the 10 year jump, I'm most concerned about the periodic crossovers there used to be with Crankshaft. Perhaps those will continue, giving us clues as to what occurs in that period.

Lil_Pup 
I love the comic strip been readin it for years true sometimes certain story lines can drag a little andr the dramatic pause effect sturng out BUT out of all the comics on the comics page Funky Winkerbean n Crankshaft is my must read even its the only ones read in the whole comics page that day and I'm a female. Oh yeah itys just not the females things happen to have you forgotten wally was MIA feared dead and may now possibly dead. HOWEVERRRRRRRRRRRRR the only thing I want to know and its driving me nuts WHAT HAPPENED TO WALLY SR. i want to know what happened to wally and no much has beeen said about Darren either what is up with those 2 boys

disneyroo 
I too would like to see some back stories on what transpired during the 10 year jump. I'm wondering how Summer & Les dealt with Lisa's death. Not a great amount of details, just a glimpse. I recently lost a good friend to breast cancer and she has 3 children. It might give us all some inspiration to help these kids deal with the loss of their mother.

heythere_77 
why all the time travel junk,,,,,,, STOP

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