Coming to the Defense of Funky

Tom Batiuk has been taking lumps recently from fans for opting to end the life of one of the main characters in his strip Funky Winkerbean. True - this has to be one of the most depressing comic strip since the last Bloom County strip (but for an entirely different reason):








I'll come to his defense on this. First, because it shows the other side of the cancer battle. In the comic medium, and in the majority of the books we read and television shows we watch- we hear the triumphant stories of those who have conquered cancer. But for every story of triumph, there are countless other stories of people who have lost the battle. Second reason I'll come to his defense ... a lot of his critics want him to go back to when the strip was funny. Unfortunately, I can't remember when this strip was ever funny - so dude might as well try his luck on the dramatic end of things.








Finally - I never knew the messenger of death had a formal dress attire and wore a mask. Dude looks like one of the party attendees for that sex party in the movie Eyes Wide Shut.