# Help! Melodramatic Funky Winkerbean annoys me, yet I must read!
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-melodramatic-funky-winkerbean-annoys-me-yet-i-must-read/49395
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Tags:** comic-strips
**Created:** [January 10, 2001, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-melodramatic-funky-winkerbean-annoys-me-yet-i-must-read/49395 "2001-01-10T20:35:03Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Alzarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alzarian)
#### Post date: [January 10, 2001, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-melodramatic-funky-winkerbean-annoys-me-yet-i-must-read/49395/1 "2001-01-10T20:35:03Z")
Anyone else find themselves inexplicably drawn to this comic strip to see what latest calamity, or big issue, the gang will have to face, and yet hate themselves for being addicted?
The whole Funky is a drunk loser with marital problems is as riveting as a car crash. i try to turn away, but just can’t!
Incidentally, why does Wally call Funky his uncle? How’d this happen? Does Funky have a brother or sister?
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### Author:  [@Falcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Falcon)
#### Post date: [January 10, 2001, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-melodramatic-funky-winkerbean-annoys-me-yet-i-must-read/49395/2 "2001-01-10T21:05:13Z")
YES!!! Oh good lord. And it’s not in my paper, so I have to read it on the website, and it’s TWO WEEKS BEHIND! ARGH!
Ah well, I suppose I could be addicted to WORSE things…
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### Author:  [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)
#### Post date: [January 10, 2001, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-melodramatic-funky-winkerbean-annoys-me-yet-i-must-read/49395/3 "2001-01-10T21:13:00Z")
I used to read Funky Winkerbean, and even if the papers around here carried it (I haven’t found it), I think I would have given up on it. The cartoonist’s stabs at social significance seem a little forced, as if he had this big wheel in his office with “Breast Cancer,” “International Terrorism,” “Drug Use” and other Big Issues on it, and he spins it every now and then to see what he’s going to draw about. Couldn’t he stick with Cindy’s troubles in the mall?
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### Author:  [@magdalene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magdalene)
#### Post date: [January 10, 2001, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-melodramatic-funky-winkerbean-annoys-me-yet-i-must-read/49395/4 "2001-01-10T21:23:53Z")
Didja know that there is a musical about Funky Winkerbean? I’ve never seen the comic strip, but I was one of the stars of “Funky Winkerbean’s Homecoming” in junior high. In a truly ironic casting decision, I played “the most popular girl in school” who gets to turn Funky down for the big dance.
Song highlights include:
“Why oh why can’t I be popular” and “I want a hunk.”
The musical gave me no desire to ever, ever, ever encounter more of Funky’s genius.
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### Author:  [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)
#### Post date: [January 10, 2001, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-melodramatic-funky-winkerbean-annoys-me-yet-i-must-read/49395/5 "2001-01-10T21:34:07Z")
[toothless grandpa]
Why, I remember when Funky Winkerbean was a **funny** comic strip!
[/toothless grandpa]
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### Author:  [@ThisYearsGirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisYearsGirl)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2001, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-melodramatic-funky-winkerbean-annoys-me-yet-i-must-read/49395/6 "2001-01-11T01:25:22Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by magdalene \*
> \*\*Didja know that there is a musical about Funky Winkerbean? I’ve never seen the comic strip, but I was one of the stars of “Funky Winkerbean’s Homecoming” in junior high. In a truly ironic casting decision, I played “the most popular girl in school” who gets to turn Funky down for the big dance.
>
> Song highlights include:
>
> “Why oh why can’t I be popular” and “I want a hunk.”
>
> The musical gave me no desire to ever, ever, ever encounter more of Funky’s genius. \*\*
Do you have any idea how funny this is? I am wildly jealous; I wish I was in a Funky Winkerbean musical. I am adding something to my list of things to do before I die list.
Anyway–Funky Winkerbean is still around?
“Look kids! Funky Winkerbean! And the Noid!”
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### Author:  [@lurkernomore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lurkernomore)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2001, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-melodramatic-funky-winkerbean-annoys-me-yet-i-must-read/49395/7 "2001-01-11T01:49:59Z")
you left out the teenage pregnancy series.
I also read online, thought he DID hit the kid for a minute, or at least he’d get busted for DWI
My bookmarks have an embarrassingly large comics folder.
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### Author:  [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2001, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-melodramatic-funky-winkerbean-annoys-me-yet-i-must-read/49395/8 "2001-01-11T01:53:09Z")
yes, funky has become quite the serious comic strip.
alzarian, a few years back the writers had funky and his gang grow up. they put les in as a teacher at the high school and gave funky a nephew that was a freshman, along with cindy’s little sister. there by keeping the high school thing going. i figure funky must have much older siblings to have a kid around funky’s age. when funky’s nephew was in his senior year (two years ago) he and his prom date (becky) got into a serious drunk driving accident. that storyline was the first time i EVER got physically ill over a comic strip. people in work thought i was going to pass out when i realized what happened to becky. talk about my worst nightmare in black and white!!!
so yeah, i’ve been following the story line. it has taken quite the public service message route.
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### Author:  [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2001, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-melodramatic-funky-winkerbean-annoys-me-yet-i-must-read/49395/9 "2001-01-11T02:11:44Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by blessedwolf \*
> \*\*[toothless grandpa]
> Why, I remember when Funky Winkerbean was a **funny** comic strip!
> [/toothless grandpa] \*\*
Call the home, gramps. You’re hallucinating. “Funky Winkerbean” was NEVER funny.
Jeeze, I thought they had finally put that strip out of its misery. So, they went with relevance as lifesaving device, huh? Bet it sucks as bad as it did in the Seventies.
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### Author:  [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2001, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-melodramatic-funky-winkerbean-annoys-me-yet-i-must-read/49395/10 "2001-01-11T05:24:52Z")
> [@](#):
>
> Call the home, gramps. You’re hallucinating. “Funky Winkerbean” was NEVER funny.
“Crankshaft”, though, had its moments.
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### Author:  [@Kricket](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kricket)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2001, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-melodramatic-funky-winkerbean-annoys-me-yet-i-must-read/49395/11 "2001-01-11T07:13:53Z")
I missed what happened to Becky. But yeah, I read every day.
I did miss Sunday and today, but I will look at todays tomorrow before I read the on for tomorrow.
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### Author:  [@SanibelMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanibelMan)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2001, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-melodramatic-funky-winkerbean-annoys-me-yet-i-must-read/49395/12 "2001-01-11T07:49:21Z")
I swear, there are just too many damn coincidences in this world.
While I’d certainly heard of Funky Winkerbean before today, I honestly hadn’t seen it in forever and hadn’t given it any thought. Then today in Theater Tech, we had to hang out in the band room for an improptu study hall, and the band director had lots of cartoons on the wall relating to high school bands… and I finally got a close look at one of the strips on his bulletin board, and it was Funky Winkerbean.
And now there’s this thread…
_theme from Twilight Zone plays_
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### Author:  [@Tzel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tzel)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2001, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-melodramatic-funky-winkerbean-annoys-me-yet-i-must-read/49395/13 "2001-01-11T08:03:13Z")
My newspaper only runs the Sunday strips. (WTF?) So people in our area can read a small snippet of a plot that makes no sense whatsoever. Occasionally, I just see someone staggering around, taking a swig of a bottle and fall over. Also, most comic strips have to make sure that the Sunday strips are not essential to the plot, since a paper might not carry the Sunday strip. We get this phenomenon in reverse, so it’s even more esoteric.
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### Author:  [@Canby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canby)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2001, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-melodramatic-funky-winkerbean-annoys-me-yet-i-must-read/49395/14 "2001-01-11T08:12:21Z")
Oh my. I just went and read a month’s worth of the strip. This is not the mildy amusing comic I remember. I had to check to make sure I wasn’t mistakenly reading a Chick tract. Any minute now a stranger will step out of the shadows and Funky will be praying for forgiveness. Ouch…
And I know I’ll be checking back to see what happens next. :rolleyes:
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### Author:  [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2001, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-melodramatic-funky-winkerbean-annoys-me-yet-i-must-read/49395/15 "2001-01-11T13:19:38Z")
Funky Winkerbean’s well on its way to joining the ranks of Mark Trail, Rex Morgan, and Mary Worth - comic strips that are wholly melodramatic, soap operas in stasis!
The strip took a major gamble several years ago when the writers decided to take the kids out of high school and project where they’d be as grownups. Whee! What fun! Les as a teacher! Funky as pizza boy! Oh, the hilarity!
But to me, it was never all that wonderful. I don’t look at is as I would rubberneck at a fender-bender; I usually skip it entirely nowadays.
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### Author:  [@SkeptiJess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkeptiJess)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2001, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-melodramatic-funky-winkerbean-annoys-me-yet-i-must-read/49395/16 "2001-01-11T14:49:35Z")
**Falcon** – [Bayarea.com](http://www0.mercurycenter.com/comics) has _Funky_ up to date. You have to register, but it’s free. Also, you can make your own daily comic page featuring whatever comics you like but don’t get in your local paper. My personal page features train-wreck _Funky_ and his brother-strip _Crankshaft_ as well as the immortal _Frank and Earnest_ and ::looks swiftly from side to side and drops her voice in shame:: _Cathy_.
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### Author:  [@Inky\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inky_1)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2001, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-melodramatic-funky-winkerbean-annoys-me-yet-i-must-read/49395/17 "2001-01-11T15:55:49Z")
Gad, it’s [quite the carnival of souls](http://aolsvc.toonville.aol.com/Content1/Funky/funk1231g.jpg) isn’t it?
How long has this strip been around?
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### Author:  [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2001, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-melodramatic-funky-winkerbean-annoys-me-yet-i-must-read/49395/18 "2001-01-11T16:20:47Z")
I remember that fateful day when they grew up. 'twas a cold July afternoon in '83. All right, I don’t remeber it that clearly.
They were graduating from high school one day. The next day I see “Four Years Later” emblazened across the top. Good thing I read it then or I would have been thoroughly confused.
Funky is interesting. I thought the murder mystery was interesting but could have been pulled off better. I like the cancer arc. This whole drinking thing sucks. He’s playing the cliche drunk and they’re solving it in a cliche way. That doesn’t make it that convincing.
Now, I don’t want to hijack this, but I have to say that if you want a good story line with funny and realistic characters, check out [For Better or For Worse](http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/1540/)
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### Author:  [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)
#### Post date: [November 19, 2022, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-melodramatic-funky-winkerbean-annoys-me-yet-i-must-read/49395/19 "2022-11-19T06:43:18Z")
Resurrecting a VERY old zombie, extracted from the search function: The artist, Tom Batiuk, is ending the strip effective December 31st.
> **[The end of Funky Winkerbean: Ohio creator Tom Batiuk closes out the comic...](https://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/2022/11/the-end-of-funky-winkerbean-ohio-creator-tom-batiuk-closes-out-the-comic-strip-dec-31.html)**
>
> Medina cartoonist Tom Batiuk announced that after 50 years he will end the daily adventure of Funky Winkerbean, though it is not the end for the beloved character.
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### Author:  [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)
#### Post date: [November 19, 2022, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-melodramatic-funky-winkerbean-annoys-me-yet-i-must-read/49395/20 "2022-11-19T15:26:36Z")
Go Comics is down or I would head there and read the FW comments section.
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