Funky Winkerbean is depressing

[Disney Ella]

Way too much realism for a comic strip. Enough bad stuff happens in real life, I want my comic strips to be funny.

 

[pittypat]

Both of my parents died of cancer. I decided after reading this morning's script, that I'm not going to even look at it again until this whole segment is over.

 

[Octoberbride03]

I think its depressing too. i hadn't seen the comics for years since i moved out of Philly and then a few weeks ago when browsing through newspapers at barnes&nobles i found it. I think its awful they're having Lisa die.

 

[AmazingGrace]

Where are you all seeing it? I can't access it online anywhere and my local paper doesn't carry it.

 

[Disney Ella]

You can see Funky Winkerbean here. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/fun/funky.asp

 

[janette]

You can find it online here

I think it is sad but not depressing. I've read the strip for years, and hate that the writer made this decision but wonder whether he's been affected by breast cancer since he has written about it before. Oct is Breast Cancer Awareness month too.

I searched and found an article that says a book will be released this month called Lisa's story.

After this segment is over the strip will fast forward 10yrs again, looks like the children of the original HS gang will be in HS next.

 

[Daxx]

I like my comics to be funny, not controversial, political or heavy. Sadly, Funky has taken such a heavy turn that I really try to avoid reading it and every morning when I open the paper, I just wish the whole Lisa thing were over with. I hope they don't go into the whole wake/funeral/etc. with this.

While I understand that the cartoonist's motives to not "sugar coat" breast cancer and the importance of getting the message out there to get mamms, etc., this is a really heavy topic for a comic strip! I have been reading it but it leaves me v. heavy hearted. Of course, all I can think about is their little girl. DH wonders who Funky will marry w/in the next "round" of comic strips that are 10 yrs. down the road!!!!

 

[profdsny]

I haven't seen it in years and years. The Sun Times dropped it years ago for something that wasn't funny. This is so sad.

 

[Maryr1]

I have been following this comic strip too. I found todays strip to be gut wrenching. I believe the author is a cancer survivor. I read that when he decided to take this direction, he felt the readers would understand his motives when all was said and done. Not too sure about that, but I will wait and see. Cancer is a horrible death and the other things that go along with the disease process (like losing your site, or your ability to walk or other things) are frequently forgotten. I keep asking myself, do we need to know or be reminded of all this? I am learning anything? Is it just bringing back difficult memories? Is this the authors way of revisiting his illness? I just don't know. I am glad this topic is being addressed here-I wondered what other people were thinking.

 

[IRideRoads]

Well, I'm surprised at you all! Funky Winkerbean is telling a wonderful story of love and life. I'm personally very addicted! As any good story should, I find myself caring for these people and caring about what happens to them.

The "funny" funnies don't have me checking every day on what will happen next. ... This series with Lisa has been heart breaking. I showed my wife, and we were both choked up as I went through the last month with her. To me, that's good story telling. The scene where her dad tells her he loves her and asks for forgiveness... what a lesson for us all!

Gotta go... <><

 

[Poohnatic]

I've never been a reader of a newspaper that had Funky among its offerings. Someone mentioned it on the FBOFW thread today and I went and looked up everything since September 1st.

It took me back to two years ago this month and everything we went through with my mom's rapidly progressing Lung Cancer. I got teary eyed, missing my Mom. I think it's great that the cartoonist accurately captured what the last days of a cancer patient who has been accepted into Hospice care can be like.

Sad, yes. Ultimately heartwarming, yes.

My personal pain will probably keep me from the next few week's strips, especially since it's happening almost exactly two years to the day. It's still raw. I probably will read it from the Seattle paper in a month or so.

Suzanne

 

[RNMOM]

I agree with IRideRoads. I have always loved this strip and am compelled to check each morning how Lisa is doing. I appreciate the realistic portrayal of dying at home with loved ones.

I think what he wanted to do he has...we are all talking about it and paying attention to the theme of breast cancer. Mission accomplished.

 

[hentob]

I actually got a lump in my throat while reading yesterday

I think it is being done in a tasteful, beautiful manner. Well written for a comic strip

 

[DrCavin]

He was just on a radio station here this week. I didn't hear the entire interview, but I did hear that he does have cancer. His website may give more details: http://funkywinkerbean.com/

 

[Laura]

I never much liked Funky Winkerbean, I never thought it was funny. The jokes were always so lame. But Lisa's cancer story has been much more interesting.

 

[swanmom]

Lisa's gone. I know she's a only character and not a real person but there are lots of real people out there going through this. If this really had an impact on you, for whatever reason, here is something you can do;

University Hospitals Ireland Cancer Center and Funky Winkerbean Cartoonist Tom Batiuk Establish
Lisa’s Legacy Fund for Cancer Research and Education


For the first time in a comic strip, Funky Winkerbean creator Tom Batiuk has depicted the death of a young wife and mother from the recurrence of breast cancer. Lisa Moore, a major character who is battling breast cancer for a second time, succumbs to the disease on Oct. 4, 2007, leaving behind her husband, Les, and their five year-old daughter, Summer.



As a result of Batiuk’s commitment to helping people facing their own real life battles with cancer, University Hospitals Ireland Cancer Center in Cleveland has unveiled a fund called Lisa’s Legacy Fund for Cancer Research and Education, named in honor of Batiuk’s character and her subsequent story which has resonated with thousands of readers.



The University Hospitals Ireland Cancer Center is one of only 40 comprehensive cancer centers in the United States, as designated by the National Institutes of Health. Currently in its 19th year of operation, it is a leading center for patient care, cancer research, and community education about cancer care. One hundred percent of the donations to Lisa’s Legacy Fund will go to cancer research and education at Ireland Cancer Center. Ongoing research includes work on the development of a vaccine for breast cancer, a blood test for colon cancer, breakthrough chemotherapy treatments for all types of cancer featuring new drugs developed by the Center’s clinician-scientists, and new approaches to radiation treatments. Ireland Cancer Center is one of only eight cancer centers in the country to have access to a pipeline of new drugs through the National Cancer Institute for early phase clinical trials.



Batiuk has granted UH Ireland Cancer Center permission to use Lisa’s name and likeness to raise funds for cancer research and education. Additionally, Batiuk and King Features Syndicate, a Unit of Hearst Corporation, will donate all royalties from his book, Lisa’s Story: The Other Shoe, published by The Kent State University Press ($27.95 hardcover, $18.95 paper; October 4, 2007) to Lisa’s Legacy Fund at the Ireland Cancer Center.



Lisa’s Story is a collection of the 1999 comic strips about Lisa’s initial battle with cancer, going into remission, and the current series examining her struggle with the disease and its effect on her family and friends. Additionally, it contains resource material on breast cancer, including the importance of early detection, information sources, hospice and palliative care support systems, and health care.



Batiuk, a cancer survivor himself, said, “Anyone whose family has been affected by cancer knows what a gut-wrenching experience it can be. While great strides have been made in the fight against cancer, there is still much work to do. I’ve received hundreds of letters and emails from people who recognized themselves or loved ones in Lisa’s story. She came to represent the many individual battles against cancer that people fight everyday. Beyond the emotional impact that Lisa’s story has had on people, Lisa’s Legacy Fund will now have a real impact on the continuing fight against cancer.”



Stanton Gerson, M.D., director of the UH Ireland Cancer Center, said, “We are sincerely appreciative of Tom Batiuk’s heart-felt gift in allowing us to establish Lisa’s Legacy Fund to support cancer research. Through his work, Tom has done much to let women who are fighting breast cancer know that they are not alone. And through Lisa’s Legacy Fund, we will be able to continue making progress in our ultimate goals of preventing, controlling, and eradicating cancer in all of its different forms.” In order to provide the most comprehensive services, University Hospitals is set to build a new, free-standing cancer hospital that will unite all of its cancer services under one roof. The proposed 360,000-square-foot facility, slated to open in 2010, will include 150 inpatient beds and ambulatory units for multidisciplinary care, allowing all physicians involved in the individual patient’s care to assemble in one location to develop and monitor the treatment plan with the patient. The hospital will have glass-enclosed areas on multiple levels allowing patients and visitors to enjoy healing gardens and other quiet places that reflect the dedication to patient and family-centered care.



Recognized by U.S. News and World Report as one of the top 25 hospitals for cancer care in the country, the mission of Ireland Cancer Center is simple: to cure cancer.



Gifts can be made to Lisa’s Legacy Fund at www.lisaslegacyfund.org (which will go online Oct. 2) or by mail to Lisa’s Legacy Fund, University Hospitals Ireland Cancer Center, PO Box 74947, 11100 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44106.



The UH Ireland Cancer Center information services hot line is 1-800-641-2422.


About Tom Batiuk

Tom Batiuk is a graduate of Kent State University. His Funky Winkerbean and Crankshaft comic strips are carried in more than 700 newspapers throughout the United States. In 2006, he was honored by the American Cancer Society and presented its Cancer Care Hall of Fame Award for his sympathetic work in highlighting the experiences of those with cancer. Lisa’s Story: The Other Shoe is available from local bookstores, amazon.com, or www.kentstateuniversitypress.com.

 

[crazyforgoofy]

Rest in peace, Lisa.

The story line and illustrations were beautifully done. I'm very proud of Tom Batiuk.

 

[Obi-Wan Pinobi]

The fact that Lisa's story -- and Grandpa Jim in FBorFW -- have such an impact with people is a testament to the writing and the talent of the creators. They obviously put a lot of themselves, their heart, soul, and passion into creating characters the readers can identify with and like.

Not only that, but these two strips (for the most part) happen in real time and the characters age along with the rest of us. That has to have an effect on the impact they have on us.

So far I haven't cried while reading Funky, although I may if I read the collected edition and read all the strips together. I don't remember crying when Farley died in FBorFW when it originally ran in the paper, but I did when I read the collected edition.

On another note, if anyone goes to funkywinkerbean.com and clicks on "coming soon", there's a picture of the characters 10 years later. I think I've figured out who they all are (highlight for spoilers, let me know if you agree) Les (dark beard and glasses) and Summer to the far left; Crazy Harry (with the grey hair and beard), his wife Donna (blonde next to Summer) and their daughter (in the red cap); the three at the far right are Funky, Holly, and her son Cory (green bandana). The remaining 5 in the middle had me wondering, though. First I was thinking it was (left to right) Linda and the daughter she and Bull just adopted, Becky, Wally, and Rana (the daughter they adopted). I wondered why Bull wasn't pictured and why Rana looked younger than their daughter when she should look older, and why Wally looks older than I would expect. Now I think it's Becky, Rana, Linda, Bull, and their daughter. Does this mean Wally doesn't make it back from Iraq alive?? I would hope Tom Baituk wouldn't have more than one major character die in so short a time.

 

[Cool-Beans]

I think what he's done is very nice and if it brings UH more money for Ireland, then more power to them both!

But, I too prefer my comics to be funny. That's what we called them as kids - "the funnies."

 

[Laura]

The fact that Lisa's story -- and Grandpa Jim in FBorFW -- have such an impact with people is a testament to the writing and the talent of the creators. They obviously put a lot of themselves, their heart, soul, and passion into creating characters the readers can identify with and like.

Not only that, but these two strips (for the most part) happen in real time and the characters age along with the rest of us. That has to have an effect on the impact they have on us.

So far I haven't cried while reading Funky, although I may if I read the collected edition and read all the strips together. I don't remember crying when Farley died in FBorFW when it originally ran in the paper, but I did when I read the collected edition.

On another note, if anyone goes to funkywinkerbean.com and clicks on "coming soon", there's a picture of the characters 10 years later. I think I've figured out who they all are (highlight for spoilers, let me know if you agree) Les (dark beard and glasses) and Summer to the far left; Crazy Harry (with the grey hair and beard), his wife Donna (blonde next to Summer) and their daughter (in the red cap); the three at the far right are Funky, Holly, and her son Cory (green bandana). The remaining 5 in the middle had me wondering, though. First I was thinking it was (left to right) Linda and the daughter she and Bull just adopted, Becky, Wally, and Rana (the daughter they adopted). I wondered why Bull wasn't pictured and why Rana looked younger than their daughter when she should look older, and why Wally looks older than I would expect. Now I think it's Becky, Rana, Linda, Bull, and their daughter. Does this mean Wally doesn't make it back from Iraq alive?? I would hope Tom Baituk wouldn't have more than one major character die in so short a time.

I think you're right, but Wally and Wally Jr would then both be missing from the group, so I don't know what might have happened to them. (highlight for names)