Crankshaft by Tom Batiuk and Dan Davis for April 30, 2024

1) That’s not how release forms work.

2) Where’s Holly’s book?

3) Where’s Crankshaft?

If only her flaming baton was all over his books! And Batton Thomas’s as well!

So, just to summarize today’s breathtaking developments: Holly Budd Winkerbean (who was last seen living in retirement somewhere in Florida with her husband Whatsisname) somehow learned that her former high school band director (who she has encountered several times since leaving school over in that other strip named for her husband Whatsisname) was doing a book signing of his latest autobiography at a small used bookshop in central Ohio, and then decided she would fly/drive/take the train the over 1,000 miles to see him. Also, Dinkleberg apparently goes to these events with readymade release forms, just in case he runs into someone whom he should have gotten to sign such a form before his book went to press. Yeah, sure, makes perfect sense.

Hope all you “Crankshaft” fans are enjoying it as the “Whatsisname Winkerbean” characters slowly creep in and take over the surroundings like Kudzu on a string of telephone poles.

Sounds like Dinkle is afraid Holly might be attending for a book burning.

“No, Harry, only a qualified psychiatrist should sign your release form!”

So Westview characters is now just walks into Centerville and vice versa? These two towns is just really just next door to each other? If so then why they not show up here before? It’s called writing?

A re-lease form? Is she already renting another copy?

Now wait a minute, they’ve both lived in the same small town their whole lives and he didn’t know she married Funky?? And in the FW strip she’s been around Dinkle several times over the years, she even performed during one of his halftime shows and almost died I think after her baton trick went wrong.

It’s actually a restraining order. Or Holly is being served with a lawsuit.

Holly: “You’re a flaming Baton! Speaking of which, where’s that Thomas fellow that was here last week?”

Les Moore is coming unfortunately

You mean you didn’t ask her permission before putting her in your book? I’d sue you for every penny.

Dinkle: Holly, are you going to blame me for that incident where you broke your ankle?

Holly: No. That was my own fault.

Day late……..and a dollar short!

P 4 (Holly Butz): “…sure, Dinkster…..no prob….I just want to show it to my lawyer first….”

So one of two things happened here: (1) Holly flew from Florida to Ohio and then drove to a random woman’s house who has a non-Euclidean attic above her garage that doubles as a spacious bookstore so she could attend a random booksigning for the man who emotionally abused her in high school or (2) Batiuk has ruined Crankshaft to turn it into Funky Winkerbean Act IV, but is still out of ideas so he’s just repeating the ghost of cadences past until the inevitable cancellation of his second strip.

“Sure! As soon as YOU sign a check made out to me!”

shouldn’t he have done that before publishing the book?

as the world turns to wednesday and more booksigning hijinx

Why did he even bother to end the other strip?

Aren’t you supposed to get release forms before you write the book?

A little bit trying to secure those releases, Harry. If anyone took offense to anything said about them in your book, then…

Lillian: Uh…yeah, Harry, I know who she is, I’ve lived in this town all my life and I’ve known Holly since she was ten.

Holly’s gained weight from all that free pizza