Crankshaft by Tom Batiuk and Dan Davis for August 19, 2024

Plumbing the depths of Batton Thomas is plumb crazy.

Life is rarely so tough that pizza and beer cannot help…

The return of Skip Rawlings and Batton Thomas.

Last week’s nostalgia has been replaced with this week’s nausea.

Oh, for the love of…these two again?

Is Skip Bittman so cash-strapped he takes Batton Thomas—Creator of the Once Nationally Distributed Comic Strip “Three O’Clock High”—out for “interview lunches” so he can write them off as a business expense?

Also…“A longer and more in-depth piece”? You asked him three questions last time, Skippy: You thought (wrongly) that he had retired without checking to see how many strips he was working on; you asked him if he missed the strip he stopped doing without a word about the one still running; and you suggested (again, wrongly) that cartooning was a great way to make a living ( ha ha, inside joke). I can tell you what this interview is “destined for,” Batton, and it rhymes with “cash can.”

Say this in any celebrity voice you can: “So what exactly is this interview destined for again?” No, try it! Christopher Walken. Keanu Reeves. Morgan Freeman. Pee-Wee Herman. No matter which voice…sure sounds like something no one would ever say, don’t it?

Well, at least we saw Cranky over the weekend…

In my town a pizza place would be the center of the community. Get it; community center?

What a wonderful comic, I’ve been following Ed and family and friends for years.

Or, in the common tongue: “Why are you doing this interview?”

As Homer Simpson would say, Boooring!

I guess Ed only shows up on Sundays now.

As Homer also would say, “Be more funny!”

More ROMEOs?

Well at least it is look like he going to records this interview.

So Batton’s question in the first caption is exactly what every Crankshaft reader is thinking right now. Apparently Tom thinks that by giving us a one week reprieve and a single Crankshaft appearance, it will make another week, we pray it is only one week, more palatable.

Get on with it…….

Very in depth. Why, he’d only anticipated 2 misused quotes and 3 crappy puns, but lo! he got a 4th crappy pun.

All that they need now is for someone to take their order since Min-dumb and Shaggy are still outside messin’ around with the sign and pranking each other.

Where’s Crankshaft? He’s out on the Business Route, looking for the Carefree Highway.

Carefree Highway, let me slip away, slip away on you.

you deserve a break today so get up and get away from crankshaft

Longer and in-depth. If it’s longer than the average person can read on the can, you’re both wasting your time.

“Do you like silver age comic books?”

“Yes!”

“Do you really like silver age comic books?”

“Yes!”

“Do you really, really like silver age comic books?”

“Yes!”

“Do you…”

Oh, lord, here comes the “When I found out my wife had cancer…” arc.

Enter Harvard Harvard,The Talking Dog…..

Yes, this makes perfect sense. An extremely long 20 page feature on a random comic strip writer. People will be trying to get this paper from all over the country.

Okay, waiting for people to chime in saying how heartwarming and cute this is. Or whatever

Hey, did Brewster Rockit move to Crankshaft-land? He’s doing a book signing!

If Skippy’s not shouting, “Oh, Batton, I can’t quit you!” by the end of the week, I’m asking for my money back.

Pizza makes everything all better.