Crankshaft by Tom Batiuk and Dan Davis for September 02, 2024

That is actually a good idea. If Les teaches the board members how to write, they’ll turn out flawless gibberish that can mean whatever you want it to mean.

Huck Finn — maybe, kinda, sorta because of the N word…but Bradbury? REALLY???

Did anyone read the 2nd panel? Or even get through a few of the many words and then said…“WAIT—the BookSMELLER BookStore?” Does the store smell? Do the books smell? Do they—OMG, I BET THEY DO—just SMELL all the BOOKS?! And then—YOU! Thank the LORD we know it’s in Westview, cause I ain’t going there. Rephrase of panel 1: “That’s why I bought it in a bookstore.” Does Tom get paid by the word?

Books that have previously, banned and re-allowed, should be exempt from future parents attempting to ban them again. History should not be allowed to be repeated by the ignorant especially, when they have not read and discussed the book themselves. (sorry, just my opinion)

Where’s Crankshaft?

Fighting against banned books is my favourite pastime!

Is the book store’s name really ‘Booksmeller’, or is that some kind of joke I just don’t get?

It’s called teaching! And the Funky takeover of Cranky komix is now seems complete.

Historically.. using that word at that time is correct.. it’s just not polite…

That’s it — do an end run around the nimrod book banners

The board members will have Ed run over Les with that bus if he teaches that book

“I may not agree with what you have to say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” -Voltaire

It seems more and more like Batyuck quit Crankshaft, not Funky Wankerbean.

Oh yay, Les Moore and his punchable smirk have shown up. The Funkification of Crankshaft is complete.

Batty: “I will have Les die on this hill and then I will finally receive my Pew-litzer Prize!”

No comment….

have a coke and smile

What is more surprising is a teacher using his own money to buy books for his class to read (even if it’s a piece of literature on a supposedly not approved list) or, using a supposed ambiguity around that list?

And now Crankshaft has completed its transformation to Funky Winkerbean.

Need to read that book again. We were assigned it in high school and watched the movie in class.

Hi, Caucayla!

Easy to ban but very hard to burn- if you use a Kindle

This whole arc of writers, bookstores and Leftiness is BORING. Where’s Crankshaft? Enough with Lillian and now this Lefty Professor. The strip has ceased being amusing and is now a political platform. NO THANK YOU. Self-righteousness abounds. Count me out.

What happens when the administration hears about Les’s plan: first, they say “who the (grawlix) put an uncontroversial classic like Fahrenheit 451 on the ‘do not teach’ list?!” and immediately remove it from the list. Second, they call Les into the office and tell him he’s fired for insubordination because he’s not teaching the standard curriculum and reading list that the entire English Department agreed upon at their meeting back in May.

This is called a win-win conclusion.

When we were assigned a particular novel to read in high school (e.g., “Silas Marner”, “A Tale of Two Cities”, and yes, “Huckleberry Finn”), we had to purchase them ourselves. However, they were flimsy paperback editions that were mass-printed for use in schools, so they were dirt cheap.

When “the burnings” in Westview begin (as we were promised that they would), I hope they start not with “Fahrenheit 451” but with the collected volumes of “Funky Winkerbean”.

So we’re getting a whole retcon of everything? Les was retired. Crankshaft takes place when they were younger. Ed is a non-verbal vegetable in FW.

Did he pay for them himself? What teacher would do that? And I call BS, because he would use one of his own books!

Notice the expression on Generic Female Teacher in the background, how it goes from one of concern to a pleased smirk. I bet she’s just behind Creepy Les on the seniority list and is looking forward to finally moving up to Department Lead Teacher once he’s fired. I wish her well!

Balderdash…………………

Book banning, and burning, is what fascists do.

I would happily donate to a teacher who would use the money to buy and teach ‘banned’ books!

Wait, Les can buy the book………SO IT IS NOT A BANNED BOOK!

Won’t let you teach a class on government censorship, but have no problem teaching from books promoting sin. Communism.

So just when Batiuk has infuriated so many of his followers with old stale characters and story lines, he has to come up with a serious and topical one. I am actually interested in seeing how this plays out.But I still want to see a guest appearance of the title character on next Sunday.

IIRC from an article in The Daily Cartoonist, this is going to be a two to eight week arc concerning banned books.

I read that book about 100 yrs ago! What is so bad about it?

It’s a reference to someone sniffing (i.e smelling) out books. Quit having a cow

Welcome to the start of another week of Crankshaft Minus Crankshaft.

At least with today’s c̸o̸m̸i̸c̸ strip, Batty seems to have gotten his dog and pony show on the road.

bring back batton thomas and old five fingers the masses are screaming

Batty suggesting anyone write with more clarity is hilariously hypocritical. Anyone who has ever read (or tried to read) one of his blogs can confirm this.

Especially hilarious coming from the mouth of (Best Actress Award Winner) Les Moore.

the irony of it all. banning a book about banning books.

Scenes we’d like to see:

(Best Actress Award Winner) Les Moore gets into a heated confrontation with the school board and lets his emotions get out of control. He is tazed and frog marched out of the school.

School Security Guard: I always wanted to do that to that guy. Smug a*hole. Not smirking now, are ya?

They’ll put in my replies but not a main comment

Till now

Knowledge is in the written word … The written word is also open to interpretation … How we interpret what we read is open to discuss … But to BAN the written word is never a good idea, no matter how well intended the administration may be.

They’re banning books in Pestview? Oh, hiya!

The system hates to be exposed for becoming the totalitarian state it has become……

Did Les mean “THE BOOKSMELTER” not “THE BOOKSMELLER”? That would better fit THE BURNINGS.

Cripes. I’m sensing a pain-inducing lecture from the incredibly smug and smirky Les Moore. Can we please go back to rotating the strip 90 degrees to the left? Flipping it back-to-front so I can’t read it would even be better.

Les Moore, ignoring the school board and doing whatever the hell he pleases. He smugly thinks he knows better than anyone else. All this with that stupid smug smirk on his face.

Classic Les Moore. Oh, how I haven’t missed you. Words fail to describe how much I hate you.

Cayla (in the background): (gushing) Oh, Les. You’re just so absolutely wonderful. That’s my man!

Surly Squirrel: (retches)

I’m guessing Batyuk is introducing the “Booksmeller” because that will be the structure the evil horde burns to the ground.

Why didn’t Les buy the books from Lillian’s Village Booksmith while he was at the book signing? It’s because Batyuk cannot bear to have that place destroyed. It is sacrosanct.

You do realize your butt’s gonna be canned if you teach this, right.

In today’s news, in Florida, Desantis , his Republican shills and likewise his rightwing Mothers for Liberty banned 23 of Stephen King’s books

Maybe if we’re lucky, Les will get is butt fired. This wouldn’t be as cool as Les dying, but I’ll take anything I can.

“If we wanted to be clear about what our policies are, we would have written them in plain language, (deleted)!”