Crankshaft by Tom Batiuk and Dan Davis for October 28, 2024

Hookay, so we’re back to this, are we? I thought the idea was to tell scary stories, not simply have sideways covers depicting the premise. Who was even telling this story, and why is Boy Lisa drawing it…and as a comic book cover (complete with company logo) instead of an simple illustration, no less?

He should work on TP more often. That way the paper can still be used for a good end.

Funny, but from this angle, in this light, Boy Lisa looks like Karloff’s monster in a cheap wig.

Oww! Not again. Mine neck!

A pointless self-indulgent anti-joke that celebrates the height of Humanity’s Nation, crappy 1960s comic books? In a pizza place? We have hit Peak Tom.

Cripes… another stupid “sideways comic book” arc..

Glad the comments aren’t sideways!

Frankenstein said I’m not a bell pepper, I’m just drawn that way.

Hey, Mr. “Huge Monster Fan”, the monster’s name is NOT Frankenstein. Frankenstein was the doctor who created him. The monster is just called Frankenstein’s monster, or Frankenstein’s creature. He is never given an actual name in the book.

Oh, no! Once again, Tom Batiuk has fallen down and can’t get up.

Coming next… they launch a scrypto-currency.

PLEASE end this arc! There is nothing remotely funny about it.

God I hate Funky Winkerbean. I wish we could read Crankshaft instead.

Why is Frankenstein (yeah, I know) green??

The evil politician watched Montoni’s Pizza from the shadows, his eyes glinting with contempt. He thought of the place as little more than a pile of trash, a scar on the town he wished to reshape in his own twisted image. Inside, the lights flickered as Jeff and Cody laughed over ghost stories. To the politician, Montoni’s was a breeding ground for those who opposed him, and he vowed that once he was rid of it—and of them—the town would finally be his.

The politician liked to think of himself as a strong man, a leader, a figure molded by history’s cruelest and most powerful. He admired dictators with cold precision, borrowed from their playbooks, and imagined his own rise built on the backs of those he crushed. He thought himself invincible—until the night Sheriff Jack Smith drove by.

Sheriff Smith was a weathered man, shaped by years of hard nights and harder truths, but his instincts were sharp as ever. He spotted Rudy, the politician’s wiry little henchman, crouched near Montoni’s gas lines, his hands fumbling with tools meant for sabotage. Sheriff Smith moved in quietly, arresting Rudy before he could cause any real damage. As he cuffed him, he looked down at the rat-faced figure, whose eyes now darted with fear and desperation.

Back at the station, under the harsh glow of the interrogation room light, Rudy’s bravado crumbled. He pleaded, his voice trembling, spilling secrets in a desperate attempt to save himself. He spoke of Steve and Mike, the other henchmen, their names tumbling out like confessions from a rotting soul.

Sheriff Smith listened, his face stern, but beneath his hardened exterior was a flicker of pity. Rudy wasn’t born this way—he’d been molded, like so many others, by a man who preyed on weakness. As he locked Rudy in his cell, Sheriff Smith knew he had unearth something rotten, something that threatened the heart of his town. But he was ready, and he would stand between it and his people, no matter the cost.

Frankenstein ’s creation is saying "I said no Anchovies please ! "

batiuk pats himself on the back i do pure class writing not one eye of newt or pumpkin spice like the riff raff do

Where’s Crankshaft?

Sorry….not really thrilled……..

That drawing is ridiculous! I could whip his azz with one box tied behind my back!

Cryptkeeper: Hahahahahahahaha! Tales from the Crypt. HaHa!

The Incredible Bulk Sausage

Really nice retro-cover; color particularly brings out the dynamics. I understand why the profile orientation is vexing, but for today’s strip, it really sells both the cover and then the sweet dialogue in the next frame. Nicely done!

CTRL+ALT+Right arrow to save your neck.CTRL+ALT+Up arrow to return to normal.

You’re welcome.

I’ll pass.

I’m 74 years old and VERY much dislike the sideways presentation of some of your strips. There’s no easy way to rotate it for easy reading, so I have quit picking up my laptop to rotate it to read them. I now just pass them by w/o reading. Please stop this, Crankshaft is one of my favorites.