Crankshaft by Tom Batiuk and Dan Davis for November 04, 2024

It has the form of a joke, but not the function.

As you’re all aware, here’s what you’re all aware of. As a result, here’s the result. This solution makes no sense, but GOL DANG IS MY HEAD NIGHTMARISHILY HUGE!!

Okay, now we’re back to classic “Crankshaft”: The bus garage, Lena, the backs of Ed and his fellow drivers’ heads, a “joke” that makes no sense, and it’s 100 percent HORIZONTAL. All’s right with the world.

Picking up girls? Swing by and get wingman Ralph, crank up the Bunny Berrigan, and hit the drive-in.

So those days is holidays for the boys? Yaaaay!

Older guys picking up middle-school girls? The creepiness arrives too late for the Halloween story!

How does that ease the bus driver shortage exactly? You’ll still be driving the same number of buses, unless there are routes that are nothing but boys.

Picking up girls? Tommy Batiuk goes risqué!

The last time Batty did a bus-driver strip, he established that all but one or two of the kids were being driven to school by their parents (probably due to fear that they’d have to ride a bus driven by a senile old man who’s trying to make them late). I see three bus drivers in the first panel. So the real question is, which one gets to sit at the bus barn and drink coffee (cocoa?) while the others pick up the two kids who still take the bus?

“As you’re all aware, the department of transportation has limited the number of buses we can have on the street, because of your habit of competing to see who can stack up the most cars behind their bus. As a result, you’re all fired. Clean out your lockers and be off school district property by noon.”

And due to limited space we will continue to meet here in The Alamo.

Crankshaft is not picking up anybody. He’s 95!

Why?

Bus drivers, those who transport our children, barely make more than fast food workers in California.

Tom Bathack failed to win a Pulitzer for his Book Burning storyline, so he now tries with a hard-hitting drama about sex discrimination and busing segregation, ripped from the headlines , um, a I mean a Brady Bunch plot.

I guess the boys are walking???

Yeah, Crankshaft’s hat is back! Well, at least the back of it is.

Yes, this “joke” is pretty good. Because only picking up half the students means you only need half the buses. What? There’s still the same number of stops? Oh, never mind.

does he test these jokes at the chuckle hut or hahas club of comedy

As ridiculous as this “joke” is, at least it’s not about book banning / burning or the pizza box monster, so I’ll take it.

Yay…we get to see the back of Cranky’s head…….progress?

Crankshaft gets credit for a full day’s appearance with that back of cap shot.

Funny how there are more people she’s addressing than they’ve ever shown!

There really is a shortage of drivers. Good job, good pay, some schools will even teach you how to drive. But you’ve GOT to get a CDL.

Growing up in RI, starting with 5th grade- you were off the bus, girls and boys and had to walk to school…had to google it, it was 1.6 miles one way

It would have been easy to make this joke work as a Crankshaft story:

What’s-her-name: “The school district has added Westview to our service. Here are mimeographs of your extended routes.”

Driver #1: “All this extra distance!”

Driver #2: “Almost twice as many stops now!”

Crankshaft: “All the extra traffic jams I can cause! All the new mothers I can force to run after my bus!”

This sounds like a fRump idea.

Wow!!! I was able to actually read Chrankshaft today without causing injury to my neck.

Drump america!

Sounds like gas rationing in the 70’s, even number plates on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and uneven numbered plates on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.

The boys will have to carpool or something.