Funky Winkerbean: Portrait of the Artist as a young moron...

[dreadedcandiru2]

Now it has come time to discuss the most annoying of all the idiots that populate the strip: Funky himself. As we know, he wasn't and isn't even the central character of the strip; that dubious honor goes to Les if it goes to anyone. The purpose Funky served back in the day was to be a sort of Everyteen as if he were Archie Andrews with a more realistic lovelife and more true-to-life hormones. He wasn't the Big Man On Campus because that honor went to Barry Biderman and he wasn't that successful with the girls. What he was was the reassuringly dull presence that helped Les steer his way through the rapids, so to speak; he also made idealistic remarks about how he wasn't going to the sort of bitter, resentful, beaten-down old goat Crankshaft was. Time and a hidden darkside put paid to that; more about that tomorrow.