Tom Batiuk

 ( American Comic Strip Cartoonists ) 

Over the years, Batiuk's strips have taken on an increasing narrative continuity.Cavna, Michael (August 22, 2022). " How 'Funky Winkerbean' became the darkest strip on the comics pages". The Washington Post. Starting in 1986, Funky, and to a lesser extent Crankshaft, sometimes abandoned humor to explore serious, even tragic subject matter. Funky Winkerbean has been time-jumped twice, first aging the characters to their late 20s early 30s and a second jump pushed them into late middle age. Crankshaft was never jumped, but he is shown in crossovers to suffer a rather painful retirement.

His stories often involve strong drama elements combined with generally rosy outcomes or ending with a pun. They also show a strong belief in God, as well as sympathies for the American military. On the other hand, Funky Winkerbean dealt very critically with Intelligent Design, Funky Winkerbean takes on ID. Richard B. Hoppe. 2004 Science and Religion in Funky Winkerbean 2004 and two students in the strip even did a pro-evolution take-off on Johnny Hart's B.C.Batiuk, Tom (September 1, 2004). Funky Winkerbean. Funky Winkerbean has dealt with teen suicide and breast cancer, the latter of which mirrored Batiuk's own wife's diagnosis and treatment. Batiuk was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2008 for the comic strips involving breast cancer.