I consider Tom Batiuk’s two comic strip creations to be works of genius. Batiuk’s Funky Winkerbean was first syndicated in 1972. It followed the antics of Funky and his friends as they navigated through high school. But Batiuk wasn’t content with doing a joke-a-day strip. Over the course of years he introduced serious themes, did time jumps with the characters, and transformed the feature into a massive and complex dramedy soap opera. It’s funny, heartwarming and often touchingly sad.

In 1987 Batiuk began Crankshaft, a separate strip in the Funky Winkerbean Universe, but set around twenty years earlier than the now present day saga in Funky Winkerbean. Crankshaft is a grouchy old man who drives a school bus. He lives with his daughter Pam and her husband Jeff. There is some crossover with the characters from Funky Winkerbean, but they exist in a earlier timeline than they appear in the seminal strip. Crankshaft also deals with some weighty issues such as illiteracy and Alzheimer’s. Both of Batiuk comic strip are well worth checking out.

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