Crankshaft by Tom Batiuk and Dan Davis for March 28, 2023

I know the feeling

Will he now sell the deluxe Spider-Man volume that he just bought? At least once he unloads his collection, then this strip can get back to something other than comic books. (No, it won’t. And even if it does, it will be Harry Dinkle.)

He ought to tell Crankshaft to move his flower watering out of the attic…..but he won’t!

reading crankshaft seems to make a lot of people angry

Saying ‘Goodbye’ to something that you bought, wrapped in mylar, stuffed in a box, put in the attic, and never touched again. I can see how this might be hard for you.

This is like the ending of Old Yeller.

Back in the 1980’s I had a part time gig hitting garage sales. Sometimes Moms or Dads had gotten tired of being the storage warehouses of their kids “stuff”. Comic books often were being sold for next to nothing. Before paying I would ask if they were sure about this. I was told repeatedly that they had given multiple warnings to their child before the sale happened.

I was never a superhero comics fan, but I bought Hot Rod Cartoons, CARtoons and Cycletoons whenever I could find them. The comic book collectors say they aren’t “real” comics for some reason. All mine got tossed at some point, but I’ve bought a few on eBay for nostalgia sake.

Is Crank’s casket hidden in the attic?

I understand that.

When I was a child, I did childish things. It’s a personal remembrance of those times. I didn’t have much growing up because we were very poor. However, my mother’s mother gave all the boys in my family a flash light for Christmas, with batteries, I might add. I was either 4 or 5 that Christmas. My Grandmother got me a Lone Ranger flashlight. I loved it because the Lone Ranger was my hero back then. Actually, he still is today. He and Tonto solved every problem, never had to kill anyone, as they always shot the guns out of the bad guys hands or just beat them up. The bad guys were turned over to the Sheriff and they both left without ever identifying who they were or expecting any thanks, unlike the heroes of today. Plus, their theme tune, the William Tell Overture contained the coolest music ever which is also my ringtone on my cell. I lost that flashlight over the years during one of our many moves (My mother probably threw it out). I really loved that flashlight. I got one on Ebay a few years back in perfect condition. I’d like to think that it was mine that was given away. I know that you can’t take things with you when you die. However, that is going with me when I am interred not too long down the road. A childish thing of course. I guess that I never grew up……

To paraphrase from “It’s a Wonderful Life,” “Why don’t ya kiss ‘em instead of talkin’ ’em ta death!”

And again…seriously, dude: there’s nowhere else in that house you can store a couple of cardboard boxes?

:’(