Crankshaft by Tom Batiuk and Dan Davis for February 16, 2024

“Unlike all the past years when he pulled his destructive shenanigans and no one did a blessed thing about it!”

Still, if it means we won’t have to go through this nonsense again next year…HALLELUJAH!

Festival? There was only four peoples in attendance to that “festival”. Some festival it was ya knows. You soulda seen them crowds.

Minday: “I hate your guts, this family has been a HUMILIATION since I was BORN—‘OH, you’re the kid of—KILLER CRANKSHAFT’?! So I mildly smirk! KILL MORE, GRAMPY, kill them ALL!” (ransacks closet) “CHAINSAW? FLAMETHROWER? BA-ZOO-KA?! TONIGHT—WE FEAST ON THE DEAD!” PAM: “Huh. This mildly annoys me.”

To quote a Canadian icon “fer what?!”. The instructor handed an elderly man who just last year got into flamethrower shenanigans a chainsaw. How is this arc as dumb as last week treating 2022 as if it were present day.

And rightly so!

Crank is never held accountable for anything.

I’ve watched chainsaw art demonstrations for about 50 years … lemme see … yep, 50 years. Never, ever, ever in that time has a spectator been given the saw. Even back in the 70’s, when lawsuits were fewer and further between, did anyone want the liability — let alone have the demonstration be disrupted.

Tom Batiuk lives in Medina, Ohio. This arc is a tribute to Medina’s annual Ice Festival, which starts today and runs through the weekend. I can’t post the LINK here, but you can Google ‘Medina Ohio Ice Festival.’ Lots of interesting photos and activities, and it brings in hundreds (thousands?) of visitors. You might even see Crankshaft & his family there.

I would say ban him for life from touching chainsaws – or any other power tool, for that matter.

The “other thans”…….probably a long list!!!!!!

Do not despair, Cranky. You’ve still got the “butter sculpting contest” at the County Fair in the Spring.

Which he was already banned from after backing his bus over the sculptures one year? Maybe this means we are done with this trope. Remember the story about the artist who didn’t show up, so they had one uncarved block, and it won, because the judges all thought it was a statement?

Excuse me while I search for the punch line…………………………………………oops, there is none!

ut oh todays rex morgan it seems there trying to copy a batituk story from a month ago

Since the artist gave Ed the chainsaw and gave him permission to work on the sculpture, he’d have a hard time suing him.

How do you ban somebody from a free ungated public event? It’s not like they could stop him at the door.

No worries. The Centerville Fire Department has erected a new fire station across the street from the Crankshaft house in case Cranky attempts to every light a match and burn down the entire town, launch another grill into space, or clean his gutters with a blow torch.

Hah, you’re right—with " Aunt Tildie" to provide the hi-jinks!…can’t hardly wait….(not)

Why did they take this long to ban him?

“…banned for life….”

For extra security, they should also ban him after death.

Cripes, I wish someone would get Cancer, Alzheimer’s or both. Nothing interesting has happened in this strip for years.

being banned from the the Ice Carving is all?

So he wasn’t banned when he flametorched the displays, he wasn’t banned when he drove his bus over the displays, but he was banned when he slipped with a chainsaw on one sculpture, after the artist stupidly let him try carving. Yeah, that makes sense.

Minor Infraction, If it was Major all of his offspring would be banned too.