Crankshaft by Tom Batiuk and Dan Davis for June 02, 2024

What’s more amazing here: seven out of eight days featuring Cranky, or that he got the lyrics to the song right?

Also, I guess we’re all done with the big senior softball storyline. And, as is typically the case with such events, Batiuk spent a week of bad wordplay up to the games and never actually showed us Ed and the team on the field. To TB Chekov’s Gun means you present it in Act I, talk about it in Act II, and then have someone say they tossed in in the river in Act III.

“I’m running over my dead dog RoverWho I hit with the power mower!One leg is missing, the other is gone,the third leg is scattered all over the lawn!No need explaining, the one leg remainingis spinning on the car port floor!I’m looking over my dead dog Roverwho I overlooked before!”>

And let’s hope that next week Batiuk forgets all about Mason Jaw!

At this point you think they would all pitch in and buy him one to keep on the premises.

Followed by “Jeepers Creepers”, “Oh, You Beautiful Doll”, and “We’re in the Money” as Ed makes his way through the Great Looney Tunes Songbook.

It ends poorly when Crank rubs shoe polish on his face to sing ‘mammy’

Hey, I used to use one of those on my paper route listened to a recorded top 40 for Casie K.

It’s called singing!

…….or maybe a second verse!!!!

Way to croon Cranky as you work out, you da man……….,

What I find amazing is that he has enough breath to sing while on a treadmill…

i guess he went out on a high note because he will probably be gone to next sunday

One sick puppy.

If Ed is 70-something, he was born in the 50s. I know he’s supposed to be a WWII veteran, but that would put him around 95. He’d be singing 50’s or 60s music.

Or his pants

I would like to see Cranky get a real workout … Swap out his cassette … Let’s see him run to Tchaikovsky – 1812 Overture with cannons.

Tin Pan Alley songs. Best left to the dust bin of history.

“Oh, we’re the boys in the chorus, we hope you like the show,

We know you’re rooting for us, but now we have to go!”

So basically a regular three panel strip stretched to 6 for Sunday.

Hey, I noticed in today’s Mary Worth all the Montoni’s pizza boxes in Wilbur’s apartment. He’s the one keeping the pizzeria solvent.

I’m excited the musical notation is correct! Most of time artists just slap dots on the staff (which may or may not have 5 lines!) and call it a song.

Good grief! You people all go to strange places! I was thinking about Lawrence Welk and the last time I saw this song performed! HAH! Now that I’ve written it I guess this sounds pretty strange, too!

Try to imagine Batiuk and Davis discussing the work that goes into this one:

Batiuk: “Okay, first panel, show the Fast Fitness building, and don’t forget the bricks.”

Davis: “Okay, and for its sign, do you want a symbolic logo—”

Batiuk: “No, just use plain block letters that say Fast Fitness. And for the next seven panels, show that school bus driver from Centerville singing I’m Looking Over A Four-Leaf Clover.”

Davis: “Okay, and do you have some clever Crankshaft-style twists on the lyrics?”

Batiuk: “No, use the original lyrics, they’re public-domain you know. And download the sheet music so you can show the melody.”

Davis: “So you want me to make the notes look jagged and broken, to imply that Ed is a terrible singer—”

Batiuk: “No, make them perfect, like he was trained to sing by that famous marching band director from Westview! Hey, that gives me an idea for a whole week of this strip! I’ll have that famous marching band director from Westview remember the time he taught that school bus driver from Centerville how to sing!”

Davis, cringing: “Will there be a punchline this time?”

Batiuk: “Why not? Have Wanda the Whip say something about having that school bus driver from Centerville forgetting his Walkman! Now get busy because I have to get to work on that idea!"”

On uexpress, see News of the Weird, heading “Awesome!”.

I remember I’m Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover from the movie The Groove Tube. While Chevy Chase was singing the song, Ken Shapiro was playing percussion on his skull.

youtu. be /c-Prp8X4SiA

Gawd..

Better that then Rock and Roll. Sing “Walking My baby Back Home”