Crankshaft by Tom Batiuk and Dan Davis for July 31, 2024

Somehow the word zeppelin makes it through all the smoke.

… then the EPA remembered the political candidates were in the area holding rallies.

Go on, Pmmmmm! Move your hand closer to the grill!

Huh?

They is care only about climate change and not about climate damage eh.

An actual joke… and one that’s suprisngly progressive. Credit where it’s due I didn’t expect Tom bautik to be the kind of guy who knows climate change is real as he has aggresive old uncle energy for days.

Persistent smoke in the air this summer here in the southwest due to the forest fires in the northwest.

2 wildfires here in Northern Colorado

Can see the plume of smoke from our front yard

100 degree high projected for the day with bad air quality

The powers that be are telling us it’s best to just stay inside

Except for the folks being evacuated

Gonna take a lot of soap to wash all that off!!!!

Just shut off the grill, ed.

bottle that air sell it as extra dry liquid smoke

How does “climate damage” result in black smoke?

He do keep trying to make “Climate Damage” a phrase. Just like “vendo” “solo car date” “we stand in line” and all other odd little Battyisms

Where’s Crankshaft? I can’t see him in all that smoke! d;o)

Remember—-only you can prevent hamburger fires….

One too many “that’s” in the punchline.

That 23-word Zeppelin containing what passes for a punchline captures all that was wrong with Act III Funky Winkerbean and whatever Crankshaft has become since the hostile takeover. Look at the load Batty is trying to cram into that balloon: 1) damate climage is making the forests burn, 2) smoke from the forests burning in somewhere else is polluting the air in the midwest, 3) this phenomenon is no longer remarkable (necessary to set up the “joke”) and 4) the EPA is apparently blaming Ed for what has become the New Normal™ (the “punchline”).

There might be a joke in there, but there is so much exposition required, so much Batty must tell the readers, that by the time we finally get to the punchline (such as it is), we’ve forgotten what we’re supposed to laugh at.

Backing over mailboxes was so much more straightforward…

On top of old Smokey all covered with snow. I lost my true lover by courting too slow.