Crabgrass by Tauhid Bondia for December 17, 2024

So engrossed the story, even I forgot.

Eh, you’ve got til Friday at least.

Kevin: “Because this is no joking matter! Or, do you like ‘This situation is no joke!’ better? Maybe…”

I’ll read this strip when the arc changes.

Hold on! How long have the boys been away from home? Won’t their parents notice that they’re missing?

Toon time is warped.

4th WALL TIME!

Yes, please get funny again!

I’m afraid this is no joking matter, boys.

The fire crackled softly, its warmth a balm against the biting cold. Kris Kringle sat among the children, his shoulders stooped beneath the weight of the tale he carried, a burden no sack could bear. The story of Clyde—his brother, his friend—was one he told not with bitterness but with the quiet sorrow of a man who had lost something irretrievable. For Clyde was no longer Clyde; jealousy had devoured him, and in its place stood Krampus, a twisted reflection of what had once been.

“It is strange,” Kris said, his voice low and steady, “how a man can be undone not by what he lacks but by what he covets. My brother had all that he needed—hands to hold, fires to warm him—but he wanted more. He wanted to be seen, to be praised, to be loved above all others. And that wanting became a hunger that consumed him.”

The children listened, their young faces etched with wonder and a tinge of sadness, for it was not a story of magic but a story of men. Kris’s great hands rested on his knees, hands that had lifted mountains of toys and yet trembled when he spoke of the brother he could not save.

“It is a hard thing to lose someone you love,” he continued, “to see them turned by their own bitterness. And harder still to know that you cannot follow them. You must let go.” He turned his gaze to the fire, its embers glowing like scattered stars. “But from such loss comes a lesson, if you’ll have it. It is not in what you take that you find joy, but in what you give.”

He looked at the children then, his face kind and weathered, as though carved from ancient oak. “To give of yourself—your time, your love, your hope—that is the only treasure worth having.”

And so the fire burned on, casting its light into the dark, as the children sat in silence, understanding now what had been spoken without words: that a heart full of love gives more warmth than all the hearths in the world.

[bro] well there’s your funny thing

So right now it’s not a very comic strip.

But if Clyde suffers a just retribution for his misdeeds, it’ll be a karmic strip.

Why is Santa at his weakest? Does he need the village to maintain his strength and magic? This doesn’t bode well for the Christmas delivery.

I’m enjoying this story, just as I enjoyed Kevin’s adventures in special ed.

Krampus just stole I’m naughty kitten named Pippin so he can’t be that lonely anymore

I enjoy the ‘story’ strips and don’t care how long they run. They’re fun.

How will you know?

I really like Mr. Bondia’s long story arcs. This one would make a good Christmas story book as a “stocking stuffer”… The kind that fits in two hands, as the Peter Rabbit books do, for little kids… or something like that, depending how long it would be…

Speaking of that, recently I came across a 24 small book Advent calendar of those old fashioned fairy tales for one of my granddaughters. Seeing as Mr. Bondia is fond of long arc stories, maybe he could put together such a collection too…it does not have to be an advent calendar, but it could be a selection of those stories in a binder box, as they are sold at Costco, etc. …

Krampus origin story = Gollum origin story?