Crankshaft by Tom Batiuk and Dan Davis for March 18, 2025

Mark Mothersbaugh of Devo was from Akron. He sang about it: “My hometown is more than a town to me/It’s more than plain, it’s a city of Pain, it’s one big factory!” It’s enough to bring a tear to your eye! And speaking as someone who lived in northern Ohio, the air frequently did bring tears to your eyes. Especially if you were downwind of Tiny Tom eating pumpernickel, hoo-wee!

My father lived in Akron before WW II. Seeing this makes me understand why getting drafted was one of the happiest days of his life.

You wouldn’t need to go there to be a baker.

Ha ha ha! ROFL! This is comic gold!! “Become a cartoonist!” Oh, Batty, this is your funniest strip yet!

From Montoni’s to Dale Evans.. one heart attack to another..

Just theenks that you wents to watches Jurassic Park movie and then you gets to see Crichton Micheal narrating boring life story. Where’s the dinysaurs? Brings the dinysaurs back already!

Boooorrrriiinnnggg

Ain’t Batton a personification of Tom Batiuk himself? Anyway, I’m enjoying the storyline!

Not that interested in your autobiography.

The waitress goes by, carrying food to customers at the next table, to people who will buy more than just the “Nobottom Road Bottomless Cuppa Joe,” people who will tip generously. As she overhears Batton’s Never-ending story, her face shows a faint smile, like the Mona Lisa. Soon, she thinks, soon the rat poison in their Sweet N Low will start to kick in…

But as it turns out, Batton never visited Saalfield Publishing, because the building has windows that let the light in. Can’t be where Batton became a cartoonist, because the sun don’t shine there.

i wonder if any batiuk fanatic got arrested yesterday when they went to there local bakery and found out they dont sell pumpernickel

Hey,I love it when we focus on the comic shop.Brings all the trivia experts out of the woodwork.

Mort Drucker drew BOB HOPE comics

……..and you are still wandering!!!

Ah yes…The beginning of another month without Cranky.

Stupid, no effort at all.

Meanwhile, in the next booth over, three elderly men and longtime Dale Evans customers are lying face down in their French toast, scrambled eggs, and hot Wheatena with milk meals, the sheer inanity of what they’ve been forced to overhear having driven them toa torporific state of catatonia.

Oh my God! No one cares!

Nice details on the car door interior. Younger readers would probably not recognize the window crank handle or the door lock button. Fun fact – Saalfield Publishing was a real company, published several Superman coloring books and closed in 1977.

My grandma told me that the publishing company did close once. Saalfield told every single one of his workers to go home! I am closing my publishing company forever. Go home.

Grandpa said it seemed as if it were going to be closed forever. But one day, we saw smoke rising from the vents. The publishing company was back in business! Never seen a single person going into that building or coming out of it. What goes on in the building is a mystery. If only I could find a golden ticket.

On a quiet night, you can hear strange music as if Oompa, Loompa, doompa-dee-do …. Oompa, Loompa, doompa-dee-dee … stay away or a mystery you’ll be.

I hope you stayed inside the lines of that coloring book.