That Gay Prom Arc

[yaoihuntresse]

In May, Tom Batiuk (the creator of Funky Winkerbean) decided to touch on the subject of gay teens and do his own spin on gay couples at proms in his comic. It even got a big push about a month or two in advance. Now this would be a noble goal if Batiuk didn't turn it into a self-congratulating work than really caring about the subject

Comments

[fairest1]

Eh, making the gay couple prom king and queen might be cliche, but it would be less stupid than making the principal prom king. But have another student shrug and say, "Well, most of the class didn't care about either the fact that you were a couple or who got elected prom king and queen."

[yaoihuntresse]

Using the gay couple would be less masturbatory.

[full_metal_ox]

Precisely--the story as you summarize it is all about the principal; the gay couple (and their Straw Antagonist) serve merely as an occasion for him to earn a Diversity Cookie.

[yaoihuntresse]

Thus, the creator himself. Interestingly, the principal is black.

But this isn't his first attempt at being daring like where he made an arc about the need for serious art and serious subjects (especially cancer and death). That one was just plain sad.

[shimmerfox]

Seriously the principal? Prom King? That's a thing that can happen?

I now want story where it turns out it was all rigged, comes out and the principal is held up to much ridicule for stealing the limelight that belong to his students.

I have no idea how to fix his gay equality lesson to make it palatable however.

[yaoihuntresse]

From what I hear, prom kings and queens are chosen a few weeks in advance since there appears to be not that long of a time between the meeting and the prom itself. Then again, Batiuk doesn't really understand how the real world works. (Especially with a certain arc where the title character's attempt at making his pizza joint a chain fell.)

[shimmerfox]

Bit late of a reply,sorry.

It is possible the lack of realism might be part of the appeal to him. Still the principal, prom king? That's a jack-ass move.

[yaoihuntresse]

That's ok. I think people would be more lenient if Batiuk wasn't so insistent that his stuff is realistic, handles real world issues and his art is "serious work". I think his hate-dom (as in love to hate) is stronger than his fandom. If you want a fun example of the man's work, I suggest the monthly "Most Depressing Funky Winkerbean" articles: http://www.comicsalliance.com/tag/Funky+Winkerbean/