'Funky Winkerbean' and 'Crankshaft' cartoonist coming to Bellevue

BELLEVUE — Come meet the guy who created the "Funky Winkerbean" and "Crankshaft" comic strips.Comic strip legend Tom Batiuk will speak at 1:30 p.m. April 9 to the Sorosis Literary Club at Bellevue Public Library, 224 East Main St., in Bellevue. Admission is free.Gary Murray, programming director at the library, invited Batiuk on behalf of the club."He's a really great guy," Murray said. "Very personable."Batiuk told the Register the talk will cover highlights of his career, including the creation of "Funky Winkerbean" and "Lisa's Story," the best-known story arc in the strip, which concerned the death by cancer of one of the strip's main characters."It's sort of an overview of my career," Batiuk said.Paperback copies of books in the "Lisa's Story" trilogy will be available for $20 and will be autographed by Batiuk.Batiuk, 71, is a national figure in the comics scene. "Funky Winkerbean" runs in about 400 newspapers coast to coast. A long article in Wikipedia discusses the complexities of "Funky Winkerbean," his best-known strip.But Batiuk also is a northern Ohio resident. He was born in Akron, took a degree at Kent State University and created "Funky Winkerbean" while working as a middle school art teacher in Elyria. He lives in Medina. "Funky Winkerbean" began as a feature of the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram newspaper and launched in 1972 as a syndicated daily comic strip. (It has run in the Register for many years). Batiuk also created the "John Darling" comic strip, which lasted from 1979 to 1990, and "Crankshaft," which started in 1987."Funky" began as a daily gag strip about students at Westview High School, a fictional school in northern Ohio. In 1992, Batiuk changed the strip, aging the characters into adulthood, and turning the strip into a drama series with complicated storylines, albeit one that still had plenty of humor.At least one "Funky Winkerbean" strip referred to Cedar Point, and there are references to other northern Ohio staples, such as the Cleveland Indians."It happens, but I'm not slipping anything in," Batiuk said.He said it's simply a fact that Westview High School is in northern Ohio."The seasons are Ohio seasons," he said.Batiuk, whose name is pronounced like "attic" with a "B," said there's a little bit of himself in many of the characters, but said he probably identifies most strongly with Les Moore, the high school English teacher who has been Funky's best friend for years. Like Batiuk, Moore is a book author, Batiuk said.Batiuk said he's looking forward to coming to Bellevue."Cartooning can be a very hermit-like existence," he said. "I learn a lot from the questions they ask."Reach reporter Tom Jackson at jackson@sanduskyregister.com and follow him on Twitter @jacksontom.Some of the characters in the "Funky Winkerbean" comic strip. The man holding the pizza box is Funky Winkerbean, the strip's title character. Les Moore, a high school English teacher at the center of many of the story lines, is at the bottom right. Cartoonist and author Tom Batiuk, who lives in Medina. The "Lisa's Legacy" trilogy, now out in paperback.