What do you think?
Rate this book
Literature and Medicine
Lisa's Story: The Other Shoe
A portion of the proceeds from the sale of Lisa’s Story go towards cancer research and education. Visit Lisa’s Legacy Fund to learn more or to make a direct donation . A story from the comic strips that will make you laugh and cry Tom Batiuk spent several years as a middle school art teacher before creating the comic strip Funky Winkerbean in 1972. Originally a “gag-a-day” comic strip that portrayed life in high school, Funky has evolved into a mature series of real-life stories examining such social issues as teen dating abuse, teen pregnancy, teen suicide, violence in schools, the war in the Middle East, alcoholism, divorce, and cancer. In 1999, Lisa Moore, one of Funky’s friends and a main character, discovered she had breast cancer. Batiuk, unsure about dealing with such a serious subject on the funny pages, decided to go ahead with the story line. He approached the topic with the idea that mixing humor with serious and real themes heightens the reader’s interest. Lisa and husband Les faced the same physical, psychological, and social issues as anyone else dealing with the disease. After a mastectomy and chemotherapy, Lisa was cancer free. She finished her law degree, opened a practice, and had a baby daughter, Summer. Then, in the spring of 2006, the cancer returned and metastasized. Lisa’s The Other Shoe is a collection of both the 1999 comic strips on Lisa’s initial battle with cancer and the current series examining her struggle with the disease and its outcome. Additionally, it contains resource material on breast cancer, including early detection, information sources, support systems, and health care.
256 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2000
About the author
Tom Batiuk
45 books24 followersTom Batiuk is an American comic strip creator. His best-known comic strip is Funky Winkerbean.
Batiuk attended Kent State University, from which he graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, majoring in painting. He went on to teach art in junior high school. He put his experiences to use in his gag-a-day Funky Winkerbean, which first appeared in print in 1972. With the success of the strip, he abandoned his teaching career, occasionally returning to the classroom to refresh his sources. He authored two spinoff strips, John Darling, which ran from 1979 through 1990, and Crankshaft, which began syndication in 1987. These strips sometimes experience crossovers.
Over the years, Batiuk's strips have taken on an increasing narrative continuity. Starting in 1986, Funky, and to a lesser extent Crankshaft, sometimes abandoned humor to explore serious, even tragic subject matter.
His stories often involve strong drama elements combined with generally rosy outcomes. They also show a strong belief in God, as well as sympathies for the American military. On the other hand, Funky Winkerbean dealt very critically with Intelligent Design, and two students in the strip even did a pro-evolution take-off on Johnny Hart's BC.
Batiuk attended Kent State University, from which he graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, majoring in painting. He went on to teach art in junior high school. He put his experiences to use in his gag-a-day Funky Winkerbean, which first appeared in print in 1972. With the success of the strip, he abandoned his teaching career, occasionally returning to the classroom to refresh his sources. He authored two spinoff strips, John Darling, which ran from 1979 through 1990, and Crankshaft, which began syndication in 1987. These strips sometimes experience crossovers.
Over the years, Batiuk's strips have taken on an increasing narrative continuity. Starting in 1986, Funky, and to a lesser extent Crankshaft, sometimes abandoned humor to explore serious, even tragic subject matter.
His stories often involve strong drama elements combined with generally rosy outcomes. They also show a strong belief in God, as well as sympathies for the American military. On the other hand, Funky Winkerbean dealt very critically with Intelligent Design, and two students in the strip even did a pro-evolution take-off on Johnny Hart's BC.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
October 12, 2025
2.75 - j’ai eu de la difficulté à m’accrocher
June 16, 2023
These strips are surprisingly solid, a good presentation of a time when the Funkyverse was still committed to its gag-a-day roots. Fine gags. No complaints there.
The presentation, however, with its heartfelt testimonial pullquotes and overstuffed back-section, is the purest expression of turn-of-the-century kitsch possible. You may object that the back matter is informative and life saving, the testimonials inspirational, and this whole volume is, in fact, in some sense, good; and you may be right. But it's not esthetically good! Kitsch is the element of evil in the value system of art (our shibboleth). The book is in this way unforgiveable.
The presentation, however, with its heartfelt testimonial pullquotes and overstuffed back-section, is the purest expression of turn-of-the-century kitsch possible. You may object that the back matter is informative and life saving, the testimonials inspirational, and this whole volume is, in fact, in some sense, good; and you may be right. But it's not esthetically good! Kitsch is the element of evil in the value system of art (our shibboleth). The book is in this way unforgiveable.
August 3, 2019
My mother, a radiologist who does mostly women’s imaging, has this book in her office and reorders it every year as it suddenly goes missing. Her patients appreciate the straightforward compassionate tone and I appreciate learning the story behind the breast cancer walk.
March 9, 2018
Talk about sad! i have followed a strip in the paper you miss days here and there so it was cool to read the whole of Lisa's story in order. Funky isn't always funny but it is always poignant. Tom is a genius.
April 2, 2023
This was ok! The comic strip depicting Lisa’s breast cancer story dates from the late 90s/early 00s, and its age shows. The conversation around cancer has gotten a lot more nuanced since then, I think. I’m sure the comic was helpful for many people who knew someone diagnosed with cancer or who were grappling with a cancer diagnosis themselves. However, I struggled to appreciate some of the more profound themes since there were a lot of out-of-date gender stereotypes and cringeworthy dad jokes. I think there’s better material out there now, but 20 years ago maybe this was a good early step.
December 29, 2023
I’ve been a reader of Funky for many, many years. But yesterday I stumbled across this book in a book store and couldn’t resist picking it up. Yes, it’s a quick read but it’s one that I will go back and read again. Batiuk wrote one of the most touching and realistic stories that I have ever read in a graphic style. This is a very touching and moving read. Excellent book. [Note: read it with a box of tissues close by.]
April 30, 2019
3.5 very touching
November 22, 2022
A sad story that I've seen parts of over the years and I'm glad I finally got to see the whole thing.
December 29, 2022
Sad but very well written as it gives you hope!
December 8, 2014
Call me a softie, but sometimes I can be "moved" by the oddest things. Including the fates of comic strip characters. For years, I've been more a fan of the organic comic strips than the static -- I've liked strips like "For Better or Worse" or "Doonesbury", where the characters are aging more-or-less in real-time, rather than the vast majority of strips where the characters never age at all. Because this inevitably leads to real-world issues coming to life in such strips, I can get choked up when a comic strip character meets their end. It happened in For Better or Worse when Farley the dog was written out of the strip in a sad but meaningful way. And it happens again in Lisa's Story: The Other Shoe, a compilation of storylines from the Funky Winkerbean strip. I grew up with Funky back in junior high and high school, and have only occasionally touched base with it again in the years since. A storyline began in the late 1990s in which Lisa Moore, the wife of the series de facto central character, Les Moore, develops breast cancer. After initially beating the cancer with a mastectomy and chemotherapy, the cancer returned in a new storyline in 2006. Writer/artist Tom Batiuk, channeling his own issues after facing a prostate cancer scare, forewarned readers of Lisa's ultimate fate, but reading the entire storyline in an almost graphic-novel format is still a wrenching experience. This book's approach to exploring the topic of cancer is sensitive, emotional, serious, humorous and frank...all at once. It's hard to say I "enjoyed" this book, but, in the end, I did. Originally reviewed for my local library's website: http://www.lincolnlibraries.org/depts...
October 22, 2009
I went to give "Lisa's Story" two stars, when I paused. I paused, and remembered my shock at the tears blurring my vision as I turned the last few pages. This wouldn't normally be surprising...but this is a comic book.
It's a weird twist for "Funky Winkerbean." This isn't all that humorous...it's an illustrated story of a woman with breast cancer. Even less humorous, she doesn't survive the end of the book.
The reason why I almost gave it one less star was for the lack of humor, and the lack of originality. Yes, it was a touching tale about a woman struggling with the most horrific six letter word in existence. But, instead of introducing anything different or stimulation, Batiuk clutters what could have been an interesting read with stereotypes, cliches, and a few puzzling flashbacks. I give him credit for interesting metaphors through illustration. (When Lisa is dying, her husband Les flashes back to their younger days. Yes, again, it's a bit cliche, but at least Batiuk does this one with style.)
And that's my take on that. Good information, probably accurate, but not much in the way of mindblowing revelations or even entertainment.
It's a weird twist for "Funky Winkerbean." This isn't all that humorous...it's an illustrated story of a woman with breast cancer. Even less humorous, she doesn't survive the end of the book.
The reason why I almost gave it one less star was for the lack of humor, and the lack of originality. Yes, it was a touching tale about a woman struggling with the most horrific six letter word in existence. But, instead of introducing anything different or stimulation, Batiuk clutters what could have been an interesting read with stereotypes, cliches, and a few puzzling flashbacks. I give him credit for interesting metaphors through illustration. (When Lisa is dying, her husband Les flashes back to their younger days. Yes, again, it's a bit cliche, but at least Batiuk does this one with style.)
And that's my take on that. Good information, probably accurate, but not much in the way of mindblowing revelations or even entertainment.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 7, 2015
A fine collection. I'm not sure the "gag-a-day" format lends itself well to this subject matter, though I unreservedly applaud Batiuk's even attempting the task. Nor would I mark this a failure, as I did not (as I so often do) make editorial notes to myself about how the story could be better executed. I chuckled a bit, but never laughed aloud. I wept a bit, but not as strongly as I might at the thought of losing my Beloved. Why? Hmm, perhaps the husband was drawn with too broad a brush, or perhaps their "glory days" of love didn't resonate with me overly much. Also, their daughter felt tacked on; they never struck me as authentic parents and the impact of Lisa's death on the daughter was glossed over. The "adopted son was right under my nose" storyline was a lame addition, though. That space could have been devoted to their daugh...hey, what was that I said about my Internal Editor...?
All in all, a noble, if flawed, effort.
All in all, a noble, if flawed, effort.
January 11, 2008
This is a wonderful and unique book. It's a collection of comic strips (so it can't be called a graphic novel exactly), and it features a diverse collection of characters unlike the old adventure narrative strips. It primarily tells the story of Lisa Moore's battle with (and loss to)breat cancer, and how her fight and loss impacts her friends and family. Despite the medium, Batiuk creates characters that are fullly realized, and with a few brief words and images somehow manages to create a heart-rending story with an epic sweep. It's a really great volume!
October 27, 2011
good story... a bit nostalgic for those of us who followed "funky winkerbean" in the newspaper comics.
the cast of winkerbean are older now... married... with children....and complications.
this is a story about cancer, and there are good resources at the end of the book. unfortunately, it doesn't end well, so it makes it a hard thing to give someone who actually _has_ cancer.
still, if you like winkerbean, this is a memorable book to get.
the cast of winkerbean are older now... married... with children....and complications.
this is a story about cancer, and there are good resources at the end of the book. unfortunately, it doesn't end well, so it makes it a hard thing to give someone who actually _has_ cancer.
still, if you like winkerbean, this is a memorable book to get.
January 1, 2008
I read this out loud with corrie, we each took a page. there were times that we could not read because we were both crying so hard. this is such a powerful way to share this story of cancer, it is really well done.
January 21, 2008
I lost track of Funky Winkerbean when we moved back from Philly and it was no longer in our daily comics. This was a harsh and sad opportunity to catch up with their lives. Sigh.
April 9, 2009
YES YES YES
breast cancer. hope humour and Funky. there are two books here, one is "Lisa's Story", the book i've reviewed. the other is "Lisa's story, the other shoe" which i've not read yet
breast cancer. hope humour and Funky. there are two books here, one is "Lisa's Story", the book i've reviewed. the other is "Lisa's story, the other shoe" which i've not read yet
May 25, 2010
...cried through the whole thing
August 1, 2011
Really good book, it almost made me cry.
November 13, 2012
Very moving, realistic portrayal of life with Cancer.
March 10, 2019
Being a breast cancer survivor 5 years out this book hit me hard. I thought that the story well told and I hope to never have to experience the other half of the book.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews