Crankshaft

Mailboxes beware: Crankshaft's just around the corner

Ed Crankshaft, the lively creation of Tom Batiuk and Chuck Ayers, stars in this "Crankshaft" collection. It's a hilarious depiction of an irritable but endearing school bus driver and life with his daughter Pam, son-in-law, Jeff, and grandchildren, Mindy and Max.

With cynical wit and biting humor, Crankshaft sees the world in absolutes. Although he comes across gruff and grumbly, Ed's really an old softy with a keen sense of humor that sometimes surprises even himself. The crafty curmudgeon isn't always tough-relationships with his grandchildren, his cat, Pickles, and the problems of growing older in a rapidly changing world show Crankshaft's more sensitive side.

Batiuk (creator of "Funky Winkerbean") and Ayers's unique portrayal of life at the wheel of a school bus has delighted readers since the strip began.