Editing Funky Winkerbean (section)

==1992 relaunch==
In 1992, Batiuk changed the strip's format. It was established that Funky, Les, Cindy and all the rest of the previous cast had graduated from Westview in 1988; their college years were skipped, and the story continued in their adulthood. Subsequently, the characters aged in real time and underwent significant life changes. Funky married Cindy in 1998; they later divorced. Les and Lisa married in a [[Halloween]]-themed 1996 story that saw them dressed as [[Batman]] and Robin. Funky now co-owned the local pizza parlor with Tony Montoni, Les taught English at Westview, Crazy Harry was the local mailman, Bull the Scapegoats' coach, and Cindy a national-level television newscaster. The strip followed their stories as well as those of a new generation at Westview, including Wally, Becky, Darin and Monroe. Overtly whimsical elements were now downplayed, and some of the series' running gags from the 1972–92 years were recast in a more serious light. For instance, Bull's hectoring of Les became the focus of a storyline on domestic violence and child abuse when it was revealed that Bull abused Les to cope with being abused by his own father.

Though humorous storylines remained a mainstay, the strip also examined subjects more traditionally associated with [[soap opera]] or serialized comics.  Most notably, a [[teenage pregnancy]]<ref name="kf011025"/> storyline had Lisa becoming pregnant as a teenager; she placed the child for [[adoption]]. Her child, Darin, grew up with his adopted family and became a regular character.  Other storylines dealt with [[suicide]], [[dating abuse|teen dating violence]], [[capital punishment]],<ref name="kf030902"/> [[alcoholism]] (Funky himself struggled with alcoholism and recovery), and other grim subjects.

Perhaps the most widely discussed storylines involved characters who went through catastrophic suffering. In 2005, Batiuk sent newlyweds Wally Winkerbean and Becky to [[Afghanistan]] as a part of an anti-landmine effort by the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation; Wally nearly died after stepping on a mine. He was saved when his Afghan companion Kahn managed to knock the mine away, only to be punched out for selling the [[FIM-92 Stinger|Stinger]] that killed his fellow troops. The couple returned to the US with an adopted daughter, Rana, who was left orphaned after her family was killed by a [[suicide bomber]].<ref name="kf050628"/> 

Even more attention was focused on the ongoing suffering and eventual death of Lisa Crawford Moore.

===Lisa's story===
[[Image:Fwshesgone.png|thumbnail|right|170px|The death of Lisa (October 4, 2007).]]
A recurring storyline for many years was Lisa Moore's battle with breast cancer. She first dealt with it when diagnosed in 1999. Soon after, she learned that Holly Budd was also a breast cancer survivor. After going through [[chemotherapy]] and a [[mastectomy]], Lisa's cancer went into remission. 

In March 2006, Lisa's cancer returned in a more serious form. Following another round of chemotherapy, her cancer appeared to go into remission again in early 2007, but on May 9, 2007, her doctor revealed that her medical charts had gotten mixed up and her disease was not only progressing, but had become inoperable. In a King Features press release,<ref name=autogenerated1/> it was revealed that "Lisa will start chemo again, learn that her long-range prospects are poor, stop chemotherapy, deal with telling her daughter about her cancer situation, [and] testify before Congress about the need for cancer research and cope with friends and family." Batiuk was very open about the fact that Lisa's latest ordeal would end with her death<ref name=autogenerated2/> and some of the events that would happen as a result.

The series polarized the comics community, with Batiuk being both praised for dealing with the topic and criticized for his graphic depiction of Lisa's slow deterioration and ultimate death.<ref name="dc070918b"/><ref name="kf000925"/> The entire storyline, which culminated with Lisa's death in the October 4, 2007, strip (excerpt at right), was collected and published in a book, ''Lisa's Story: The Other Shoe''.<ref name="ksu2007"/><ref name="kf070826c"/> This book, which includes the strips from Lisa's initial battle with cancer (which had itself been collected in book form in 2004), was published before the series had finished running in syndication. In 2007, Batiuk discussed his reasoning for pursuing the plotline, saying that he was inspired by his own battle against prostate cancer.<ref name=autogenerated1 />