Tales of the Madman Underground Chapter 17 Summary

Tonto Joins the All-F**got Midnight Softball League

  • Karl is about to leave Philbin's for the night when Cheryl and Marti show up and tell him there's an emergency with Paul. After the game, he had a bad fight with his dad about being a drum major instead of a football player.
  • This can only mean one thing—the Madmen have to rescue Paul.
  • We're not sure exactly what they do as part of said missions to rescue Paul, but we know it involves a baseball bat, so it can't be good.
  • If you're feeling like you just got dropped in the middle of another Madman story, you're not alone—Marti kind of feels that way, too. So, here's a basic rundown:
  • Paul does theater and music at Lightsburg High, and his dad likes to show up for his plays and events and heckle him afterward for being an embarrassment to their family. Paul is really sensitive and usually responds by going up to Toledo to cruise the gay circuit.
  • This usually works out well for Paul. Sometimes a guy takes him home for a couple days and even buys him new clothes, but sometimes, it just ends badly. Like the time some football players followed him up to Toledo and beat him up.
  • Cheryl is also essential to the plan because in spite of the fact that he prefers guys, Paul likes her, and for some reason, he'll listen to her when she reasons with him about coming home.
  • The baseball bat is also essential. Due to the aforementioned incident with Karl beating the poop out of Al the Quarterback, football players are kind of scared of Karl with blunt objects.
  • When they get to the gay cruise strip in Toledo, they start looking for Paul. They have to go around the block twice before they see him getting out of a Cadillac. He sees them and immediately looks angry.
  • Cheryl and Marti get out of the car to chase after him, while Karl keeps the bat handy and also holds Cheryl's purse for her.
  • They bring Paul back. As they're about to leave, a girl sneaks up behind Karl. It's Bonny, with Squid and Danny in tow.
  • Here's what happened: Bonny broke up with her boyfriend, Chip, because he said he was going to Toledo to go beat up gay people. She immediately got everyone together as a back-up team to rescue Paul. The gang is united.