Okay, i’m back, finally, though i forgot to bring any jokes with me so, uh, maybe next time. Reference point for the title of this one. Was working on something else but it imploded at the last minute like what often happens. I don’t know, it has not been a good week mentally. Anyway, yeah, good times.
-wr
MOVING ON…
The fringe festival play inspired by the fringe webcomic Subnormality is Now Showing in Ottawa– why not take a look if you’re in town! Proceeds to a good cause. Planning to head up there myself soon.
ALSO
Can you believe this custom framing job someone had done with their print of the Maturity comic? Respect. I am literally taking my hat off to the effort as i’m typing this. Cheers to Tyler for the picture and for the support, it’s very much appreciated indeed.
Speaking of prints, hoping to make an announcement soon regarding such things, regarding the selection available, so please stay tuned…
Virus Comix News 
June 18, 2011 at 2:31 pm
fuck am i in a bad mood. 🙂
June 29, 2011 at 12:08 am
Oh Well
June 18, 2011 at 3:02 pm
Heh. Anyone else getting flashbacks to ‘Eternal Sunshine of the spotless mind’? Clementine, when Joel meets her again in Boarders…
“I’m not a concept. Too many guys think I’m a concept or I complete them or I’m going to make them alive, but I’m just a fucked up girl who is looking for my own peace of mind. Don’t assign me yours.”
June 18, 2011 at 3:16 pm
Holy fuck, I felt bad today but I’m glad I’m not that messed up. Kinda puts things in prospective. btw that dude is a goddamn gentleman. I don’t know anyone that would be willing to put up with that.
June 18, 2011 at 4:22 pm
Wow that was really good. Also, didn’t know what a meet cute was. So thanks for that.
June 18, 2011 at 4:26 pm
Bullseye. I think these are the first characters that actually present themselves, name and all, can’t really remember (did the Depressive Future Christmas Space Marine give his name?).
Anyway, beautifully performed, you really hit the spot with introvert’s tendency to be blatantly honest.
June 18, 2011 at 4:26 pm
Huh, that’s strange. Normally this character seems to be an author avatar to me, but this time I have trouble believing the author is really as crazy as portrayed. Maybe this is artist development?
June 18, 2011 at 4:58 pm
Well, that was kind of angry and sad.
June 18, 2011 at 5:39 pm
If I were Mark (and I am), I would have ended the conversation before the end of frame 8 (where she starts out, “I mean you don’t know anything about me….”) Even by cartoon standards, this conversation is unrealistic to the point of irritation.
June 19, 2011 at 5:02 am
i think thats the point, meet cutes are always unrealistic. in a hollywood movie this whole scene would have been resolved right after the first couple of frames (“you like tea? omg! i like tea too! dating montage!!!) but in real life you’ll probably have a harder time of it. and you might have too put up with some bullshit teenage angst diarrhea being flung at you first. but wade through the emotional baggage and who knows, it might be worth it. but yeah, most people would just walk away.
June 18, 2011 at 5:58 pm
I ran into a homeless guy who pulled this one me once. He didn’t seem to be drunk or doped up or anything. Just really lonely and isolated.
June 18, 2011 at 7:11 pm
That was lovely. I mean, yeah, angry and sad too but the point is there actually was a connection. Through honesty. I feel hope for them both – probably not together though, to be honest.
June 18, 2011 at 7:48 pm
Daww.. that was kinda an uplifting boy meets girl story. I reluctantly admit that I have some saviour complex when it comes to love
In his place, If I didn’t ran away after she started screaming at me, which is the most probable event due to my horrible peoples skills, I’d totally be trying to save her.
June 19, 2011 at 2:37 pm
I don’t consider horrible people skill to avoid a person yelling at you for no reason.
June 18, 2011 at 7:54 pm
Excellent comic. However I’m stuck wondering what a “Vegan BLT” is. I don’t believe such a thing could actually exist. In fact I’m sure it must violate the laws of physics.
Well anyway, I love this look at a person who expects to be let down so she immediately pushes people away. I can totally relate.
June 18, 2011 at 10:56 pm
I’ve had a “vegan BLT”; the B stood for “brown mush (that tastes alright but has nothing in common with bacon)”. Some day I’m going to get around to trying some other fake bacon varieties, because the things I like about bacon don’t seem like they’d be that difficult to synthesize, or at least inoffensively pay homage to.
June 19, 2011 at 5:07 am
the laws of biology actually. i mean, you’d have to genetically engineer some kind of vegan pig. impossible!! impossible i tell you!!
June 19, 2011 at 7:50 am
It just amuses me that vegetarians and vegans seem to eat a lot of things that resemble meat. i mean, speaking from a barbaric meat eater’s point of view, it’s almost like they’re not really happy with the dietary choice they’ve made so they have to
And as for the genetically engineered pigs, I don’t know about that, though I don’t see any reason you couldn’t harvest a pig’s stem cells and grow bacon from them. Still wouldn’t qualify as vegan, but at least you wouldn’t have the life of an innocent pig on your conscience, if that sort of thing bothers you.
June 19, 2011 at 11:40 pm
“It just amuses me that vegetarians and vegans seem to eat a lot of things that resemble meat. i mean, speaking from a barbaric meat eater’s point of view, it’s almost like they’re not really happy with the dietary choice they’ve made so they have to”
Oh dear I’m not sure I want to get into this right here and now.
But there are multiple reasons a person may become vegetarian. Be it environmental harm, animal cruelty, or for health. But most often it’s not because ‘ewww meat tastes gross!!! veggie’s FTW’ like you seem to be implying.
Meat is tasty. So plenty of vegetarians eat substitutes while not causing environmental harm, hurting an animal, messing with their diet, or whatever their issue is with eating real meat. Vegetarianism isn’t really about achieving the most tasty meal plan. :s
June 20, 2011 at 7:12 am
I agree, meat is tasty. I also think there’s a reason for that, which is that human beings have thrived for hundreds of thousands of years as predators.
I am on the side of vegetarians/vegans when it comes to the environmental issue, and the cruelty to animals done by factory farms shouldn’t be necessary. I believe in only eating organic, free range meat.
June 23, 2011 at 10:48 am
a lot of good points about vegetarianism, but i’m of the opinion that it’s all to alleviate a guilty conscience. look at the facts, we’ve been eating meat for thousands of years and at many times i’m sure it’s been essential to our survival, so we evolved to like meat. it’s really good for us. so if you’re a vegetarian then does that mean that you represent a group of people genetically inclined not to eat meat? maybe some are, but there are just way too many vegetarians for that to be the case. plus most of them argue it’s an ethical choice, but if it’s in their DNA not to feel guilty, then why do they? that guilts coming from somewhere, maybe they use meat eating as a scape-goat for there real problems. also probably an irrational sort of guilt, like when children feel guilty about their parents divorce, that would explain why every second teenage girl is a vegetarian. just a thought. don’t know if i’m right.
June 25, 2011 at 7:25 pm
Trying to mimick meat using plant seeds is silly. Just enjoy the many kinds of dishes proteinous seeds are good for natively they’re good enough on their own. Problem solved.
June 18, 2011 at 8:24 pm
Insightful as always, it’s just a shame that there are so many people out there who feel like this (myself included). Also, judging by the above comments and notes in this one (i.e. noticeboard), you aren’t having the best of times yourself at the moment. I hope whatever it is blows over quickly for you, and that at least you can always find solace in the fact that people genuinely appreciate your work.
June 18, 2011 at 11:26 pm
@Mark O’Leary: I hear you, but that doesn’t make that conversation unrealistic. Myself, I’ve tended to get mad when people lashed out at me for most of my life, but as I’ve gotten older I’ve found that I tend to ignore people’s angry tone more and more, and it becomes easier to see past that and get a sense of what’s really going on with them. Age helps, but some people have that knack even when they’re young.
June 19, 2011 at 12:54 am
Well, this isn’t overly deep or anything, just wanted to say:
“Dude. You’re a badass.”
Just incase you weren’t aware of the fact.
June 19, 2011 at 1:18 am
What Olives said.
June 19, 2011 at 3:17 am
+ Thanks for the comic. Coveys the eternal existential urban-subnormality feeling.
+ I believe that Ethel’s having a magic marker and writing stuff spontaniously on her shirt does make her cool. So she can’t really deny it. MArk is cool too, but he never denies it.
+ Star Trek reference: niceeee.
+ First time commenting. Although your books and some other strips seem better in my eyes, something about this one really speaks to me.
+ Cheers & would love to buy you a beer (or make you vegan BLT) if we were less than 10000km away.
June 19, 2011 at 4:35 am
I am a big fan. Thought provoking and as always masterfully conveyed. I do wish that you would wield your powers more carefully though. The comic definitely has put a damper to my day.
June 19, 2011 at 5:31 am
Geez… the whole point of inviting someone to talk with them is that you don’t know them. How else are you going to find out anything about them? Stalk them for weeks? Interrogate all their acquaintances? That’s even creepier.
Of course, it’s also the natural way that things are done on the internet.
So there’s that.
June 19, 2011 at 5:36 am
Case in point:
http://wondermark.com/727/
June 19, 2011 at 6:06 am
Haha, oh god…I think you just made a comic about me. >.>
June 19, 2011 at 9:50 am
good one. thanks!
June 19, 2011 at 12:50 pm
Sorry to say it, Rowntree, but this one was just kind of average. I do love your work, so i just stopped by to say hi anyway.
June 19, 2011 at 12:56 pm
Man, he’s in for a fun time. Persistent guy, though. Seems to be just what she needs.
We are all of us broken in our own ways. Isn’t it nice when someone sees past that to the underlying strength of character, and finds it worth pursuing despite the surface imperfections?
Great comic as usual, Winston. Thanks.
cheers,
Phil
June 19, 2011 at 2:41 pm
This one went onto my facebook feed. I love when Mark turns around in the just-below-center panel. Seems like a keeper to me, but then of course I’m not her. Also, I *liked* the parodic over-the-topness of the conversation. Is there some real that webcomics are supposed to be realistic!? Finally, you should market that shirt, exactly as drawn (i.e., in crazy scrawly marker font). It’s pretty hilarious.
June 19, 2011 at 3:04 pm
christ, what a cunt she was.
let’s just blow up on a guy because he was being nice, though asking her back to his place after 5 seconds is a bit odd. her reaction was so un-justified.
June 19, 2011 at 8:42 pm
congrats, way to miss the point entirely!
June 19, 2011 at 10:39 pm
Your use of the C-word was also un-justified.
June 19, 2011 at 11:11 pm
Are you sure he missed the point?
Her reaction is pathetic (in the old definition of the term), but also selfish. It’s like she believes that she’s the only one who feels any pain.
June 19, 2011 at 3:46 pm
That was great. Of course it’s not a 100% realistic conversation– it’s the unspoken one that I’d prefer to the usual inane jibber-jabber.
And I don’t understand why this one is making people feel bad. I thought the ending was upbeat and hopeful. Isn’t it? Actual communication and connection: it Might Happen! Isn’t that exciting?
June 19, 2011 at 4:18 pm
I feel obligated to mention that Mark is the guitar store clerk from #179
[viruscomix.com/page546.html]
and Ethel is the main character from #173
[viruscomix.com/page540.html]
June 19, 2011 at 5:11 pm
I’ve never commented before. Just want to say thanks for all the laughs and please keep ’em coming!
June 19, 2011 at 9:02 pm
I like the goofy, rainbow-colored packaging in the background. Like, “Make yourself happy by purchasing a product! Wheeee!” while the actual people are being all dramatic.
June 19, 2011 at 9:06 pm
I like the “Alterna-chick” cut out saying “I like the right things!”
….and the fact that she’s dressed like Ethel, now that I look again
June 19, 2011 at 11:28 pm
“I like the “Alterna-chick” cut out saying “I like the right things!”
I don’t think that was fair of her, though. “I MIGHT like the right things” would probably have been closer to what he was thinking.
And again, she got really angry that he wanted to find out more about her by meeting with her while knowing very little about who she was – but what’s the alternative? Would it have been better if he had STALKED her for weeks instead, to make sure he knew everything about her before approaching to talk?
Or would the world be better if no human beings interacted at all, because she sees happiness as being a zero-sum game? Maybe we should all retreat into our smartphones, books and games and never converse with another living person, while calculating and scheming to take more resources from the shared pool.
June 19, 2011 at 11:23 pm
Nice to know the first name, she’s my favourite character. Ethel has a nice ring, it suits her very well. Her facial expressions are pure gold too, you can really feel the pain and how messed up she is inside. Great job on drawing the details, mouth, eye wrinkles, the anger and all. Good art, very solid craft there.
Lollery at “Mr. Tea”, and giving out a bro-hug for the bad mood flyer in the last panel, whatever the reason. Hope it feels better soon.
(Ironically, the bloody thing is exactly why I’ve stopped trying to talk to women. Happens so much you just go, fuck it, have your goddamn tea.)
Great, now I’m depressed too.
June 19, 2011 at 11:51 pm
Boy, do I ever sympathize with Mark there. Trying to be polite, reasonable and friendly and still inadvertently pissing off people I think are pretty cool? Yep, that’s me.
Thanks as usual for creating funny and relevant comics.
June 20, 2011 at 1:56 am
Very interesting comic, also nice to hear from you again 🙂
June 20, 2011 at 3:02 am
Let us know how the fringe show goes. If it’s good, maybe it’ll hit Winnipeg’s fringe, which would be awesome.
June 20, 2011 at 3:45 am
A sweet piece of sadness there, lovely.
June 20, 2011 at 5:01 am
I’m not sure whether to be mildly touched or to back away slowly.
June 20, 2011 at 5:38 am
God, I love your comics.
June 20, 2011 at 6:01 am
Not really on topic, but I thought you guys would like this one. A real stealth comic.
http://occasionalcomics.com/muppet-thor/?pid=1
June 20, 2011 at 1:35 pm
Awesome!
June 20, 2011 at 9:56 am
Great Mogg, this is so sad. In an awesome sort of way. Vulnerability is being open to surprises. More people should try it.
June 20, 2011 at 10:28 am
That’s a pretty devious way to get the last box of tea AND have someone else pay for it.
June 20, 2011 at 1:34 pm
I disagree with her shirt and her mentality, knowing other people does make life easier. Friends and relationships are what keep me sane and I feel that meeting others who aren’t just trying to get in your pants (which… he may have been) can be a good thing. If Ethel was willing to open up without blowing up I think she could see that.
Her bitter cynicism reminds me of an ex of mine, and ex who I’m glad is an ex. She always used to drag me into romantizing our depression and overthinking menial things. People really aren’t that bad if you are open to meeting the right ones. That’s not to say it is easy, because putting yourself out there makes you vulnerable. So… not easy, but possible.
And on the subject of this conversation being “unrealistic”… I don’t know that I think so, sometimes hurting people explode on unsuspecting strangers, I’ve seen and experienced it. And Mark actually does start walking away, he’s bothered but curious about this bitter girl. That’s the trap though, he can’t fix her and he needs to realize that the same way people who date people like that do. She needs to fix her.
And this is a lot of analyzing for fictional characters… but I just thought I’d share..
June 23, 2011 at 6:11 pm
Maybe knowing other people actually doesn’t make it better. Maybe she’s been let down too many times and she’s blowing up because it’s easier to be alone than to be with others.
For some people, meeting others really does take that much effort. It really is trite to say “I know it’s hard, but you can do it.”
June 28, 2011 at 12:29 pm
So cynicism with no advice is better? It may be trite to encourage someone in those exact words (“I know it’s hard, but you can do it.”) but there are other ways of encouraging someone with the same message without putting it so simply.
And if nothing else, learn to be alone and enjoy it.
June 20, 2011 at 1:57 pm
This just goes to show– tea drinkers are crazy people. Get some freakin’ coffee next time, Mark!
June 20, 2011 at 5:40 pm
Is it wrong that this made me cry?
June 20, 2011 at 6:16 pm
One of my favourites so far 🙂
Love it !
June 20, 2011 at 6:20 pm
Ahh this one hit me in the right way, awesome work.
June 20, 2011 at 7:37 pm
Someone’s in a bad mood!
June 20, 2011 at 9:21 pm
I adore your work. The illustration is wicked, and I love the storylines and concepts. Hope to see more (:
Cheers.
June 21, 2011 at 6:09 am
That girl is right on
June 21, 2011 at 9:49 am
Wow, this sounds exactly like the kind of thing my boyfriend says on a regular basis. I just keep reminding him a) he’s not as worthless as he thinks he is and b) as a matter of fact, I love every second that I’m around him. There’s no happiness being “sacrificed” here.
June 21, 2011 at 9:51 am
I used to like that character. I don’t care that is her point.
Yes, people will take first impressions. You treat older people differently than you’d treat kids, you treat someone who might mug you differently than you would someone in a suit. You can’t live in the world without having an internal model for it; believing otherwise is trying to deny your own nature, out of some misguided sense of nonconformism. If you appear to be like X, people will assume you are X, until you prove otherwise! That is what appearance means! This is at its most irritating when it is voluntary appearance.
It doesn’t mean that reasonable people will stick to those first impressions. If I were asking the character tea, that is because I have a good impression of them so far — and I would want to know how well that correlates to reality. Is the company of this person what I want?
The arrogance of her assumptions put me off enormously. I don’t want to make my life easy, I want to make it interesting! Her aggressiveness in acting within her own first impressions of the interlocutor is hypocritical!
I’m with the guy who would left her talking to herself; I have better uses of my time, alone, than putting up with this flavor of bullshit.
June 21, 2011 at 9:57 am
Wow. You’re even angrier and more screwed-up than the fictional character you rail at. Good luck with that.
June 21, 2011 at 10:28 am
I like the whole idea that sometimes people put up walls to see who cares enough to try to break them down
June 22, 2011 at 6:01 am
Most of the time it’s the people in suits who mug you…
June 21, 2011 at 12:52 pm
A lot different from the usual work but loved it none the less. Please please please give us another episode of the sphinx.
June 21, 2011 at 4:33 pm
“Chari-TEA” sign in the last panel made me chuckle. 🙂
June 21, 2011 at 4:51 pm
I talk to strangers. Best lifestyle choice ever and this only confirms it! Thanks 🙂
June 21, 2011 at 6:33 pm
I feel like the conversation they had, while not realistic in real life, fits Subnormality’s repertoire just perfectly. And I have to admit, though I’ve certainly had similar thoughts to Ethel’s, I would probably jump on the next guy that admitted to making and liking vegan food. Ethel is obviously in a bad place, but she’s still resisting the typical rom-com-inspire romance that many people try to force into their lives to make their relationships seem more picturesque and “adorable.” Of course this is coming from a single gal, so I’m just bitter, right?
June 26, 2011 at 9:51 pm
I agree with you, but I don’t believe those little moments are “artificially adorable”. If anything, Ethel is lashing out because the guy’s nice gesture doesn’t fit in her mental pattern of “people suck”. As soon as someone doesn’t fit into her mind-filter, they’re automatically shot down so their ordinary reality doesn’t disrupt her comfortable pain.
I believe that being bitter yields no results (or at best you meet someone who’s as bitter as you and that’s even worse). Misery loves company, ecetera.
I used to be like Ethel, and I don’t believe other people should sacrifice part of their happiness to prevent someone else from self-destruction. There’s a word for that, it’s called selfishness. I kicked that habit years ago and now I make a killer veggie BLT (yes, guys like us do exist).
Not saying you’re a forever-alone crazy bitch. Just saying don’t be like Ethel, don’t give up and when opportunity knocks, answer the door. With tea.
June 21, 2011 at 8:35 pm
Eventually, all Subnormality comics become the same treatise about the shallowness of human contact. It’s a tragedy, really.
June 30, 2011 at 12:52 pm
I’ve seen many more mirrors than treatises here.
June 22, 2011 at 11:01 am
Yay! The Characters have names!
June 22, 2011 at 12:50 pm
The casual “Meet Cute” is what a writer does when he needs to express a love interest between two characters, usually when they first meet. It’s almost always done for movies because the writers only have 2 hours to fit the entire story into. By having the characters connect (usually in a “cute” way), the audience understands that there’s something between the characters and the story can progress from there.
The common ways of a Cute Meet are:
Being initially shy or angry at each other, bumping into each other, being embarrassed by each other such as see the other party naked or learning a personal secret about the other.
For me, nothing is more fulfilling than character development. I personally get joy out of seeing the people I’ve come to know change and grow. Love’ed this issue. Please, keep ’em coming, it’s one of the few things I look forward to.
God forbid he’s a time traveler, hoping to check out a painting, using a magic walnut to do so…
June 22, 2011 at 3:44 pm
I *need* to get that T-shirt
June 22, 2011 at 7:27 pm
This week’s comic is just annoying. Ethel is behaving like the most unpleasant person imaginable, and the pseudo-philiosophical drivel about how it’s unfair to assume anything about anyone makes it worse. (Besides, it’s just amazing how overly dramatic she behaves – it’s unbelievable, and just bad writing, Winston.)
The fact that Mark behaves like a docile jerkoff doesn’t make it better. In the end, it’s too easy to develop a heartfelt loathing for both of the characters, and the message of the comic (if there’s any) is just too fuzzy, which is why the ending means nothing to me and leaves me with a hollow feeling.
June 25, 2011 at 8:06 pm
I guess maybe there is no message.
Oh wait there is. It’s what the fuck is a vegan BLT.
June 29, 2011 at 4:52 pm
Daniel, I agree with you wholeheartedly. I would have cunt punted this jerk….even though I’m a girl, I can’t stand the way she’s acting. It’s not that funny at all. I have liked almost all the comics up until this one…it was a disappointment. After she yelled at me like that, I never would have bought her the tea or decided I wanted to meet her after all. If this was a man yelling at a woman, I bet most of these comments wouldn’t be so postitive.
July 1, 2011 at 7:58 pm
I want to post an at least partial defense of our characters. For one, I think it’s fair to say the Ethel is not mentally stable. She tells scary stories for a living. Anyone who reacts like that to a simple request is probably scarred towards men, people as a whole, or, more likely, strangers. And by extension, I think her logic is wrong, and I’m am almost certain that the author is not trying to promote her view of things.
As for Mark, “Docile jerk-off” is not the vibe I got. I know that if I got stuck in such a situation, I would just try to back out of it and avoid her, and I think that would be a rather typical response (as opposed to a “cunt punt”).
But comics, nor fiction in general, are about what you would do. If they were, everything you ever read or watched would be frighteningly boring. I think Mark possesses something neither of us would have expressed – pity. I think he detects her horrible emotional state, and decides to give up on effort to get a date and instead just try to help out this person who is so unhappy. And ultimately, that’s what this comics is about: helping people. And not physically, mentally, or financially – helping people emotionally. The least we, and Mark, can hope for is that Ethel is a little happier after this interaction.
June 23, 2011 at 5:18 am
I love this comic!! This!!!!! Agh! So right!
June 23, 2011 at 3:01 pm
I’d just be impressed with anyone who could write that whole sentence upside-down on her own chest without getting any of the letters backwards.
June 24, 2011 at 1:53 am
I love this comic. Its depressing and often grating, and isnt posted nearly as often as Id like. it feels a lot like real life.
and yet I cant look away.
June 24, 2011 at 3:16 am
Mark’s sardonic GW Bush- smile* in the heavily framed panel #14 is terrific.
Ethel’s alter ego-chick in panel #9 is also smiling, though in a more naïve, heart melting fashion. Ethel, herself, could very well be some sort of a Skepchick**. Yeah! She’s definitely not part of that world wide heeling mafia.
* google: images:
sardonic-smile-Bush
and see for yourself
(=the first hit from my location).
** Nothing wrong with that
—————————-
Alms to everyone,
Ben
June 25, 2011 at 7:01 pm
I play this girl’s dialogue in my head right before I attempt to hit on a girl, until I shame myself into giving up and return to going about my business
June 25, 2011 at 8:08 pm
Good course of action. That shame is there for a reason! It’s the backbone of society, British society in particular.
June 26, 2011 at 3:29 pm
Just wanted to comment that I absolutely love this comic… and I really identify with most of them. I also just posted a ton of them (with links back to this site) on tumblr ❤
June 26, 2011 at 9:47 pm
You should put that shirt into production!
June 26, 2011 at 11:34 pm
This story takes on a whole new layer of meaning if you imagine Ethel as a real prostitute instead of a surreal streetwalking story teller. I went back and reread her debut comic. With the exception of her performance, she was unable to look her John in the eye. She holds her Johns in contempt, and you can see that contempt bubble to the surface when she meets anyone who is fool enough to like her, who buys into her hustle. It’s sad.
June 27, 2011 at 11:24 am
The problem is, if I met someone wearing that T shirt they would be my new best friend. Who the hell wants an easy life? I want one worth talking about.
June 28, 2011 at 5:54 pm
This was the first comic of yours in a while that I liked. It made me laugh and didn’t frustrate me with it’s philoso-drivel.
June 29, 2011 at 2:04 pm
Dear artist who may or may not see this comment:
I love your work. I do. I appreciate the way you draw, the thoughts you have, and your courage to slap it on a webpage and let the rest of the world enjoy it (or, evidently, not.)
Keep on keeping on,
me
June 30, 2011 at 8:24 am
Great work.
Devicehandler.
June 30, 2011 at 10:40 am
Seems Mark responds positively to abuse. He has all the patience in the world for a tongue-lashing from Ethel, but while working at the music store, he’s a complete snot.
June 30, 2011 at 1:50 pm
Does anyone know if you can buy prints of this comic? Or is there an Hd version i could print on a poster myself?
July 1, 2011 at 1:10 pm
I need that on a shirt.
July 1, 2011 at 7:39 pm
This comic started so tragically frustrating, but it really comes around powerfully. I also love the presence of mutton chops.
July 2, 2011 at 4:35 am
Have you seen this video? There’s a new comic/anime/game style video series starting on Youtube
July 2, 2011 at 3:19 pm
Re: SUBNORMALITY:
Computer was ill for a few months, yes much better now thank you, so I realized I was way behind on your work and sat and just luxuriated in it, to the tune of maybe sixty installments or so. And when I was done … I was sad. More, I want MORE! No matter how much you do, it’ll NEVER BE ENOUGH!! I suppose what makes it hard for you is, you can’t be imitated. Even apprentices are out of the question. But that’s not my problem, it’s YOURS! Love ya insanely — now get back to work!!!
July 4, 2011 at 8:45 pm
I’ve read a bunch of comments from people expressing how horrible Ethel was acting through the strip and I just want to say fuck off.
We’ve all had horrible days when we just want the whole damn world to die. I’ve been having too damn many of those days myself lately.
And what we’ve all secretly wanted is for someone magical to come by, see us at our absolute worst, most outrageously offensive and violently angry and to accept it, to understand it and just maybe to see through it, to hope that maybe despite all that victriole that the strange person they’re meeting is actually just damaged, hurting and needing some kindness and compassion.
We’ve all wanted that person to come up out of nowhere and help us at our worst and I was nearly brought to tears seeing even a fictional character meet that magical someone.
Sooooo…. yeah…..
Probably said more about myself than I should have.
July 4, 2011 at 9:03 pm
Yes! Exactly – I wholeheartedly agree. Here’s hoping it doesn’t only happen in fiction…
July 6, 2011 at 12:33 am
Say what you will, tell everyone to ‘fuck off’ (and in turn be incredibly rude), but I honestly don’t think there is anything at all that justifies lashing out at total strangers in such a dramatic manner. I can sympathize with Ethel’s feelings, but her actions here are simply awful.
July 6, 2011 at 2:34 am
Maybe the “fuck off” could have been rephrased, but i think the point was still well made. I’m just happy that there are people defending both sides– that the comic wasn’t just cut and dry. And i’m really kind of comfortable that some people aren’t sympathizing with Ethel here, to be honest. I’m liking the idea of allowing myself the freedom to have some characters not be likable 100% of the time (not that i’m gonna go out of my way to make them unlikable…). To me this was a comic about someone who’s unhappy, and how it makes them act, and, i definitely wasn’t trying to suggest to reader about how one should interpret it, so i’m actually pretty thrilled with the mixed response on this one. It came from a place of honesty, as have the comments, so Good Times indeed.
(as usual, Best Comments Section Ever, by the way. I’m just so honored that such a good vibe has developed here, and that it hasn’t developed, like a lot of sites do, into one of THOSE comments sections where all the comments read like they were written by the same freaking person, in the same voice, etc. Dissent and Variety are encouraged– even if it means the occasional “fuck off.” Anyway, my point was, y’all are Awesome).
(PS: While i’m here, new comic on the way, i swear, it’s currently Under Production. I apologize for the wait, but once again i kind of lost a few days working on another idea before having to scrap it in frustration. I know i keep saying that, but i keep saying it because i don’t want people to think the slowed production is due to lack of interest on my part or something. Plus some other stuff. New one this week though. Plus a recap of The Play. Plus: an Announcement…!)
July 6, 2011 at 6:37 pm
Looking back and re-reading my own comment I’m a little shocked at my own behavior (though I am the sort of person to tell someone to piss off on occasion, I’m usually far more civilized in my online discourse).
I think the reason I reacted the way I did was that Ethel’s actions in this strip resonated a little too closely with my own for comfort and I felt compelled to defend her.
I still do and though I think that her actions were reprehensable it is still exactly the sort of action I myself would have given people on occasion if I were caught in the wrong mood, and seeing that particular rant be challenged by someone with a supply of patience that far exceeds the norm only made me appreciate the comic more.
In essence I was lashing out at the negative backlash to the comic because I was hoping someone else would see my point of view, and I did it without even realizing it. Funny how life imitates art sometimes.
Keep up the great work Winston, you take as long as you need to make the comics you do. They are a constant source of inspiration and often hilarity as well. I only wish I wasn’t so broke myself or had a wall of my own to hang a poster on, else I’d have bought every one you offer.
July 6, 2011 at 8:43 pm
By all means, take your time Winston. I’m certain nobody thinks you have any “lack of interest”. How much you care shows in your work.
July 4, 2011 at 10:42 pm
Hope you’re feeling better.
July 5, 2011 at 1:08 pm
I have read through a nice amount of your cartoons and I just wanted to say, amazing work. They actually have meaning to them and they don’t have a gooey happy center all the time. I love your work, amazing job
July 7, 2011 at 6:13 pm
Wow!
New Comic strip lurking around the corner.
Considering all those dog days ahead; perhaps it would be wise entering safe mode.
Why not some sunny, uncontroversial, Nagel-style strip from say L.A. beaches? Or, why not, Côte d’Azur in the Old World?
ben
July 11, 2011 at 3:41 am
Reading this comments section, I was struck by how many different ways a piece of art can be viewed. I absolutely loved this comic, but if I was reading a review, or say, someone’s else’s opinion of the comic, there would be almost as many people giving it bad reviews as good reviews.
If I was trying to figure out if it was worth my time or not to read or watch by reviews only, I probably would have decided against. I wonder how I can adapt my reading/viewing habits to more efficiently find the pieces of art that are worth my time.
September 13, 2011 at 11:39 am
I actually find myself wondering every now and then if that kind of things ever happen. I mean: meeting someone that could find some kindness on his or her heart to feel like cope up with some of the madness I could unleash at a specific time.
It isn’t a bad thing to keep that hope alive, even if it is in a coma, right?
October 29, 2011 at 2:08 am
It’s black currant! The best tea ever! Just take it!
November 27, 2011 at 1:26 pm
Please Please Please make a poster out of this one!
I’ll buy one for sure!!!!
August 25, 2012 at 8:53 pm
it’s been about a year now since we’ve seen this guy, whatever became of this?
October 12, 2012 at 6:29 pm
After thinking about it, I thought maybe he could have said “Then why did you let me have the tea, what did you see in me that made you think I was more deserving of it?”, eitherway it had a nice ending, even if not a completely happy or sad one. I liked that a lot. ^^
July 20, 2013 at 6:47 pm
I don’t remember this incident. When did you meet me?
September 8, 2013 at 12:54 pm
I always thought “meet cute” was just some weird sounding phrase TvTropes thought up. Also, Ethel is really little.
Great comic!
August 14, 2017 at 1:38 am
Goddammit, I swear I’ve met that girl. (And myabe I’ve been that girl). It did not end well.
I’ve been trying to save my glowing comments for when I made it all the way through the archive, but congrats I can’t make it. This comic slays me.