What a crazy reveal to be like “haha this was all the equivalent of Roomies!, time to do all of the walkyverse again but 8x longer”
Clif
I’m in.
Big Z
Me too. Buckle up.
Lysbeth
We’ve already been kidnapping people, meeting evil Brits, and offing parents. Dina clearly has a super power, Sal’s criminal history will make it hard to keep a job, and Dorothy’s started bad blood between Joyce and Walky.
Come on. We just need a giant monkey ape.
deliverything
Got to be careful using the M word to refer to apes, or the last word you hear may be “Ook”.
Levantoni
Ooook, ook oook!
Signed: The librarian
Sarah Lea
Up vote.
slambat
i can’t wait for 16k strip shortpacked 2 to debut in 2050
Fuckface has already eaten the entire A-G outfit.
Everyone is relieved.
(Dorothy is always irritated ’cause she has to start over, but she’s also relieved.)
Déjà vu
I’ve just been in this time before
Higher on the beat
And I know it’s a place to go
Calling you and the search is a mystery
Standing on my feet
It’s so hard when I try to be me, yeah
This is such a good joke, because at first you see ”déja vù” and read the connection as being with something happening ”again”. Which seems natural, but just serves to lure you into the realization that it was all about the drift!??
eh, whatever
at first you see ”déja vù”
No, you see “déjà vu”, the actual French for “already seen”.
It’s not just just clock drift. I posted a comment on yesterday’s strip at 8 minutes past the hour by the server clock, and the comic had still not updated when it posted, though it did shortly thereafter.
If he wants it to be a “comedy comic”, don’t introduce a fucking police raid into the plot.
C.T Phipps
It’s a DRAMEDY.
Tricia
And this is a dramatic moment. Trying to introduce slapstick into the middle of it creates tonal whiplash.
Effie
dromedary
Pocky
yeah, totally. Scrubs shouldn’t have introduced any dramatic elements, since its a comedy. /s
Queezle
I would argue that while it is fine to have real drama in comedy series, if it is something that serious that affects real people (Police raids, police violence in this case) it is okay not to undercut the drama with comedy even in a comedy. You can let the drama play out, Scrubs did that all the time, Dumbing of Age did it too, in other instances. Not every strip as to have a punchline.
Lys
If Willis intends to resolve this situation with wacky hijinks, then a punchline at this juncture is appropriate. Even if he doesn’t, this strip is hilarious, and as far as I’m concerned anything is justified if it makes me laugh.
Kyle
Nothing makes this justified, its just a bad joke awkwardly glued to the end of a good comic.
Lys
It’s a great joke! I love Joyce and Dorothy being adorable dorks, and them literally running around in circles while panicking is perfect.
Sarah Lea
I agree with you 100% that not every beat of every dramatic arc must have a comedic moment.
I also agree that not every dramatic arc must have a comedic moment.
While you haven’t explicitly said as much, I infer from you that you further mean: “No dramatic arcs should have comedic moments” to argue the stance “So THIS dramatic arc should not have THIS comedic moment.”
If that’s an accurate read on my post, then I disagree here. Perhaps this is the wrong best for a comedic moment. Perhaps it’s the right one. But you and I know only at best ⅔ of the story: the past and the present. But Willis also knows the third, the future.
So if I’m going to lay money on who’s most likely to be right at the end (to my own tastes, if not also for the general population), it’s gonna be on Willis.
Not because of anything personal with him. I just like to win.
Queezle
Oh no, I do think that dramatic arcs can have very well-placed and fitting comedy beats, sometimes comedy can even enhance the drama. This one just did not work for me. Context further down the line might make it work, but as of now, it does not work for me. It clashes with the drama in a way that pulls me out of the story. Which is fine, not every strip has to work for me personally.
Needfuldoer
In my opinion the last-panel jokes and sight gags sometimes feel out of place, like they’re only there because every strip “has to” end with one. They don’t ruin the whole thing forever, but they can be disruptive to the flow if their tone clashes with the story in that moment.
GreyICE
I’d argue this is ridiculous, Dr. Strangelove turned a nuclear war into a comedy, including jokes while nuking cities. It is hilarious.
You are being very silly.
Kyle
Dr. Strangelove had good writing and knew when to mix them properly.
Yotomoe
I mean scrubs often mixed the two but honestly when it became one it did a pretty good job of separating the haha funny doctor shenanigans with the pain and stress of dealing with the sick and dying. Its not that you can’t be silly in a story that deals with serious issues but moreso learning the ebb and flow of comedy into these moments as to not minimize the seriousness of the events being portrayed.
Okay, smarty-pants, then answer this, since you’re such a good fucking writer. If there’s no police raid, who’s gonna trip over the fucking marbles in the hallway? Huh? Entire fucking bag of marbles, at least a hundred of the fucking things, all over the floor, and who the fuck do you think is gonna trip over them and skitter comedically down the fucking hallway? Everyone’s a critic, everyone’s so fucking clever, everyone thinks they know better than the author, but when it comes time to answer the question “Who’s gonna trip on these marbles” nobody has an answer, you all just think it should be someone other than who the author put there. Arrogant and childish, bringing up fake problems you made up to upset yourself and then calling it someone else’s bad writing. Be ashamed of what you’re letting yourself be, or maybe what you’re not letting yourself be.
Humor is subjective, possibly the most subjective genre you can write. Most people can in some way relate to dramatic elements like danger, grief, or stress, but if a joke doesn’t land that can be for a different reason for everyone that experiences it. So to me one of the most fair and valid criticisms you can make is that you didn’t find something funny. It doesn’t mean the writing is bad and arguing it’s a comedy doesn’t invalidate their opinion. It just means the joke didn’t land for the reader and that’s totally fine. Unless Willis wrote a joke inherently offensive which is not present here I think we can accept that some just don’t find this strip particularly funny. I kind of chuckled but so what is someone else didn’t?
thejeff
In this case, I found the joke itself mildly amusing – like you said, I kind of chuckled, but it came at the expense of the characters doing something that made no sense, but also explicitly commenting on it making no sense and somehow pretending that it does, but with no reason.
It struck me as forced. In a very “the author is making a joke here” way rather than it coming out of the characters or situation.
This one doesn’t bother me. The “cops after Amazi-Girl” aspect of this situation is an aspect that’s not DoJo’s fault, and I sure as heck wouldn’t have known what to do in this situation when I was that age other than panic and flail around in a circle.
239 thoughts on “Stashing”
NGPZ
Once again, when a hero is needed mosf,
One way or another
A broken heart gets in the way…
???
*plays “A Grim Fate” from DBZ Kai on hacked muzak*
Clif
Speaking personally, my heart is broken by Sal’s lack of devotion to the bit. How hard can it be to shift one letter?
Steamweed
*mosg
Longshot97
Good on Dina for still refusing to employ contractions.
Vivvav
Welp, Sal’s going on the lam. Maybe soon she’ll be abducted by aliens!
Thag Simmons
Probably a bad idea to shift gears into full It’s Walky! mode but I would still be very curious to see it
minerharry
What a crazy reveal to be like “haha this was all the equivalent of Roomies!, time to do all of the walkyverse again but 8x longer”
Clif
I’m in.
Big Z
Me too. Buckle up.
Lysbeth
We’ve already been kidnapping people, meeting evil Brits, and offing parents. Dina clearly has a super power, Sal’s criminal history will make it hard to keep a job, and Dorothy’s started bad blood between Joyce and Walky.
Come on. We just need a giant
monkeyape.deliverything
Got to be careful using the M word to refer to apes, or the last word you hear may be “Ook”.
Levantoni
Ooook, ook oook!
Signed: The librarian
Sarah Lea
Up vote.
slambat
i can’t wait for 16k strip shortpacked 2 to debut in 2050
ZombieKyrik
Welp, I don’t know what comes next, but I doubt it’s good.
Is anyone going to make it in time? And if they do, how are they going to hide it?
Envy
…Deus Ex Malaya? Would be really funny if she somehow helped this situation purely because she hates cops.
Envy
I totally forgot she was my avatar, lol
GreyICE
More likely Deus Ex Billie because she’s the only one who knows Sal is Amazigirl, so of course she’d go hide the costume from Sal’s room.
Pig
Omg you’re right
Kim
That’s very funny 😀
Bryy
I have no idea why people are not dropping everything.
Lumino
The cops are already IN the building. If they aren’t there, there is no way they could get there in time without being seen.
Steamweed
Fuckface has already eaten the entire A-G outfit.
Everyone is relieved.
(Dorothy is always irritated ’cause she has to start over, but she’s also relieved.)
Nono
Server clock is drifting (again?), dang.
Bill Erak
Déjà vu
I’ve just been in this time before
Higher on the beat
And I know it’s a place to go
Calling you and the search is a mystery
Standing on my feet
It’s so hard when I try to be me, yeah
Kim
This is such a good joke, because at first you see ”déja vù” and read the connection as being with something happening ”again”. Which seems natural, but just serves to lure you into the realization that it was all about the drift!??
eh, whatever
No, you see “déjà vu”, the actual French for “already seen”.
Lee
Well now that’ll be in my head for a week thank you
Tequila Mockingbird
Bless this post.
John Campbell
It’s not just just clock drift. I posted a comment on yesterday’s strip at 8 minutes past the hour by the server clock, and the comic had still not updated when it posted, though it did shortly thereafter.
Steamweed
I blame the Hubble Tension. Astronomers are fighting over how fast time is increasing in spots of the universe.
QueenofSodor
one must imagine dorothy running on a little hamster wheel
poofdepoof
Lol
NGPZ
okay now it works haha
Alongcameaspider
About 20 minutes after midnight before the comic updates, is that a new record?
a/snow/mous/e
i feel like the server clock offset has been more than an hour at its worst, but idk
Nono
Are they texting each person individually, or is there a group chat?
Nymph
It’s a group chat called “How to incriminate your friends and loved ones if the cops check your phone”
Stormtide Leviathan
I really really hope this results in Jennifer grabbing it. It’s too good a set up
Dot
Alright, the antics are wearing a little thin now
NGPZ
that last panel would be funny, if it weren’t so sad 😐
Bill Erak
God forbid the comedy comic is comedic
Tricia
If he wants it to be a “comedy comic”, don’t introduce a fucking police raid into the plot.
C.T Phipps
It’s a DRAMEDY.
Tricia
And this is a dramatic moment. Trying to introduce slapstick into the middle of it creates tonal whiplash.
Effie
dromedary
Pocky
yeah, totally. Scrubs shouldn’t have introduced any dramatic elements, since its a comedy. /s
Queezle
I would argue that while it is fine to have real drama in comedy series, if it is something that serious that affects real people (Police raids, police violence in this case) it is okay not to undercut the drama with comedy even in a comedy. You can let the drama play out, Scrubs did that all the time, Dumbing of Age did it too, in other instances. Not every strip as to have a punchline.
Lys
If Willis intends to resolve this situation with wacky hijinks, then a punchline at this juncture is appropriate. Even if he doesn’t, this strip is hilarious, and as far as I’m concerned anything is justified if it makes me laugh.
Kyle
Nothing makes this justified, its just a bad joke awkwardly glued to the end of a good comic.
Lys
It’s a great joke! I love Joyce and Dorothy being adorable dorks, and them literally running around in circles while panicking is perfect.
Sarah Lea
I agree with you 100% that not every beat of every dramatic arc must have a comedic moment.
I also agree that not every dramatic arc must have a comedic moment.
While you haven’t explicitly said as much, I infer from you that you further mean: “No dramatic arcs should have comedic moments” to argue the stance “So THIS dramatic arc should not have THIS comedic moment.”
If that’s an accurate read on my post, then I disagree here. Perhaps this is the wrong best for a comedic moment. Perhaps it’s the right one. But you and I know only at best ⅔ of the story: the past and the present. But Willis also knows the third, the future.
So if I’m going to lay money on who’s most likely to be right at the end (to my own tastes, if not also for the general population), it’s gonna be on Willis.
Not because of anything personal with him. I just like to win.
Queezle
Oh no, I do think that dramatic arcs can have very well-placed and fitting comedy beats, sometimes comedy can even enhance the drama. This one just did not work for me. Context further down the line might make it work, but as of now, it does not work for me. It clashes with the drama in a way that pulls me out of the story. Which is fine, not every strip has to work for me personally.
Needfuldoer
In my opinion the last-panel jokes and sight gags sometimes feel out of place, like they’re only there because every strip “has to” end with one. They don’t ruin the whole thing forever, but they can be disruptive to the flow if their tone clashes with the story in that moment.
GreyICE
I’d argue this is ridiculous, Dr. Strangelove turned a nuclear war into a comedy, including jokes while nuking cities. It is hilarious.
You are being very silly.
Kyle
Dr. Strangelove had good writing and knew when to mix them properly.
Yotomoe
I mean scrubs often mixed the two but honestly when it became one it did a pretty good job of separating the haha funny doctor shenanigans with the pain and stress of dealing with the sick and dying. Its not that you can’t be silly in a story that deals with serious issues but moreso learning the ebb and flow of comedy into these moments as to not minimize the seriousness of the events being portrayed.
Taffy
Okay, smarty-pants, then answer this, since you’re such a good fucking writer. If there’s no police raid, who’s gonna trip over the fucking marbles in the hallway? Huh? Entire fucking bag of marbles, at least a hundred of the fucking things, all over the floor, and who the fuck do you think is gonna trip over them and skitter comedically down the fucking hallway? Everyone’s a critic, everyone’s so fucking clever, everyone thinks they know better than the author, but when it comes time to answer the question “Who’s gonna trip on these marbles” nobody has an answer, you all just think it should be someone other than who the author put there. Arrogant and childish, bringing up fake problems you made up to upset yourself and then calling it someone else’s bad writing. Be ashamed of what you’re letting yourself be, or maybe what you’re not letting yourself be.
Alongcameaspider
The problem is the sudden punchline in what is clearly supposed to be a strip intended to raise the dramatic tension of the situation
Like, separate from any other issues with the comic recently theres a bit of tonal whiplash going on with this strip
Clif
Willis handles the whiplash as a fine tool. Always has.
I’m more bothered by the fact Sarah doesn’t look swooned. She obviously needs swooning lessons.
Sarah Lea
Yeah, kinda classic Willis Whiplash, especially peak during It’s Walky!.
eh, whatever
That’s what real life is like.
Dot
Can the comedy be funny at least
albi
NO
Sirksome
Humor is subjective, possibly the most subjective genre you can write. Most people can in some way relate to dramatic elements like danger, grief, or stress, but if a joke doesn’t land that can be for a different reason for everyone that experiences it. So to me one of the most fair and valid criticisms you can make is that you didn’t find something funny. It doesn’t mean the writing is bad and arguing it’s a comedy doesn’t invalidate their opinion. It just means the joke didn’t land for the reader and that’s totally fine. Unless Willis wrote a joke inherently offensive which is not present here I think we can accept that some just don’t find this strip particularly funny. I kind of chuckled but so what is someone else didn’t?
thejeff
In this case, I found the joke itself mildly amusing – like you said, I kind of chuckled, but it came at the expense of the characters doing something that made no sense, but also explicitly commenting on it making no sense and somehow pretending that it does, but with no reason.
It struck me as forced. In a very “the author is making a joke here” way rather than it coming out of the characters or situation.
Nono
This one is fine? Like it’s still them but there’s other characters involved and there’s some plot progression.
Ahriman
I bet Jennifer is available.
Lee
This one doesn’t bother me. The “cops after Amazi-Girl” aspect of this situation is an aspect that’s not DoJo’s fault, and I sure as heck wouldn’t have known what to do in this situation when I was that age other than panic and flail around in a circle.
HueSatLight
Well, it’s not a consequence of Dorothy and Joyce getting together. And it’s not Joyce’s fault. Joyce didn’t tell AG to ignore her better judgment.
Pocky
bein swooned is serious to Sarah! 😛
Clif
Still, she’s not doing it right.
I mean, she’s not even fanning herself.
Big Z