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[JReynolds]

Gung hei fat choi to everybody-- the Year of the Ox starts on the 26th.

[raoullefere]

Never could get the hang of Chinese Astrology. I think it claims I'm a Snake, to which I reply, "for abuse, get in line."

Wonder if anyone's ever pestered Jeph about character birth-dates over in "Ask Jeph"?

[Kugai]

It's all Greek to me 

[kgbisouttogetme]

yay time for us to obsess over a new week of comics

[Heavyoak]

Chinese Astrology says that I am a Dragon.

[Mallli_kite]

Using the year designation (wow, you learn way more than you can process on Wikipedia)  I am a Snake, which means

Snake (Yin, 2nd Trine, Fixed Element Fire): Deep thinker, wise, mystic, graceful, soft-spoken, sensual, creative, prudent, shrewd, ambitious, elegant, cautious, responsible, calm, strong, constant, purposeful. Can be loner, bad communicator, possessive, hedonistic, self-doubting, distrustful, mendacious.

Bwahahah!

Dragons are (Yang, 1st Trine, Fixed Element Wood): Magnanimous, stately, vigorous, strong, self-assured, proud, noble, direct, dignified, zealous, fiery, passionate, decisive, pioneering, ambitious, generous, loyal. Can be arrogant, imperious, tyrannical, demanding, eccentric, grandiloquent and extremely bombastic, prejudiced, dogmatic, over-bearing, violent, impetuous, brash.


Can we start obsessing early?  I'm bored. 

[Norton Quintessential]

Can be loner, bad communicator, possessive, hedonistic, self-doubting, distrustful, mendacious.

...I'm depressed by how accurate a description that is of me. Except for mendacious. Not sure what that is.

[Mallli_kite]

Can be loner, bad communicator, possessive, hedonistic, self-doubting, distrustful, mendacious.

...I'm depressed by how accurate a description that is of me. Except for mendacious. Not sure what that is.

Main Entry:
    men·da·cious Listen to the pronunciation of mendacious
Pronunciation:
    \men-ˈdā-shəs\
Function:
    adjective
Etymology:
    Latin mendac-, mendax — more at amend
Date:
    1616

: given to or characterized by deception or falsehood or divergence from absolute truth <mendacious tales of his adventures>
synonyms see dishonest
— men·da·cious·ly adverb
— men·da·cious·ness noun

Are you a lying liar who lies? 

I knew what it meant, but only because I'm old and have seen the Newman/Taylor version of "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" too many times.

[Norton Quintessential]

Oh. Well, then except for that one. I certainly never lie.


....Trust me on this.

[Mallli_kite]

Norton, sir, you are the soul of honestly and truth.  I trust you implicitly. 

...because you do not know where I live.

[Superkid11]

Bracing myself for argument.

I sympathize with Jeph, I hate writing arguments too. (I think he's said that more than once) ... at least between characters who are friends or in a relationship. Characters that hate each other on the other hand are kind of fun to have argue.

At least we know this is definitely going to have significance in that case.
Now we got through the "Dora's a bitch" portion of the debate. Now we're going to go through the "Marten's a jerk" part as Marten will inevitably have a thing or two to say.
Of course, there wills till be the "Dora is a bitch"ers. Oh yes. The fan will be distinctly unsanitary tomorrow.

[AlecTrevylan006]

I just hope this doesn't get completely illogical.

I mean, as much as Dora is probably blowing stuff out of proportion, I could see how what she's done so far is rational.

But if this erupts into a huge explosion over him turning a girl down, I'm gonna be a little sad.

[Superkid11]

If it does turn out that way then maybe there won't be any "Marten is a jerk" people.

[AlecTrevylan006]

At this point I'm pretty sure that Marten would end up with his foot in his mouth even if he took a vow of silence.

[Superkid11]

Well it seems like he won't. Seeing as arguments generally involve both people arguing. I'd like to see Marten erupt a little bit, personally. I kind of imagined him first trying to steer around the argument with humor until, in his brain, the "avoid conflict" system goes
kerboingie
Visual representation and all. Then shit hits the fan. I'm sure Marty has repressed anxiety about Dora losing it over slights that could be pushed to the breaking point.

I could be wrong, but that's what I imagine would happen.

[Mallli_kite]

The possibilities, while not endless, are many.  Dora could back up and realize what she's doing, as she has in the past, and make it up to Marten with much sex.  Marten could yell, cower, or walk out.  An Asteroid could hit the coffee shop.  

Or it might all be a little 30 second joke and something entirely new could start on Monday.  

I wonder if this particular set of jokes/panels is as story arc important in Jeph's mind as it is in the minds of we the over-analyzers

Also, panda.  For no reason.

I'm re-re-reading the archives.  I still find it stunning how much the strip developed from a pretty simple, 4 panel punchline into a complex, layered STORY with characterization and development and all the stuff I love in a good book.

[AlecTrevylan006]

I'm not sure if I'd be angry or amused if Jeph actually completely dropped this storyline in the strip and was stringing us along.

[Superkid11]

I'm not sure if I'd be angry or amused if Jeph actually completely dropped this storyline in the strip and was stringing us along.

He said in his twitter he hates writing arguments. I don't think he'd make himself write an argument just to troll us. :p

[wargrafix]

I hope jeph isn't turning into one of those pretentious artists.

People debate about the comic, because its interesting.
If it was a boring comic, no one wouldn't really care.

[nobo]

Dora blows up, Marten finally gets fed up with her insecurities and says something rash like "we need a break" and then goes drinking with Steve.

/Slaps 5 on table

[sieckanddestroy]

(at nobo) Simpsons did it.

[Superkid11]

Dora blows up, Marten finally gets fed up with her insecurities and says something rash like "we need a break" and then goes drinking with Steve.

Assuming Steve didn't bump into Mr. Allosaurus.

[Mallli_kite]

I don't think Jeph is stringing us along so much as we are all putting a ton more thought and energy into analyzing the comic.  All he can do is create it.  In the act of reading it, we are doing at least a good half the work in interpreting.  Each of us brings our own personal set of filters, beliefs, past experiences, and whatever else we have into play when we read something.

As for being pretentious, Jeph seems pretty committed to pleasing his audience as best he can.  

I like getting into the meta aspects of the comic because it's a good time, not because I have big expectations from the creator.  He does his bit, I do mine.  If he does something I don't like, I stop reading -- no harm, no foul, no personal affront.  He'll always run the risk of pissing SOMEONE off, just because there are so many of us and only one of him.  

[bhtooefr]

Nah, I don't think Jeph would do an argument just to troll us.

What he would do is post a Pintsize comic instead of continuing the storyline.

[Mallli_kite]

Nah, I don't think Jeph would do an argument just to troll us.

What he would do is post a Pintsize comic instead of continuing the storyline.

I'm good with that!  I miss Pintsize!

It's one of the sad things about comics -- popular characters take center stage and good but secondary characters fade off or vanish completely.  Like in the old Bloom County -- once upon a time there were all these adult characters like Cutter John and Bobbi Harlow and the General.  Even the kids -- Michael Binkley, Milo Bloom, Oliver Wendell Holmes -- were cool.  Then it became all talking animals .  *sigh*  Not that I mind talking animals per se, but it was good before they took over.

Yeah, I'm old.

[ysth]

Characters that hate each other on the other hand are kind of fun to have argue.

Ah, but is it fun to have characters that hate each other in the first place?

[kaitco]

Dora blows up, Marten finally gets fed up with her insecurities and says something rash like "we need a break" and then goes drinking with Steve.

Assuming Steve didn't bump into Mr. Allosaurus.

Or just drinking with Hannelore and then one thing turns into anoth-...no, that would never happen, but I think by Wednesday, or at most Friday, this will just be one more argument that leads to nowhere special. My hope is that finally we see a breakthrough in Dora's insecurities, but hope is fleeting.

[Tybalt]

[ysth]

F5. F5. F5.
This isn't an argument, this is abuse. (video)

[kaitco]

Marten is so adorkably malleable.

So, Dora has, indeed, carried the argument overboard, but Marten is calling her out on her insecurities. Perhaps we will get the Dora character development for which I have pining for ages...

[LittleKey]

i like dora's expression in the 4th panel. and look at panels 5 and 6, has anyone noticed that marten does that stance a lot?

[314]

i really like the last panel.  dora's posture really shows her exasperation, and marten's line is so...marten.

[Heavyoak]

Using the year designation (wow, you learn way more than you can process on Wikipedia)  I am a Snake, which means

Snake (Yin, 2nd Trine, Fixed Element Fire): Deep thinker, wise, mystic, graceful, soft-spoken, sensual, creative, prudent, shrewd, ambitious, elegant, cautious, responsible, calm, strong, constant, purposeful. Can be loner, bad communicator, possessive, hedonistic, self-doubting, distrustful, mendacious.

Bwahahah!

Dragons are (Yang, 1st Trine, Fixed Element Wood): Magnanimous, stately, vigorous, strong, self-assured, proud, noble, direct, dignified, zealous, fiery, passionate, decisive, pioneering, ambitious, generous, loyal. Can be arrogant, imperious, tyrannical, demanding, eccentric, grandiloquent and extremely bombastic, prejudiced, dogmatic, over-bearing, violent, impetuous, brash.


Can we start obsessing early?  I'm bored. 

ok that really resembles me...

[LunaCorn]

The facial expressions and the fact that Dora is mirrored in the background astounds me. Jeph, I envy your artistic skills and how they only improve more and more with time. 

[haikupoet]

I'm not entirely sure what to say except this is playing out (at least IMHO) like $GENERIC_HACK_COMEDIAN's fifth routine about "Wow, I just don't understands them wimmenfolk, so it's funny when she asks me if she's fat".

I don't know. Just never seemed like the sort of strip that would be poking around the script library at central casting. That said, I'm not really seeing Dora's side here; after all, Marten didn't consider it noteworthy -- it's happened twice in strip continuity, and from Marten's response to Tai it happens with some regularity -- so he wasn't lying as such.

[Norton Quintessential]

You know what I'd really like to see here?

Dora says, "'Freak Out?' The only thing I'm freaking out about is that you weren't honest with me!"

Marten stares at her for a moment. A beat passes. His eye involuntarily twitches.

Marten suddenly FLAILS his arms. "OH MY GOD! YOU CHANGED YOUR HAIR WITHOUT MY PERMISSION!"

Marten hunches over in an agonized, unnatural curl. "OH MAI GAW! MY FRIEND, WHO'S A CONSENTING, RATIONAL ADULT, HAD SEX WITH MY BROTHER, WHO'S A CONSENTING, RATIONAL ADULT!" He looks up at Dora. "THIS IS OBVIOUSLY MY BUSINESS!"

Finally, Marten collapses to his knees. "OMI GUH, MAI BF HAD A GIRL ASK HIM OUT AND HE TURNED HER DOWN AND DIDN'T COME RUNNING TO TELL ME!

OH MY GAW! UH MUH GUH! UHMIGUH!!!"

Unable to take any more, Marten collapses to the floor, unconscious. Silently, Dora turns off the light, and goes to bed.

[HappyGrar]

I wouldn't quite call Faye rational, but the point still stands. 

[jordinyc]

This is why I haven't perused getting back into a relationship. This saved me the trouble of testing the waters. No woman should ever have to perpetually abdicate or apologize for her free will to accommodate her man's feelings, and vice versa.

[ndperfesser]

Poor Marten, he doesn't remember the standard reply in this situation. "Baby, I've got steak at home. I'm supposed to notice that I've been offered 'beanie-weenies'"?

[frogfactory]

But, really. What is with her hair in panel 3? (I assume I've missed the general 'wtf' did Dora do with her hair threads)

Edit: oh, it's a mirror.  It still looks pretty weird.

[weirdbeard]

Poor Marten, he doesn't remember the standard reply in this situation. "Baby, I've got steak at home. I'm supposed to notice that I've been offered 'beanie-weenies'"?

that is the funniest thing i've read in this forum in weeks. well played.

[Rocketman]

Unable to take any more, Marten bellows a howl from the pits of the Underworld, lifts the couch and hurls it out the window

[keikun496]

Oh God, Dora's expression in the last panel is officially saved as a reactionary image.

[One Salient Oversight]

(First post here. Hope I'm welcome)

Dora's figure seems to be "filling out" a bit, which sort of occurs as women grow older. Marten should probably start growing a deeper chest and broader shoulders as time goes by and they get older (assuming they get older of course).

[Aggie]

Marten probably should have just slept with that chick. 

Okay, so I'm mostly kidding about that.  But I do think Dora needs to try complaining to Faye, who has no reason to go all spineless when she calls her out on blowing something stupid out of proportion and not realizing how good she has it.

[TheReaper]

(First post here. Hope I'm welcome)

Dora's figure seems to be "filling out" a bit, which sort of occurs as women grow older. Marten should probably start growing a deeper chest and broader shoulders as time goes by and they get older (assuming they get older of course).

Welcome! (I'm probably not the best person to do so, obviously, since I'm not really welcome myself, but whatever.)

Unable to take any more, Marten bellows a howl from the pits of the Underworld, lifts the couch and hurls it out the window

This is the best thing ever.

[lisavilisa]

Marten probably should have just slept with that chick. 

This reminds me of a Law and Order quote
" you got all the grief and none of the gravy".

[Border Reiver]

Marten needs to remember that, when defending your own actions, the phrase, "Seemed like a good idea at the time." should NOT be part of the repetoire.

[sitnspin]

Okay, having dated an insecure woman, and being that I both flirt with and get hit on by girls a lot, I can see where Dora is coming from.  I was in Martin's position many times and it took me a long time to understand what it was that made my partner so upset.  Dora spells it out when she says that what upset her was the lack of honesty.

Going back to Friday's comic, I interpret her initial inquiry as to the nature of his day to be in a humorous/teasing way.  She thought it was cute and funny that the girl flirted with him.  However when he denied that anything happened and evaded the follow up questions, he wasn't being honest with her.  It was the lack of honesty (something that was in his control) that was upsetting, not the fact that the girl hit on him (something outside his control).

When you know the person you are dating has insecurity issues, deliberately hiding things from them is not the best course of action. 

In Marten's defense (and mine, in the past) he didn't think it was a big deal, but knowing Dora he should have.

[wargrafix]

Unfortunately, Dora's character is showing that she may be a bit unstable and controlling. Question is, what happened to the other exes?

I bet when Martin goes out drinking, he will meet up the chick.