Comic Discussion > QUESTIONABLE CONTENT
WCDT: Independence Day Week (4 - 8 July, 1961-1965)
ProfSciencePHD:
Isn't Dora a few years older than Marten? It's been a while since I read through the whole comic, but I think she is. Not sure what relevance it has here (I'm trying not to get involved!) but it's something to think about.
I'm looking forward to seeing a bit more of Marten once this "arc" is over. Which, to be honest, I'm looking forward to. The comic's dragged a bit for me lately, particularly with the Dora-heavy elements.
Blackjoker:
Hmm, Frozenpeas, while I disagree with some of your argument I actually think that you had a good point with Marten bringing up that incident with Cossette. I wonder if some of the reason for it might have either been that for Marten that one was the biggest example of Doras trust issues rearing their head, or if he saw it as the big symbol of their problems (see also the Faye thing. To be fair it's hard to argue that you can't hug a friend in underwear without questions being raised). Part of it might come from some of what happened in other strips where Dora would either playfully flirt with Tai or her sudden daydream fantasy about Hannelore leading to Hannelore begging Marten to make her stop. I am not sure if Marten is passive aggressive exactly but I also see your point, I actually wonder if some of it is more that Marten has a gear of confrontation.
Faye pointed out that he fears conflict during a comic a ways back involving distracting an angry ex of Svens. And I almost wonder if some of Martens problem may have been that he didn't want conflict with Dora so he didn't try to address any of the problems either fearing another argument or just thinking that it was wiser to let sleeping dogs lie. This might be part of the issue too, Doras outbursts were pretty intense but relatively infrequent and Marten might have been afraid of sparking one especially when things seemed to be going well. Instead he kept sitting on things that frustrated him and refused to say them because he didn't want a fight and each time Dora had a harsh reaction he would get more frustrated but also afraid to say anything. I think it's also possible that it might have been less about him bringing up the thing with Cossete as a 'trump' card so much as it was one of the things festering longest and when she violated his privacy after him asking her several times not to he lost it and the longest buried thing surged to the surface first after an insincere apology. Marten was mad enough to actually say what he thought and it led to Dora calling him a vindictive prick and storming off. Given what happened after his mom showed up I seriously wonder more if what we're seeing isn't so much Marten 'growing' as it is him adding another numb layer to himself simply because he figures if he can push the problems down further then maybe things won't go to hell.
gprimr1:
--- Quote from: MrBrightsidex87 on 05 Jul 2011, 22:11 ---I'm almost ashamed to come out of lurker status for something so trivial, but I have to share some excitement with the interwebs! So, I've been a fan of QC for years now and check it out every day... and have been a Massachusetts transplant for about a year, working and playing in the Northampton area. Tonight's comic is the first time I've recognized inspiration from the town itself! Dora and Jim are totally eating Herrell's ice cream and sitting at the base of the steps of Osaka right across the street!!! I'm pretty pumped considering I did the same thing for my birthday a few weeks ago! Woo!
--- End quote ---
That's one of the reasons I love OC. I'm a Umass Alumni and did a year at Mt. Holyoke.
There's a comic where I think Jeff references Antonio's Pizza by the Slice but under a different name.
VonKleist:
--- Quote from: FrozenPeas on 05 Jul 2011, 18:16 ---Dora and Marten are both good people who happen to have problems. Her problems are more overt, but his are serious, too. Most of all, though, so far they’ve managed not to bicker back and forth with a lot of painful recriminations, so surely we can manage that, too, don’t you think?
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I didn't read any of the previous stuff because I anticipated it was all pointless flaming and overly long analyses..
well, you about sum shit up! :wink:
Then again, i can't lay blame on Marten, it´s, as you pointed out, what comes natural to most human beings because were for the most part lazy f***s.
WAYF:
--- Quote from: FrozenPeas on 05 Jul 2011, 18:16 ---A really well thought-out and civil argument
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FrozenPeas's post is indeed brilliant, not least because it actually made me adjust my views a little bit even though I disagree with a lot of what is being said.
Firstly, I'll say that I think you're right about Marten being passive-agressive and waiting for opportunities to come to him. The problem I think is that, as has been said in the WCDT for the breakup arc and several times since then, Marten's had a weird up-bringing and a relationship with Faye that, to begin with, wasn't exactly healthy. And as it has turned out, the best way to survive everything that has been thrown at him has been to be passive-agressive. Or maybe it's just the only way he knows.
Secondly, I think that Marten had every right to bring that up, given that Dora not only turned it into a test (and Marten probably didn't think much of it at the time), but since then she was somewhat hypocritically flirting with Tai. I know that I'm only mentioning things that other people have mentioned before, but I'd like to think that that's because they're legitimate points to make. And to be fair, the time Cosette asked him out wasn't the only time he did more than blink at another girl (Yes, that again). I imagine that that particular issue might have been weighing a lot more on his mind than it normally would as a result (that only happened like two days before the breakup, right?)
But I will admit that I am perhaps a lot more inclined to side with Marten than I am with any of the other characters. And he does have flaws which I tend to overlook or ignore because of that. I don't think there's any sort of quest involved or lesson to be learned vis-a-vis being more assertive/decisive, but I do see why it would be a positive step forward.
Thanks for that. :-)
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