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Why couldn't I have met you a year ago?

6 (9.4%)

You probably wouldn't have liked me, I was way whinier back then.

0 (0%)

Meaningful silence...

2 (3.1%)

Cookie time is cancelled.

8 (12.5%)

We were short an egg, so Marigold went to the store...

5 (7.8%)

Pizzatz Haderach, the tiny, judgy cashier!

6 (9.4%)

YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO SUBDIVIDE

8 (12.5%)

Marten calls Padma...

1 (1.6%)

Padma delays seeing him...

0 (0%)

FOREBODE FOREBODE

3 (4.7%)

What? No! Stop that! Go away!

2 (3.1%)

Thinking of Padma... (DAT A$$)

8 (12.5%)

Walking, working, guitar, disarming a bomb...

4 (6.3%)

O-oh, okay. No, it's cool, I'll see you, uh, some other time, then.

0 (0%)

Nuklear explosion.

1 (1.6%)

Face down on the couch.

4 (6.3%)

She cancelled.

0 (0%)

I'm worried I did something wrong, or... something.

1 (1.6%)

Maybe she just has... (Thanks, Faye)

2 (3.1%)

I'm serious. I accidentally drank some spoiled milk (THANKS FAYE.)

3 (4.7%)

Total Members Voted: 60

[snubnose]

A good example would be the Chinese actress Vivian Wu.  Given how much acting she's done in Western films and TV I'm surprised she was never convinced to get breast implants by some slick talking agent.

Err ... I dont know her, but google gives me the pictures of a really busty asian woman when I search for that name ?!?

http://content6.flixster.com/photo/10/30/69/10306928_sma.jpg
http://images.tvrage.com/people_galleries/13/37729/71244.jpg
http://i2.listal.com/image/565622/600full-vivian-wu.jpg

And yet she probably is blowing him off...

Why would that be a problem?

Not THAT kind of blowing ...

[jwhouk]

So apparently marten is aware of the 4th wall or has a serious case of synesthesia

Actually, it's the fifth wall (the ceiling).

[Mr. Doctor]

A good example would be the Chinese actress Vivian Wu.  Given how much acting she's done in Western films and TV I'm surprised she was never convinced to get breast implants by some slick talking agent.

Err ... I dont know her, but google gives me the pictures of a really busty asian woman when I search for that name ?!?

They look natural to me.

[Carl-E]

All good  work does.  But that's beside the point. 


Some company started makng between-cup-sizes a few years back.  My younger daughter, the athlete, was an A- for years. 


Then she got treated with steroids at the hospital.  You wouldn't believe how excited she was to finally have cleavage!   

[ink slinger]

being female, "I'm tired" is code for "I'm on my period"

Maybe, but that's not necessarily a "don't come over" situation. Depends on the woman. Shocking, I know! 

Is this the first time we've seen this kind of breaking of the 4th wall? I honestly can't recall (and do not have the drive to go digging through the archives).

[drewdane]

Dude's so getting dumped.

[DSL]

being female, "I'm tired" is code for "I'm on my period"

Maybe, but that's not necessarily a "don't come over" situation. Depends on the woman. Shocking, I know! 

Is this the first time we've seen this kind of breaking of the 4th wall? I honestly can't recall (and do not have the drive to go digging through the archives).

Think so, at least in the "main" strip as opposed to YB, ST and friends. Think, though, this is more "painting" the fourth wall (acknowleding and  using comic graphic conventions as in-universe real) than "breaking" it (directly addressing the audience) ... at least according to the "So you want to draw cartoons" books in my possession and the Site That Must Not Be Linked.

[Carl-E]

Agreed.  No direct adressing of audience = no breaking of the 4th wall. 


It's getting thin, though, and if we clap loudly enough...

[Black Sword]

Ok, so now that I have some attention span to comment with...

I saw Monday's comic, and I think the principal thing Marten was trying to do was cheer Padma up. It wasn't an attempt to dismiss her feelings or what she's trying to say so much as a "I'm really not sure what to say, so I'm going to focus on trying to make you feel better" deal. He went with self-deprecating humor because it was the safest target. More likely than not, he didn't even consider the possibility she would consider it dismissive. I think somewhere in the back of his mind, Marten thinks that if Padma has something to get off her chest, she'll just talk to him about it directly. It certainly wouldn't occur to him to think her comment was a sort of prelude or invitation to a serious discussion.

Of course, with today's comic, he is now worrying that something terrible may happen in his future. I think it's quite justified to prepare himself for the worst. After all, if you expect the end of the world tomorrow, and it does end, it's exactly what you expected. But if it doesn't end, then you will be pleasantly surprised!

[Carl-E]

While that's an acceptable (and even viable) way to think of things, it's really a pessimist's point of view, and based on what we know of Marten, it's probably not the way he thinks about things. 

[iduguphergrave]

It doesn't have to be even painting the fourth wall; Marten might not actually be able to see the words, he could have just realized how quickly his anxiety was rising and is joking around about it to keep his mood from crashing. Maybe.

[TinPenguin]

I'm pretty sure I have before now made physical motions to dispel unwanted thoughts.

[JonathanXS]

Has it bothered anyone else that she said she's still tired, implying she's used this excuse before? Maybe I just missed something?

[DSL]

It's not about what Marten's doing with the floating words, it's what Jeph is doing with the floating words.

[Kugai]

So my original prediction still stands

Hmmmmm.

[Loki]

Has it bothered anyone else that she said she's still tired, implying she's used this excuse before? Maybe I just missed something?

I assumed that she was tired after their last tete-a-tete, then Padma went to work (tired), has been working all day and is still tired.

[FunkyTuba]

So apparently marten is aware of the 4th wall or has a serious case of synesthesia

Actually, it's the fifth wall (the ceiling).

Jeph has used words as emotion signifiers before:
http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1841
http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1947

But yes, I think this may be the first time a character has noticed... I like the effect it has.

[Akima]

A good example would be the Chinese actress Vivian Wu.  Given how much acting she's done in Western films and TV I'm surprised she was never convinced to get breast implants by some slick talking agent.

Err ... I dont know her, but google gives me the pictures of a really busty asian woman when I search for that name ?!?

Regardless of her actual build, those are carefully posed glamour photographs. Consider by contrast a still from one of her recent movies, or this shot with her husband, where she's not so carefully packaged for the male gaze .  Vivian Wu (邬君梅 Wu Junmei) is one of my favourite actors (I will admit partly because she comes from my home town).  I've seen as many of her films as I can get hold of, even the awful stinkers like The Guyver...

I have certainly made waving gestures to echo dismissing depressing or intrusive thoughts. I don't think I've actually talked to them but it's a good visual punchline.

[Yarin]

Doomed

[EcoReck]

Oh great.

Starting to see co-dependent marten all over again. I don't like this

We're even starting to see the baggy eyes that we've had for more than a hundred comics again!

[themacnut]

Yep, Marten and Padma are officially over, and I think he knows it. Like I said before, when someone you're seeing starts cancelling dates and making up excuses why they can't see you, it's the beginning of the end. Next Marten won't even be able to get her on the phone anymore...

[Akima]

Alas. But where did the bomb come from? Does the explosion at the end mean that Jeph followed Chekhov's rule?

[Kugai]

Yay!  Marten's back!  



Now all we need to make it complete is for Padma to confess she's been calling him from LA and the circle will be complete.


Is that the Ceti Alpha V rule Akima?

[Skaltura]

Alas. But where did the bomb come from?

It's Upshot-Knothole Grable.

/nerd 

[themacnut]

Yay!  Marten's back!   



Now all we need to make it complete is for Padma to confess she's been calling him from LA and the circle will be complete.

That would not surprise me in the least. Of course, this assumes Marten will even hear it from Padma-if she's already in LA, it'll be easy for her to screen his calls from here on out and he'll have to hear it from one of the staff of tSB when he goes there looking for her (and you KNOW he will).

For an extra twist of the knife, the news will come from Renee, who will of course make no attempt to soften the blow, and will probably even throw in a "townie loser" insult or two in there to make it really sting.

[WAYF]

Now THIS is getting weird. Wasn't Padma the one who suggested that she could stay for a while longer? And now she's postponing all their dates in a suspicious really-really-reminds-me-of-this-comic kind of way?

Did we have a major time-skip that I didn't notice?

So, Marten might chalk it up to Happy Relationship Paranoia again... or it might be Herpes Results: Positive this time.
But I think you're right, themacnut, Marten knows he's in trouble this time.

Either way, I'm pretty sure he'll do his very best to salvage the situation, even if it's un-salvageable, cause that's the kind of guy he is.
Hopefully this doesn't mean he'll move to LA...

[Tova]

The schadenfreude in here is a little suffocating.

[Vista]

This kind of comic makes me suddenly dislike Marten.  Before, I'd always been pretty okay with him.  Suddenly...dislike.
But why?  I can't put my finger on it.

[Taigan]

Who else was so distracted by Padma's ass in panel 4 that you didn't notice what Marten was doin?

[purple.platypus]

So apparently marten is aware of the 4th wall or has a serious case of synesthesia

Actually, it's the fifth wall (the ceiling).

Jeph has used words as emotion signifiers before:
http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1841
http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1947

But yes, I think this may be the first time a character has noticed... I like the effect it has.

Faye once sassed Angus so hard the word "SCORN" physically hurled him out of CoD. (It was one of the same strips with a background cameo by Sweet-Tits.)

[ElvisRevenge]

Who else was so distracted by Padma's ass in panel 4 that you didn't notice what Marten was doin?

*quietly raises hand*

But to be fair, she's got a DYNAMITE ass.

I'll just let that hang.

[Method of Madness]

I didn't notice it OR Pintsize's panic.  Both awesome things to notice.

[haikupoet]

You know, if this turns out to be exactly what it looks like, I'll be very disappointed in Jeph for spending most of a week leading up to the blatantly obvious.

[Schmorgluck]

My take on the whole situation:
Padma told Marten this couldn't last long, let's make in fun while it lasts. She probably meant it at the time. Marten was a bit mopey about it at first, but finally decided to go with the flow for the sake of fun. In order to be able to do so, he wrestled himself into a new, more care-free, state of mind. This made him even more oblivious than usual. And completely miss that Padma's feelings have evolved.

[Kugai]

You know, if this turns out to be exactly what it looks like, I'll be very disappointed in Jeph for spending most of a week leading up to the blatantly obvious.

Why do you think he's come down here for a holiday   

[snubnose]

Poor, poor Marten !!

Poooooooooooooooooooooooooooooorrrrr Marten !!!

A good example would be the Chinese actress Vivian Wu.  Given how much acting she's done in Western films and TV I'm surprised she was never convinced to get breast implants by some slick talking agent.

Err ... I dont know her, but google gives me the pictures of a really busty asian woman when I search for that name ?!?

They look natural to me.

That was my point.

A good example would be the Chinese actress Vivian Wu.  Given how much acting she's done in Western films and TV I'm surprised she was never convinced to get breast implants by some slick talking agent.

Err ... I dont know her, but google gives me the pictures of a really busty asian woman when I search for that name ?!?

Regardless of her actual build, those are carefully posed glamour photographs. Consider by contrast a still from one of her recent movies, or this shot with her husband, where she's not so carefully packaged for the male gaze .  Vivian Wu (邬君梅 Wu Junmei) is one of my favourite actors (I will admit partly because she comes from my home town).  I've seen as many of her films as I can get hold of, even the awful stinkers like The Guyver...

I have certainly made waving gestures to echo dismissing depressing or intrusive thoughts. I don't think I've actually talked to them but it's a good visual punchline.

Well ok, that really doesnt look too busty.

Oh great.

Starting to see co-dependent marten all over again. I don't like this [...]

Yeah, that guy loves a woman. Cant have that. Shoot him ! Not cool enough for the 21. century.

This kind of comic makes me suddenly dislike Marten.  Before, I'd always been pretty okay with him.  Suddenly...dislike.
But why?  I can't put my finger on it.

He has feelings for a woman. What man ever had that ? Cant have that. Nonono ! Just not cool.

[vsonics]

I'm hoping that because this has happened to Marten before he doesn't let it go without a fight this time.

Because the moral of this story is that they need to get together and Talk About Feelings.

[idontunderstand]

Dude should just man up and talk to her about it. It's pretty clear she's trying to cut the strings before it gets too late and too painful.

[Carl-E]

Definitely time for a face-to-face.  The phone thing ain't workin', no matter who's doing the calling. 

[themacnut]

Hopefully she's still in town. If Kugai's right and she's already left, then the face-to-face won't work either...

[ilikefishfood]

*sob*

[Dr. ROFLPWN]

DAT AVOIDANCE

DAT VICKI 2.0

You know, if this turns out to be exactly what it looks like, I'll be very disappointed in Jeph for spending most of a week leading up to the blatantly obvious.

So am I. I really would rather not see this become just Marten Fucks Up Again. Shit would be lame.

[Satan]

Did anyone else hear the Metal Gear alert sound in their heads?

[pwhodges]

The title is "Time flies"; the first few panels are all different days (change of clothes).  It could be that Marten is counting down to the suggested Friday hookup, or it could even be that they have been meeting during the passing time and we have now come to the end of her extension.  Either way, the really ominous thing is not that she has cancelled, but that no date has been suggested for the next meeting.

[Faeyas]

The following is intended to be funny:

Martin, please meet David Pollock's "Normal transition cycle".

Padma, despite knowing she was leaving got INVOLVED with you (State one)
However since she is nearing her departure she is now in the LEAVING stage (Stage two), where we being to loosen emotional ties. Normally this happens on BOTH ends but you, I believe, are in denial.
When Padma enters the TRANSITION phase she will have her head full of packing/moving. At which point I hope you have caught up and either decided to not let her transition without you (which would be chaotic for you) or you have entered the leaving phase at least.

Unless you leave with her the last two phases don't involve you and really, at that point, you are not a huge part of her life anymore. Now don't you wish you spent less time being a sick puppy dog and more time transitioning normally?

Sincerely,

Me.

[TheBiscuit]

My take on the whole situation:
Padma told Marten this couldn't last long, let's make in fun while it lasts. She probably meant it at the time. Marten was a bit mopey about it at first, but finally decided to go with the flow for the sake of fun. In order to be able to do so, he wrestled himself into a new, more care-free, state of mind. This made him even more oblivious than usual. And completely miss that Padma's feelings have evolved.

If her feelings have 'evolved' then why does she seem to not want to see him at the moment? Because he's acting too casual about the whole thing?

[TinPenguin]

Yay for Pintsize-trying-to-destroy-the-world shenanigans

[Mr. Doctor]

A good example would be the Chinese actress Vivian Wu.  Given how much acting she's done in Western films and TV I'm surprised she was never convinced to get breast implants by some slick talking agent.

Err ... I dont know her, but google gives me the pictures of a really busty asian woman when I search for that name ?!?

They look natural to me.

That was my point.

Ah lols, I thought you implied the opposite.

[snubnose]

Yay for Pintsize-trying-to-destroy-the-world shenanigans

Looks like just some explosives.

A doomsday machine would be much more than just that.

[AnAverageWriter]

Just an everyday week in Marten's life... thinkin' bout Padma, playin' the guitar, preventing the deadly explosion of a pack of TNT...