I've been wondering ...
... Jeph spent a long time living in a University-town, where students/academics mix with the
"people actually living here"/non-academics. And one function of Marten as a character is to represent the latter group (Marten completed college, right? Does that mean he has a Bachelor-degree? I admit that I don't really know how that compares to other education systems - Do you count as an 'egghead' with a Bachelors' degree?).
Maybe Marten simply doesn't realize the degree of exam-anxiety Claire is experiencing? Claire is a grad-student, and the exams she's study for are her Masters-exams, right? That's probably quite a different game to a Bachelor (can't really speak from experience - in my curriculum, Masters-equivalent was the lowest qualifying degree). Also, exams are a different game depending on whether you plan on staying in Academia or not - in the latter case, the exam-stress is compounded by
'having to find a job Arghfarblarguurrrggglll'-anxiety, and the knowledge that one chapter of your life is ending.
Background is that an acquaintance (we both live in a University town) recently complained to me that she sort of 'misses' not having done an advanced degree - not because she wants one, but because all her friends have, and she regrets not having that experience because she can't share with her friends.
Could be as simple as different life experiences.
I don't think that the recent stories have been that bad, but they feel a bit preachy, and I think it's because the "messages" of the stories, for lack of a better word, have been delivered 100% in the text. There's no subtext. But I wait in hope that we'll see a story with the same impact as the Faye and Bubbles storyline.
Hmm, not sure if I feel like the story arcs are preachy, I just feel that the narratives and conversations have felt somewhat unnatural. I felt this especially with the Faye/Sam/Jim arc, where some of it felt slightly off, kinda like Jeph was forcing the conversation in a way to suit the point that he was trying to make too much.
I wouldn't use 'preachy', either - but yes, recent arcs have been a
little bit 'exposition-heavy'. Though I guess that's simply a hazard of the format - a three-comic arc is 15 or so panels. Not much space left after he's crammed in the plot. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that Jeph first tried to do without the exposition, and then threw his hands up and hollered "Fine!".