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49 thoughts on “#656 – that’s too bad”
diloolie
EVE!! I have never loved you more than I do now.
Yotomoe
I'VE GOT IT. All of Hana's highness just…transferred into Eve.
streever
This is like the Luminaries!
redearth18
oh god… it's not a dead body is it?
Nick
Oh, God. You sprained my mind.
TRA
It's a NEW BOYFRIEND wrapped in a big-butt blunt wrapper!
Heh, heh! I LOVE Eve. I love her bizarre sense of humor. 🙂
Bonnie
I just love Eve haha, she’s got an innocent charm that she pulls off so smoothly. and dang Meredith, you write little habitual expressions I wouldn’t even think of, “fucking tape” just as a response to self. it’s fucking ingenious and so subtle and creates and even deeper realism. love it love it
Diana
Oh Eve. You're trying so hard, and that is so sweet. :,D
Shiba
Lol watching eve's transformation from the curmudgeonly straight-man to the wackiest character of the bunch is great.
cvanide
I love Eve, i feel like this is the only way I could even imagine approaching the problem
Ereb
yeah, but no. Eve is getting annoying to me in these story arcs- she reacted so …cute?/comical/self-centered to everything. I hope that's also a point in this story aside from Hanna's development, so Eve will have to sober up, take this serious and help Hanna.
gc.
Ah, took longer than usual this time for the first comment-as-sermon-on-life-and-how-to-live-it to arrive. "…so Eve will have to sober up, take this serious [sic]…" You mean like she demonstrably was on the phone two pages ago. "…help Hanna…" You mean like Marigold tried to two several pages previous to that with the result of getting her head bitten off.
Erb
nope. don't even ascribe "sermoning how to live life" to me. I'm criticising it as a moment in a story. I was /totally/ along for the ride up until recently. I agree that Marigold couldn't help Hanna because she wouldn't let her, but Eve is really playing it down here- and not just to lighten the mood! Yeah, she was on the phone two pages ago, but she fell asleep just afterwards- with a dream sequence that implies that this story is also about /Eve/, her fears/feelings and her behaviour.
Even other people commented on how Hanna's and Eve's roles got almost reversed compared to the start. This is part of a bigger development: showing Hannah's problems and her controlling character, Eve connecting better with others and getting more optimistic. However Eve always kept a thoughtful/cynical side; I think it's an integral and enjoyable attribute of hers- but now she's been very easy-going and a "naive" comic relief since the time Hannah showed signs of stress/couldnt get high anymore. Just remember her conversation with Marek's parents "oh love will find a way!" or right now just making HUGE ASS BLUNT jokes in a situation that is indeed overwhelming, but where Hanna might profit from her insights or some tough love (something Eve was able to give just a few arcs ago).
It's too much for me now, too much comic relief and cute/funny "chibi" Eve. I really enjoy this side of her in a certain dose, but not this time. My first post aired my frustration maybe too simple, but there you go, your rude tone motivated me to elaborate 😛
(who knows, maybe that serious talk is just around the corner on the next page).
gc.
"(who knows, maybe that serious talk is just around the corner on the next page)"
Who knows, maybe we should proceed with the assumption that Gran knows what she's doing, including knowing when and if to write that "serious talk," and stop saying what "has" to happen in a chapter before it's over, as if this were a brand new comic by an author without a track record.
jessica z
everyone is entitled to their opinion without getting their head bitten off. that includes the comic and it's commentators. please don't argue if someone is expressing their opinion. Taking it for face value and move on.
gc.
Sure, everyone is entitled to her opinion. And likewise, everyone is entitled to her opinion OF that opinion.
Erb
maybe you should stop talking in third person plural
HelpfulGoat
pretty sure that's second person plural…
gc.
Actually, it's first person plural ("we").
erb
thanks. maybe gc should stop talking in second person plural
Vitz
But it's a comic, She's acting comical because it's a comic and It's supposed to be lighthearted and funny sometimes, maybe more often than not. There's a lot of drama and growth in it too, and maybe next page you'll see it come together more, but they don't need to always do what would be the right thing in real life.
Erb
yeah, but it's too much for me, right now. It has nothing to do with what would be "right" in real life and everything with how I subjectively see Eve's character.
I already said that I hope/actually believe this will come together.
This story arc is also about Eve (s. dream sequence), so there's more to her behaviour right now than just lighthearted fun- in my opinion.
channamasala
I am pretty sure she didn't fall asleep after being on the phone, that was her awake mental state – that sort of "whooshing" dreamworld feeling when everything around you is changing dramatically quickly.
@catinunderpants
i dunno, i think this shows how desperate eve is 🙁 i mean… she lives with hannah, she's been feeling the tense atmosphere every single time she's home, ALL THE TIME. tension aside, they're friends and they've been through some shit together. sometimes people act weird as a desperate attempt to make things better for their friends, even if that "sometimes" lasts a bit longer than it should.
nerd
It's called breaking the ice, yo. It looks like Eve got her a mattress, so she'll have somewhere to sleep and relax, but if she jumped right into serious attempts to help, she'd probably get her face bitten off.
streever
I think it makes more sense to read Eve's actions as an attempt to reach Hanna, perhaps the only way that Hanna can be reached right now. Straight-forward concern hasn't seemed to help.
I've been in a spot similar to where Hanna seems right now (emotionally), and I loved my clownish friends more than ever than, for keeping up their cheer and goofiness. It isn't what everyone wants, but I think it's about the only way we've seen Hanna be reached yet.
I think you are missing Eve's real development, some of which is on display here; her tendency to over-analyze everything and be too serious was a real character flaw, and one that has held her back throughout the comic. Her unwinding and approaching Hanna on Hanna's own level indicates that she is finally starting to learn how to let go and not be so controlled.
She has shown some insensitive behavior as well; I just think it is a mistake to conflate that with what she is doing here.
hatsface
it's not a giant blunt it's a giant sausage
Swauger
Cheech and Chong would be proud.
Josh
"What?"
"It's a spliff."
"Oh."
jon
C'mon, Hannah, give it a try… it might be good?
Robert
Anyone remember the Octopus Pie mini-strip, "Da Byggyst Blunt"?
level9chao
That was a pretty good blunt.
WinterWren
Oh no. It's gonna be an Ikea mattress to replace Marek's, isn't it? Oh no.
nana
the more I wonder about it, the more likely this seems, and the more nervous I become.
Bonnie
dude you called that !
Jesse G.
Totally called it!
The_Skullivan
After reading this comic for so long it is super disconcerting to see Eve being the happy-go-lucky goofball and Hannah being the existential grump.
Dell
Well…Eve DID have a pretty good teacher.
I like how Eve has taken what she's learned from Hanna and Marek and applied it practically into her life. It shows growth, and a sincerely open mind.
Jimmy
I really hope it's growth and not mere self-delusion. It seems like Eve meditates a lot on her various insecurities (e.g., her ex-boyfriend, the job that wasn't good enough for Jacob of all people) but doesn't do much to address them.
Delerious1
This made me laugh harder than I've laughed all month.
Aris
Ditto!
@catinunderpants
awww eve honey 🙁 you're trying so hard… i just hope she doesn't get the same treatment as marigold.
Josh
"Fucking tape" cracked me up by the way, that's just about the funniest aside during a beat that I've seen in a while.
MerchManDan
Heh. If you place your mouse pointer under Eve's last line, the alt text says "that's too bad" in response to her saying "It's not ACTUALLY a blunt!"
juilet delta
My guess: Olly's Unsaleable Surprise.
Sarah
Maybe it's one of those boyfriend body pillows with a cute bishie on it.
I can only hope
streever
The timing here is priceless; I have to resort to my question, "Why isn't this a TV show?"
Kate
Maybe Eve is playing the goof for Hanna's sake and her internal voice is going "If this doesn't work we're all doomed."
Also I don't feel like this is completely new behavior for Eve. Yes, she is a lot more at ease in social situations and better at relating to people etc, but there have been little moments like this in almost every story arc where she's awkwardly tried to make jokes to alleviate tension (or seem super-confident) and it's come off a bit wrong.
That or she's finally cracked.
Let's see, shall we???
@undefined
DA BIGGEST BLUNT