Man, the characters in Octopus Pie don't often get to have exactly what they want. But if there's gonna be a pure moment of happiness and fulfillment, I'd want it to be with these two.
I hope it's that and not "Mar has been daydreaming and none of this actually happened" because I will cry.
Arianod
That wouldn't explain the bills falling on the floor. This is obviously Mar telling Eve and Marek and him being so surprised he forgets to catch the money as it comes out.
Ah awesome juxtaposition, shocking the audience with Marek's sudden arrival when Eve/Marek are being shocked with Mar's telling htem about her relationship (and sexual uh… rerouting?). Well played!
I love this comic! This strip kind of made my day, it's been such a dark and cold day here, now I've got a warm fuzzy feeling inside instead. So glad to be a patreon.
Oh my god I love everything about this!
Wow wow wow!!
But I'm not sure I understand the change of scenery here…is it supposed to be a flash-forward to when Marigold's telling them the story? Because it doesn't seem like they've already been talking for a while or anything…
Also, panel # 10= the most heart-warming thing I've seen in a while. Panel # 15 is…WOWZERS.
excellent EXCELLENT everything is excellent and nothing hurts. I cried. People stared. Fuck it all cos everything is excellent now, that was beautiful. THE COLOURS!!!!!
That's an HBC Point Blanket, they've been around since 1780 when they were traded for pelts in Canada. The legit ones are made of super-scratchy nasty-ass wool, though I think you can get them in softer versions these days.
I've been reading your comic since about late 2007 or early 2008. Over those years I've had more than a few comics which have touched me personally. This one though, this one mirror my relationship with my wife pretty darn well. It is not only beautiful, technically supreme, but personally poignant.
I rarely post, but this page was truly one of the best I've seen yet, bravo. Jane is a fascinating character, especially in juxtaposition with Marigold. The subtlety of your expressions are incredible as well. Thanks for making such an amazing work!
Okay, this is definitely going to be an unpopular opinion here, but I see Mar breaking Jane's heart. She has a tendency to give herself entirely into relationships, and become very attached, and probably very quickly. This new sexuality could be a phase, a new way for her to gain an identity, which, yes, she has been making strides in, but still. Mar has been a pretty fragile person. She may not intend to, but this could easily just be something she's decided she's committing to before fully understanding it or considering, and that doesn't have to do with Jane being a woman, though if it was the basis, would REALLY make some tense pages. I'd like to be wrong, but remember, drama makes a story. So everyone thumb me down.
And excellent work with the negative space. It really emulates the feeling that they're all that matters to each other that very moment.
I want it to turn out, because these pages have been so lovely and real. I have to admit I’m a little concerned about Mar looking off and to the side during these intense moments, and tucking her hair back. Can’t tell if bashful out reserved out something else.
I really love the blanket here, and how everything else in the background fades away.
yeah, I hear you. So far this reads to me like Marigold taking a risk, because she never really considered being with a woman. Sometimes risks work out! But, sometimes they don't. Risks are still worth taking, I think (and you seem to think so too, since you hope it will work out).
But, um, hey — Mar is trying out sex early in the relationship! I hope that helps her figure out soon if she's bisexual, or bi-romantic heterosexual.
To be honest, I'm more worried about Jane breaking Mar's heart. She's really afraid of opening up, and I'm worried that something will happen, or she'll get upset about something or whatever, and not tell Mar, and it will keep building until it blows up in a crappy way.
That said, she *has* been really brave with sharing her feelings with Mar lately, so I have hope!
I just don't want Mar to suffer another awful awful verbal beatdown like she did with Hanna. Those can really mess a person up.
I agree. I identify with Mar, and I actually could see myself doing this – even as I genuinely loved my girlfriend regardless of gender. Knowing myself, she could change while getting out of the honeymoon stage and into real life… or, perhaps, once she felt attraction to a man again… who knows? It's not a good way to be, but it's a way nonetheless. I'm rooting for Mar on this one no matter what.
I'm with you. I was really rooting for Mar and Jane on this page until Marigold dropped that L-Bomb, and I immediately went into "Oh Dear Jesus No" mode. Granted, Jane responded in kind (thankfully!), so it could just be that I'm a cynical a-hole. All I know is, I'd have some pretty serious concerns about someone telling me they loved me on the second date–no matter HOW head-over-heels I may be for them. But maybe their previous friendship has allowed them to get to know each other on a more intimate level where those sort of admissions would be appropriate (as opposed to people who don't know each other very well before the begin dating)? Oh hell, I don't know. I still hope it works out for them, but I'm feeling trepidation rather than warm fuzzies, unfortunately. 🙁
Of course, ambiguity like this is one of the things that make me love this comic so very much.
This is just as good as art gets. Tears, warm and fuzzies, sudden joy and rolling around laughter in the course of a minute? There's not much else that creates an experience like that, let alone something so accurate, honest, real even while so minimalist and abstract. I had a breakup the other night that felt white and wavy like that, unnaturally large and separated from the physical world but with bodies curved outward, not inward like they are here.. I'm not a visual person but felt like that sensation should be illustrated, and it's incredible to see such a good illustration of it but in such a happier context. "Thank you" feels like an empty phrase but I do really, really treasure your work.
Aww, there goes my faint hope that Octopus Pie was going to turn into a very tasteful and charming porn comic.
More seriously, I read panel 8 and immediately thought "oshit Marigold said 'I love you' on the SECOND DATE, she is WAY TOO INTENSE and has just RUINED EVERYTHING with OBSESSIVE AWKWARDNESS." But apparently that was the right thing to say! It's a good reminder that every rule can be broken if you read the situation properly.
Yeah, the strip is beautiful, but maybe the minimalism / "floatiness" of the blanket represents the fact that they're in their own world here, their vulnerability, and in the glowing start of a relationship – but what's going to happen when the real world hits? I'm rooting for them.
This all hits so close to home, because I recently fell in love with a Jane. and it happened fast, and everything about this comic is just insaneygood and I cant handle it. OP4eva
The entire arc of Jane and Marigold has been really weird for me, because to me Jane always just seemed weirdly obsessed with Mar–not in love. That being said, I wouldn't say no to a happy relationship in this comic! It would be great if things worked out for them.
I love this page!
Eve and Marek seem to be oriented wrong to be looking at Mar that way! The second to last panel should be mirror-flipped (or the other way around).
Dunno. Page composition in this comic is usually very well thought off, and I can see two good things about doing it this way:
1- the reader's eyes go fluidly right to left and top to bottom, from Mar and Jane in the panel above down through Eve's head and to the last panel and Eve's head again. The diagonal patch of sunlight on the wall in the last panel helps.
2- just like the reveal takes Eve and Marek off guard, the disconnect between the two panels takes us off guard.
Yeah, that's what confused me a little bit on the transition as well – in addition to the wavy frame on the last panel. It makes it uncertain whether it's a daydream or imagining.
Man, the art has really stepped up lately. At the same time, what we're actually getting from it is an endless saccharine love story with this comic's two least likeable, least interesting characters (in which they overcome the flaws which were their only hint of depth). Can this plotline please be over – or can we at least be done with the part where we get force-fed splenda?
I wonder how many people in the friend circle of the OP cast have gone through a process of coming out as something or other, perhaps as opposed to having been out from the beginning. (And/or how many have observed a possibly distinct-if-related process,where sebody said “so I’m in a gay relationship. I didn’t see it coming either!”)
Assuming Mar just told Eve and Marek about Jane and her, it’ll be interesting to watch how much “prelude to joy” there is in that [beat], and how much “[crickets chirping/system error].” (Betting on more of the former, to be sure).
Not least because Mar looks like she might be a little unsure of/waiting on(?) their responses, herself. Wonder if they’re the first she’s told?
I dont really get what the problem is, with saying "I Love you" too soon. Hasn't this arc been about getting over their impulses to "be cool" and defensive, and to let down some walls and be honest about having feelings? And yes, that was incredibly corny. But if you feel it, you should say it. its better to know, than not. If you aren't on the same page you can deal with it then. but there's nothing wrong with it, inherently. If it doesn't work out, that's life.
I came back after reading this to say I really appreciate everything you've done for this comic all of these years. The fact that you've kept up with it so consistently, that you've kept if relevant, that you're always pushing your art.
I have always envied your style and sense of story. It's taken me a painful amount of time and growth to turn that envy into inspiration for me to create my own stories. You have given me the motivation to be my own artist. So just know that you're really making a difference in the comic community and thank you for doing so.
83 thoughts on “#844+ – what was I saying”
Yammy
Yup, this is definitely love between two people that know what disappointment is.
JustDandy
I want to upvote this but it's still at +69
Nick
That's… Marek?
Will
Holy crap I think that is!
aleksi
And he's making it raaaaaaain
Pooglio
Marek, you are the guacamole in the already exciting and beautiful burrito that is this page.
@EightHeadedBoy
wh-
what
what's about to happen
Lee
Man, the characters in Octopus Pie don't often get to have exactly what they want. But if there's gonna be a pure moment of happiness and fulfillment, I'd want it to be with these two.
Also, Marek!! Hey buddy how's it going
Oliver
MAREK????
Will
I know that was my first thought!
Red Chase
MAREK!!!
Red Chase
sorry I'm just very excited about seeing my favorite character again
Arianod
MAREK 😀
@KlooKloo
Amazing. You're on another level, Gran. Every week I feel like Eve does here.
seann
Hahahahahaha. your friends know! They KNOW!
thatbrod
EVE!!!! MAREK??? MARIJANE~!!!!!!!! …..WILL????????
astrothestickman
The nose matches Marek's!! We're safe!
Yotomoe
Mar has been standing there, staring into space daydreaming about that moment for about 20 minutes. Eve is very concerned.
phatnes
I don't get that change of scene at all.
Pen
Marigold just told Eve and Marek. They are taken aback.
jamie
Mar is probably telling them about her and Jane.
greengeekgirl
I hope it's that and not "Mar has been daydreaming and none of this actually happened" because I will cry.
Arianod
That wouldn't explain the bills falling on the floor. This is obviously Mar telling Eve and Marek and him being so surprised he forgets to catch the money as it comes out.
Elisha
Ah awesome juxtaposition, shocking the audience with Marek's sudden arrival when Eve/Marek are being shocked with Mar's telling htem about her relationship (and sexual uh… rerouting?). Well played!
Jules
That is precisely where I went in my brain too! 🙂 Yaaaay!
Jennifer
omg haha this makes me so happy. Reminds me how my bf and I got together. It took a long time to happen, but when it did, the floodgates just opened~
notlegato
the minimalist colouring is beautiful- really makes 'em seem like in their own world.
also i totally felt that twinge of happiness you get from hearing "I love you". you tricked me, damn it!
Copycat
She came over to my place, we talked a bit, yada yada yada, I told my friend’s that I’m gay.
seann
A reveal SO SHOCKING Marek's forty dollars drift to the floor of the atm kiosk, unnoticed.
Arvid
I love this comic! This strip kind of made my day, it's been such a dark and cold day here, now I've got a warm fuzzy feeling inside instead. So glad to be a patreon.
Red Chase
MAREKKKKKKKK I MISS YOU
Matt
Love what you did with the point blanket stripes, very very cool!
Laura
Oh my god I love everything about this!
Wow wow wow!!
But I'm not sure I understand the change of scenery here…is it supposed to be a flash-forward to when Marigold's telling them the story? Because it doesn't seem like they've already been talking for a while or anything…
Also, panel # 10= the most heart-warming thing I've seen in a while. Panel # 15 is…WOWZERS.
NiceIdiot
excellent EXCELLENT everything is excellent and nothing hurts. I cried. People stared. Fuck it all cos everything is excellent now, that was beautiful. THE COLOURS!!!!!
robert
hottest thing ever
lfx
I live how blanket looks like. I want that blanket!
Glarb
That's an HBC Point Blanket, they've been around since 1780 when they were traded for pelts in Canada. The legit ones are made of super-scratchy nasty-ass wool, though I think you can get them in softer versions these days.
On a different note, I'm loving this comic.
Kholmes
http://www.thebay.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/e…
bay blanket 🙂
Woah
HOLY COW that’s a $300 blanket! GD Mar 😮
Dotcom
Given the size of the bed, it looks more like a $400-$500 blanket.
Woah
I take it back, with a bed that size its more like $400 x.x
Rachel
nah she probably knitted her own
grimmorrigan
I've been reading your comic since about late 2007 or early 2008. Over those years I've had more than a few comics which have touched me personally. This one though, this one mirror my relationship with my wife pretty darn well. It is not only beautiful, technically supreme, but personally poignant.
Thank you for this.
claywing
I rarely post, but this page was truly one of the best I've seen yet, bravo. Jane is a fascinating character, especially in juxtaposition with Marigold. The subtlety of your expressions are incredible as well. Thanks for making such an amazing work!
Granum
Eve's face is my face right now after reading this strip.
???
Okay, this is definitely going to be an unpopular opinion here, but I see Mar breaking Jane's heart. She has a tendency to give herself entirely into relationships, and become very attached, and probably very quickly. This new sexuality could be a phase, a new way for her to gain an identity, which, yes, she has been making strides in, but still. Mar has been a pretty fragile person. She may not intend to, but this could easily just be something she's decided she's committing to before fully understanding it or considering, and that doesn't have to do with Jane being a woman, though if it was the basis, would REALLY make some tense pages. I'd like to be wrong, but remember, drama makes a story. So everyone thumb me down.
And excellent work with the negative space. It really emulates the feeling that they're all that matters to each other that very moment.
I like this comic.
agent57
I want it to turn out, because these pages have been so lovely and real. I have to admit I’m a little concerned about Mar looking off and to the side during these intense moments, and tucking her hair back. Can’t tell if bashful out reserved out something else.
I really love the blanket here, and how everything else in the background fades away.
gonzostoy
No, it is in the realm of possibility. I think you make a good assuption here. I really hope it does not happen, but worry that it will.
Fish
yeah, I hear you. So far this reads to me like Marigold taking a risk, because she never really considered being with a woman. Sometimes risks work out! But, sometimes they don't. Risks are still worth taking, I think (and you seem to think so too, since you hope it will work out).
But, um, hey — Mar is trying out sex early in the relationship! I hope that helps her figure out soon if she's bisexual, or bi-romantic heterosexual.
Laura
To be honest, I'm more worried about Jane breaking Mar's heart. She's really afraid of opening up, and I'm worried that something will happen, or she'll get upset about something or whatever, and not tell Mar, and it will keep building until it blows up in a crappy way.
That said, she *has* been really brave with sharing her feelings with Mar lately, so I have hope!
I just don't want Mar to suffer another awful awful verbal beatdown like she did with Hanna. Those can really mess a person up.
Devon
I agree. I identify with Mar, and I actually could see myself doing this – even as I genuinely loved my girlfriend regardless of gender. Knowing myself, she could change while getting out of the honeymoon stage and into real life… or, perhaps, once she felt attraction to a man again… who knows? It's not a good way to be, but it's a way nonetheless. I'm rooting for Mar on this one no matter what.
oldjeangallagher
I'm with you. I was really rooting for Mar and Jane on this page until Marigold dropped that L-Bomb, and I immediately went into "Oh Dear Jesus No" mode. Granted, Jane responded in kind (thankfully!), so it could just be that I'm a cynical a-hole. All I know is, I'd have some pretty serious concerns about someone telling me they loved me on the second date–no matter HOW head-over-heels I may be for them. But maybe their previous friendship has allowed them to get to know each other on a more intimate level where those sort of admissions would be appropriate (as opposed to people who don't know each other very well before the begin dating)? Oh hell, I don't know. I still hope it works out for them, but I'm feeling trepidation rather than warm fuzzies, unfortunately. 🙁
Of course, ambiguity like this is one of the things that make me love this comic so very much.
@heglout
I missed Eve so much.
David
This is just as good as art gets. Tears, warm and fuzzies, sudden joy and rolling around laughter in the course of a minute? There's not much else that creates an experience like that, let alone something so accurate, honest, real even while so minimalist and abstract. I had a breakup the other night that felt white and wavy like that, unnaturally large and separated from the physical world but with bodies curved outward, not inward like they are here.. I'm not a visual person but felt like that sensation should be illustrated, and it's incredible to see such a good illustration of it but in such a happier context. "Thank you" feels like an empty phrase but I do really, really treasure your work.
Phasma Felis
Aww, there goes my faint hope that Octopus Pie was going to turn into a very tasteful and charming porn comic.
More seriously, I read panel 8 and immediately thought "oshit Marigold said 'I love you' on the SECOND DATE, she is WAY TOO INTENSE and has just RUINED EVERYTHING with OBSESSIVE AWKWARDNESS." But apparently that was the right thing to say! It's a good reminder that every rule can be broken if you read the situation properly.
Yellow
This is wonderful! I really like the vanishing contour lines.
Adam
Ugh
God damn it Marigold you two have been together for like 3 days
I’m already seeing how badly this is gonna end up
@tinatinabanana
They've been friends for much longer, though!
koerner
Yeah, really… I'm not so impressed either.
Devon
Yeah, the strip is beautiful, but maybe the minimalism / "floatiness" of the blanket represents the fact that they're in their own world here, their vulnerability, and in the glowing start of a relationship – but what's going to happen when the real world hits? I'm rooting for them.
Other
I need alllll the prints from this chapter and the last. *____*
Nick
I think this may be the best comic page i have ever read.
Arianod
I've spent the last fifteen minutes just reading and re-reading this page and giggling like an idiot 😀
Thank you once more, Mer and Val. You're seriously the best at webcomics, and getting better every time <3
bigfoot
They can make it work. Ya gotta belieeeevvveee
NemoProprius
Pure fucking genius!!! I love your art, Meredith!!
Joe
This all hits so close to home, because I recently fell in love with a Jane. and it happened fast, and everything about this comic is just insaneygood and I cant handle it. OP4eva
Diana
The entire arc of Jane and Marigold has been really weird for me, because to me Jane always just seemed weirdly obsessed with Mar–not in love. That being said, I wouldn't say no to a happy relationship in this comic! It would be great if things worked out for them.
ALSO MAREK YOUR MONEY
kevshaw9
I love this page!
Eve and Marek seem to be oriented wrong to be looking at Mar that way! The second to last panel should be mirror-flipped (or the other way around).
Arianod
Dunno. Page composition in this comic is usually very well thought off, and I can see two good things about doing it this way:
1- the reader's eyes go fluidly right to left and top to bottom, from Mar and Jane in the panel above down through Eve's head and to the last panel and Eve's head again. The diagonal patch of sunlight on the wall in the last panel helps.
2- just like the reveal takes Eve and Marek off guard, the disconnect between the two panels takes us off guard.
Devon
Yeah, that's what confused me a little bit on the transition as well – in addition to the wavy frame on the last panel. It makes it uncertain whether it's a daydream or imagining.
hey Marek's back
Man, the art has really stepped up lately. At the same time, what we're actually getting from it is an endless saccharine love story with this comic's two least likeable, least interesting characters (in which they overcome the flaws which were their only hint of depth). Can this plotline please be over – or can we at least be done with the part where we get force-fed splenda?
mudbrain
A whole new “…” …?
I wonder how many people in the friend circle of the OP cast have gone through a process of coming out as something or other, perhaps as opposed to having been out from the beginning. (And/or how many have observed a possibly distinct-if-related process,where sebody said “so I’m in a gay relationship. I didn’t see it coming either!”)
Assuming Mar just told Eve and Marek about Jane and her, it’ll be interesting to watch how much “prelude to joy” there is in that [beat], and how much “[crickets chirping/system error].” (Betting on more of the former, to be sure).
Not least because Mar looks like she might be a little unsure of/waiting on(?) their responses, herself. Wonder if they’re the first she’s told?
DefinitelyAnon
I dont really get what the problem is, with saying "I Love you" too soon. Hasn't this arc been about getting over their impulses to "be cool" and defensive, and to let down some walls and be honest about having feelings? And yes, that was incredibly corny. But if you feel it, you should say it. its better to know, than not. If you aren't on the same page you can deal with it then. but there's nothing wrong with it, inherently. If it doesn't work out, that's life.
Dell
I came back after reading this to say I really appreciate everything you've done for this comic all of these years. The fact that you've kept up with it so consistently, that you've kept if relevant, that you're always pushing your art.
I have always envied your style and sense of story. It's taken me a painful amount of time and growth to turn that envy into inspiration for me to create my own stories. You have given me the motivation to be my own artist. So just know that you're really making a difference in the comic community and thank you for doing so.
MCortland