[Camp Comic] Tuesday, November 10, 2015 - Leftovers

Dog

[Camp Comic] Tuesday, November 10, 2015 - Leftovers

Leftovers

http://campcomic.com/comic/262

Read the full story here

HochDeutsch

Uh-oh...

ZealousChristian24

Poor kid looks on the verge of snapping. And what's up with that flashback? Did the dad not tell her he was married before, or was she mad she hadn't "won him over" or what?

Dublin

@ZealousChristian24ZEALOUSCHRISTIAN24 All of the above! Some people just can't deal with their loved ones past relationships.

Whapow

@ZEALOUSCHRISTIAN24 I'm sure he knew about the marriage, considering he has a son.

briguy

I think you're missing the important part: they have chicken ramen!
I'm fond of the spicy chicken ramen myself.

omegablue

The stepmom can't deal with the "I'm not her" or dad has got in deeper with married tail than he should have.

mesondecay

Man... I can just hear the Hitchcock orchestral score crescendo as it all comes to a climax. Wonderful weight on the storytelling, Katie!

TrueLink

I wonder if more kids tales are going to be told in longer complex arcs like this.

Roymaster45

I mean, let's be honest, Fred - it probably wasn't the best idea to show your dad the picture of your mom, while the new girlfriend is sitting RIGHT NEXT TO HIM.

Also, the last two panels are gold.

Ajguy

Nice shirt there, Fred. :P

viking099

She's no longer a girlfriend, but a fiancée. Check the bling out in panel 6.

Satsumomo

So I guess he was sent to camp because he was a bitter memory of his past marriage.

Bluestorm83

It seems to me that the new fiancee isn't secure enough with herself to get over that he'd had a past marriage... or clever enough to use that as a way to be there for both father and son, thus cementing herself into their lives as the giving, caring woman who did anything she could to make them smile again.

Dumb, triflin' hoes, man.

Also, dad should probably be rolled up into a carpet and tossed off a bridge.

CheddarLimbo

When Fred brings out the photo the Dad is smiling while looking at it. Perhaps even remembering her fondly. I think THAT is what sets off the new fiance.

Whether or not Fred's mom is dead/missing/divorced, New Fiance is insecure about it, and Fred is a constant reminder of that. Given the option of being single again, I'm guessing Dad dumps Fred at Weedonwantcha.

As a single father this is a particularly stressful comic. Damn it, Katie...

briguy

Tanner... Don't give him the knives.

plato360

@viking099 Good catch, I totally missed the bling.

I'm not quite sure what Fred is trying to tell dad by showing him the baby picture and apron, but I think it's clear Fred isn't ready to move on. Which upsets the new Fiance, because it means he hasn't accepted her.

Perhaps this becomes a story of Fred continually sabotaging his Dad's relationships (I've known a few kids that did this) and the Dad realizes Fred will never let him move on to someone else, that's why he sends him to camp.

And yes, Roymaster45, last two panels are gold. Everybody loves some chicken ramen!

thebookishgurl

Tick tock, goes the clock,
picture in the attic,
And tick, tock, by the clock:
look where it has landed him.

DimensionalScreams

I can't believe I only just made this connection.
Orange sweater, black pants. It's Layton, you guys.

hajen

things that make you go hmm. two observations:

1. the adults in Fred's flashback today have no eyes; has he started to dehumanize them in his mind?

z(ed): insecure, not-quite-making-the-grade, soon to be Fred's #2 mom is a demon/ fire breathing dragon? Fred enhances her silhouette with one memorable feature in his flashback.

cubbylostboy

I'm probably naive as hell, but some thoughts of randomness: I'd really like to think that Fred's discovery of the picture and apron was serendipitous and that he was so excited about it that he wanted to share it with dad. (Incidentally, we're not sure how long this scene took place since the last flashback--maybe she's no longer girlfriend or fiance, but wife.) Red needs to get a grip. Supposedly she's a grown-up and Fred is a kid, one who suffered a great loss. Yeah, I'm thinking mom passed otherwise she'd have the apron which looks too big to have been Fred's. I'll reserve judgment on people rolled in rugs until we see how this plays out. *grin* Katie has enough twists that I can see Red or dad getting so incensed with the other that they do the ol' murder/suicide thing and Fred's new guardian, an 83 year old great aunt that's his only living relative, sends him to camp.

Cryptkicker

Well, it looks like I was wrong about why Fred's there. I was hoping ONE of these kids didn't have a completely bleak background. Damn.

WestIndianAgouti

I've always hated the fact that step-parents often seem to be the ones to mess things up for their step-kids, sometimes in the long run (especially in the case of the father-daughter dynamic). I don't wanna paint anybody with a broad brush, but it always happens. The Cinderella phenomenon continues to perpetuate itself all over the world, despite all the research done on the topic of neglect / abuse by step-parents towards their new kids or families. It's amazing how, in a few drawings, so much of the real world is reflected for our interpretation, and eventual, reluctant, acceptance. I can't speak from experience, as I've always had both parents, but the fact is that as long as the spectre of human selfishness and anorexic empathy continue to exist, it will thrive, especially in the realm of the average family.

P.S. I'm pretty sure Red could bring the leaders of Isis to tears.

DimensionalScreams

Maybe she just can't cook

olimay

Twist: Red is actually grown-up Cindy, the original child mascot for the fast food restaurant chain seen in #257, "Prep Time". (That's how they met?) She thought she would be fine getting involved with a widower, but the apron dredges up her traumatic childhood experiences with cooking, which she had just begun to overcome through extensive therapy.

Yazuki

@Westindianagouti: You are painting with a broad brush, though. There are plenty of step-parents who wind up having great relationships with their step-kids. My step-dad is one of them. I basically consider him my second dad, and that's even with the fact that I also have an amazing, loving biological father who I have a very close relationship to. What you have to remember, though, is that parenting is hard, but being a step-parent is even harder, because you're basically an interloper on a parenting dynamic that's already been established. You only have as much authority as the bio parent allows.

Failure for a step-family unit to thrive can have three points of failure: The bio parent, the step parent, and the kid. Sometimes the step parent just should have not dated someone with kids. Sometimes the bio parent doesn't help the step-parent integrate into the kid's parental unit, and doesn't stand by their partner when the kid disrespects or behaves badly to them. And sometimes the kid just flatly refuses all olive branches.

Phoenix1337

As a father, and one who had to deal with the break up of a marriage, I want to punch Fred's Dad. I want to punch him in his stupid face. I actually want to punch all the kids parents, now that I think of it. This one hits close to home though. It reminds me that everything I did to ensure my son didn't have to deal with this sort of situation was worth it.

WestIndianAgouti

@OLIMAY Ya know, that's actually not a bad theory at all :O

Tedd

First webcomic I've ever followed where the commentary is almost as good as the comic. Nicely done, as always, Katie and Adam - and, hat's off to the community for another thought-provoking discussion.

BTW, I'm really stoked to see how this recipe turns out and am planning to try it at home once its fully detailed. I've been saving up my potato peels, asparagus stalks and bread butts for the past three weeks in anticipation. Now I need to stop by the store on the way home tonight to pick up a few packs of chicken ramen.

briguy

Tedd wrote: »

First webcomic I've ever followed where the commentary is almost as good as the comic. Nicely done, as always, Katie and Adam - and, hat's off to the community for another thought-provoking discussion.

BTW, I'm really stoked to see how this recipe turns out and am planning to try it at home once its fully detailed. I've been saving up my potato peels, asparagus stalks and bread butts for the past three weeks in anticipation. Now I need to stop by the store on the way home tonight to pick up a few packs of chicken ramen.

That's awesome! I'm still waiting on that guy who said he was going to try the last Fredcipe. Though this one sounds better. Braver souls than I.

WestIndianAgouti

@YAZUKI I understand. I have no doubts about the strength of your relationship / bond with your step-parent, and I wish you , and others fortunate enough to be in your position all the best in life. However, let us not forget the tragedy of something bigger than either you or me. The plain and simple fact is that there are many cases where kids are constantly ignored or neglected in society, sometimes even right under our collective noses, and we don't see it (or maybe we choose not to). Children, by nature, possess a degree of innocence that even the greatest minds and the most moral adults seek to obtain, only to be dragged under by the cold miscarriage of expectation, and the conception of the zygote of futility. The question then arises, "Why, then, would anyone abandon, mistreat, abuse, or even exploit children?". The answer to that question is that there is no answer. No rationale. No deductive reasoning. No nothing. I cannot, myself, speak from personal experience, as I have only ever known love and caring. I have only ever known the warm embrace of the benefits of democratic right, and the kiss of the Caribbean sun, a reflection of the fact that I need not fear others due to my mixed race or creed. But yet, there are others who will never experience such joys in childhood. Others who will never believe in hope, their only illumination the street light they stand under waiting for their next customer. Their only toy the pistol they forcibly carry through the jungle. Their only education the school of hard knocks. Their only purpose for living ,the survival of others. Children need not suffer if we do what is right. We will never. But there is hope even in the darkest of places, the coldest of winters, the most furious of hells. That hope is hope itself. It is the belief of a few good people that will last forever and beyond. It shall last, because we are those children. We want to believe in Santa, or the Easter Bunny, not food stamps or Junkie parents. The joy of childhood , even if only in its weakest forms, shall last forever. Because Children are the future. And the future starts with you.

briguy

olimay wrote: »

Twist: Red is actually grown-up Cindy, the original child mascot for the fast food restaurant chain seen in #257, "Prep Time". (That's how they met?) She thought she would be fine getting involved with a widower, but the apron dredges up her traumatic childhood experiences with cooking, which she had just begun to overcome through extensive therapy.

This is now my headcanon.

pwn493

Based off the limited information about the adult's relationship in this comic, I think Fred's dad is probably the most responsible for this situation.

The one thing you never see Fred's dad do in these comics is actively care for others. First comic, he's being fed dinner made by Fred and his mom (maybe they just like cooking). Second comic, he is providing the bare minimum food for Fred and him to survive (hey, breakups are hard. He's depressed). Then Fred steps up and cares for his dad (awwwww). After that, Fred's dad is feeling better so he ... buys his son groceries so Fred can continue to provide for his dad (hmmmm), and not cook with Fred, like Fred's mom did (hmmmmm). Then Fred's dad brings Red home, who takes care of him and Fred without encouraging them to spend time cooking together even though Fred is clearly game for it (maybe Red is insecure about this situation).

Fights in romantic relationships are usually not about the thing that triggered it. I doubt that Fred showing Red a picture of his mom and an apron set her off. However, if Fred's dad pushed Red to occupy a caretaking role in his life while offering no reciprocity (which is exactly what he did to Fred), then I can imagine getting an extra push to fill in the empty spot left by Fred's mom rather than allowing Red to form her own relationship to this family would cause a big ol' argument.

The only time you see Fred's dad show any emotional warmth is when other people are caring for him, including his son. Fred is tuned in to his father's emotional state and needs, and Fred's dad is not tuned into Fred's needs at all. This is textbook partentification, and it is highly disfunctional.

Roymaster45

@Plato360: the chicken ramen certainly helps, but what really got me smiling is Fred's facial expressions. He has this strange look in the first panel like thinking about his past is getting him nervous/depressed/whatever, and then the second panel is just a complete 180.

Android 21 3/7

*lifts hiding rock just a smidge and peeks out from between fingers*
@WestIndianAgouti and anyone else who wants a tale about a good, sweet stepparent, google "The Horse Gullfaxi and the Sword Gunnfoder". True, the stepmother in the story is kinda implied to be a giantess or ogress in secret (she's got giantess/ogress sisters who want to eat her stepson), but if anything, that just makes me like her more.
*lowers rock*

AddHomonym

@PWN493
I like your analysis. It's true that Fred's dad, while not actively negative towards Fred, does not seem to be fulfilling his fatherly role very well. Losing a spouse is rough, but so is losing a mother. I would think that the loss of the wife should make the father more focused on Fred if only because he's the only remaining person in his life.

Hypersmurf

My initial reading of Red's reaction: when the apron originally disappeared, it was part of a "If we're going to do this, I want you to throw away all the mementoes of your first wife" ultimatum, and the Dad told Red that he'd done it.

So when Fred finds them stashed in the attic instead, it means that the Dad kept them, which to Red means that a/ he's a liar and b/ he's not over his first wife.

But then I figure he wouldn't smile in that case, so it must just be that she's upset the photo makes him smile.

AddHomonym

@Hajen
I think the lack of eyes is just an artistic thing along with the vignette and silhouettes in order to remove focus from from elements that could be distracting from the intended feel of the panels. The adults' mouths and body language convey everything necessary to understand what's happening, while keeping the focus on Fred.

briguy

Looking back, as the adults become more cruel we don't see any of their full faces. Colin's dad, Malachi's mom are obscured. We see Fred's dad, mom, and stepmom to begin with, but as it gets darker so do their faces. The only people who abandoned someone whose faces aren't obscured are Seventeen's siblings and they're kids. That's too consistent to not be deliberate.

It's always seems to cover the eyes. They say the eyes are the window to the soul...

I like long form story of how each of them ended up left behind. I hope we get more like this. It's sad, but I guess I see hope with their current situation. How they ended up there is interesting and gives insight into their character. But there is hope in how they pickup the pieces.

Tibxero

@briguy Fredcannon*

briguy

@Tibxero I'm ashamed I didn't think of that.