"You're attributing the phrase "I rule here now" to a woman who is literally, physically, shaking? Katie's art seems to depict the woman as deeply upset and shaken, not triumphant at "ruling" over her new family. In fact, I suspect it is quite the opposite."
on the contrary, shes not so much shaking as she is arranging it so that it is the very center of the table, that it is the crown and mantle f the household, its her trophy illustrating she one, and she wants to make sure it is well seen, also see that poor Fred is nowhere in the photo, coming from someone who has ignored him since he got there, and tried to keep his dad all to herself it is clear shes behind that. shes not shaking in fear, but in joyful triumph
I do agree shame on the dad for being "whipped" but in today's society that's pretty much the norm....
I'm honestly a bit surprised at the comments here, most comics I've read that have this kind of ambiguous "villain" that's between a man or a woman usually devolve into sexist bigots yelling at each other. I haven't read all the comments but I'm impressed that I haven't seen that yet. Arguments sure, but with this kind of comic that's to be expected, and I kind of enjoy watching two people go at it when both sides are respectful, gets me thinking in new ways.
Don't ruin it for me guys, I'm liking the lack of vitriol here.
I don't think the dad is "whipped." She isn't a succubus. He decided he'd rather have Red as his wife than Fred as his son.
He made an awful, reprehensible decision.
We will have to agree to disagree. Those are clearly deliberate and exaggerated motion lines. Looks to me like trembling. If you are fully committed to viewing the woman as the villain of the piece however, then as I said, we will have to agree to disagree. You've made your feelings about women quite clear and I'm done with this unproductive discussion.
Now back to discussing the nature of the camp itself! I'm definitely leading towards "not entirely a real place". I do like the idea that it is inspired by the landscapes of the Pacific Northwest, given that Katie moved to that area for this comic. Also (and I might be biased here since I live in Seattle), I think that the PNW is one of the most spectacularly beautiful, and certainly most varied, parts of the US.
I don't think the fiancée/wife is trembling in the panel, I think it is merely putting the picture in place. The first panel has the same markings around Fred’s head as he is humming and walking back. If you want to really read into the drawing, you could say his dads shoulders looked slumped as he is walking Fred out the front door.
If you look at the last comic, the picture and apron are packed away in the attic to be forgotten and not mentioned about again. This kind of leans towards her setting certain criteria for their relationship.
Clearly the dad is at fault also, he is a willing participant in this notion of removing all of the past memories.
PSN id - kickyoass1
PaD id - 346,240,298
Marvel FF - Lil bill12
It's possible that Fred's dad lied to his new wife about what happened to his old wife - and we can only assume her fate, because she's suddenly just gone - and seeing the picture/apron contradicts his story. That would explain the argument and the removal of 'inconvenient' information. For all we know he's told her he's letting Fred stay with other relatives for the summer.
The only clearly evil part of this is that he leaves Fred completely alone at the camp gate - not even someone to meet them.
@KICK_04
That is a good argument about the motion lines. I just thought that the sheer number of lines would be overkill for what is normally a very small motion, and therefore they indicated some greater emotion. I would not assume however that the pictures were put away at the request of the new wife. The father may have done it on his own out of grief, or in a desire to prepare the house for the new wife before she arrived by removing any mention of his previous wife.
@GRAHAMWEST
I had wondered that actually! If the wife was upset because Fred's actions had inadvertently revealed that the father had lied about something.
Only things that are perfectly clear are the following.
1. Mom is gone, for SOME reason.
2. Dad was pretty bummed out about it for a while.
3. New girl in Dad's life. Tries to integrate her into the family.
4. Previous comic strip: Kid brings Dad a photo of mom. He smiles at it.
5. New girl does NOT.
6. New girl gets very very upset about it. She and Dad have a fight about it in the hall. Or at least some kind of distressed discussion.
7. Kid is being dumped from the family unit.
It doesn't matter whether it was the Dad's plan or the new girl's plan. Neither are free of blame from this awful decision to just dump a poor kid out in the middle of nowhere where there is no adult supervision whatsoever.
In a camp literally named to hammer home the fact that nobody wants them.
... sometimes I wonder if the kids are all dead, and the camp is sort of a metaphor for the afterlife...
Thinking about, I have other reasons that I don't think they're dead, but the main reason I don't want that to be their fate is because I want to see them rise above their circumstances.
I want them to take a world that has rejected them and come out on top or at least show that they deserve to exist.
As far as the dad just dropping him off at the gate alone, the camp 'counselor' (drawing a blank on his name) was forcefully thrown through the arch. He tried to grab hold of his dad and tore off the whistle. Why he was crying when Malachai stole it.
PSN id - kickyoass1
PaD id - 346,240,298
Marvel FF - Lil bill12
[...]out in the middle of nowhere where there is no adult supervision whatsoever. In a camp literally named to hammer home the fact that nobody wants them.
... sometimes I wonder if the kids are all dead, and the camp is sort of a metaphor for the afterlife...
My theory is that the campers are the lost innocence of children they embody.
There's a moment when one "grows up". At that moment, the childhood goes to Weedonwantcha while the person continues on to adulthood.
Why is there an argument about whether the Dad or Red is worse? The reality is that they are both terrible people who cannot have enough bad things happen to them. They are both scum. The Dad is also pathetic, because he has failed in his most fundamental duty. So he is not just a terrible human being, but also a pathetic failure.
God damnint Katie....the feels...:'(
And then the series ends and we find out the children all died from exposure after being dropped off at the Camp and they are just spirits and the Camp is really just purgatory and they all just haven't figured it out yet, like so much Lost?
My theory: He isn't actually the kid's DAD. But instead his step-father. The man who signed up to be with the mom and took the kid on as well. There were good times, but then she passed away. So the guy wants to move on, but the kid won't let him. The guy is a major dick(Everyone who sends the kids to this place is a monster, lets face facts), so he figures 'hey, not my kid, not my problem' and ditches him.
TBH I feel that the dad's GF overreacted to Fred bringing up his mother and that it was her idea to get rid of him. It's almost like she wants his dad all to herself.
I hate him. I'm a therapist and I've worked with families just like that. I worked with a kid whose mom resented the kid because the new spouse didn't like her. They didn't abandon her, but she was neglected in comparison to the new children they had together.
Well, that last panel was a change of pace. Since I posted two full paragraphs on the woman, I'm not gonna bother this time, let you decide how I feel from the last page, and save you the rant.
On a happier note, Tanner didn't decapitate anybody! I am honestly shocked to see that cutting his finger was all the damage he did.
Posts
on the contrary, shes not so much shaking as she is arranging it so that it is the very center of the table, that it is the crown and mantle f the household, its her trophy illustrating she one, and she wants to make sure it is well seen, also see that poor Fred is nowhere in the photo, coming from someone who has ignored him since he got there, and tried to keep his dad all to herself it is clear shes behind that. shes not shaking in fear, but in joyful triumph
I do agree shame on the dad for being "whipped" but in today's society that's pretty much the norm....
Don't ruin it for me guys, I'm liking the lack of vitriol here.
He made an awful, reprehensible decision.
We will have to agree to disagree. Those are clearly deliberate and exaggerated motion lines. Looks to me like trembling. If you are fully committed to viewing the woman as the villain of the piece however, then as I said, we will have to agree to disagree. You've made your feelings about women quite clear and I'm done with this unproductive discussion.
Now back to discussing the nature of the camp itself! I'm definitely leading towards "not entirely a real place". I do like the idea that it is inspired by the landscapes of the Pacific Northwest, given that Katie moved to that area for this comic. Also (and I might be biased here since I live in Seattle), I think that the PNW is one of the most spectacularly beautiful, and certainly most varied, parts of the US.
If you look at the last comic, the picture and apron are packed away in the attic to be forgotten and not mentioned about again. This kind of leans towards her setting certain criteria for their relationship.
Clearly the dad is at fault also, he is a willing participant in this notion of removing all of the past memories.
PaD id - 346,240,298
Marvel FF - Lil bill12
The only clearly evil part of this is that he leaves Fred completely alone at the camp gate - not even someone to meet them.
That is a good argument about the motion lines. I just thought that the sheer number of lines would be overkill for what is normally a very small motion, and therefore they indicated some greater emotion. I would not assume however that the pictures were put away at the request of the new wife. The father may have done it on his own out of grief, or in a desire to prepare the house for the new wife before she arrived by removing any mention of his previous wife.
@GRAHAMWEST
I had wondered that actually! If the wife was upset because Fred's actions had inadvertently revealed that the father had lied about something.
She's trembling.
1. Mom is gone, for SOME reason.
2. Dad was pretty bummed out about it for a while.
3. New girl in Dad's life. Tries to integrate her into the family.
4. Previous comic strip: Kid brings Dad a photo of mom. He smiles at it.
5. New girl does NOT.
6. New girl gets very very upset about it. She and Dad have a fight about it in the hall. Or at least some kind of distressed discussion.
7. Kid is being dumped from the family unit.
It doesn't matter whether it was the Dad's plan or the new girl's plan. Neither are free of blame from this awful decision to just dump a poor kid out in the middle of nowhere where there is no adult supervision whatsoever.
In a camp literally named to hammer home the fact that nobody wants them.
... sometimes I wonder if the kids are all dead, and the camp is sort of a metaphor for the afterlife...
I want them to take a world that has rejected them and come out on top or at least show that they deserve to exist.
As far as the dad just dropping him off at the gate alone, the camp 'counselor' (drawing a blank on his name) was forcefully thrown through the arch. He tried to grab hold of his dad and tore off the whistle. Why he was crying when Malachai stole it.
PaD id - 346,240,298
Marvel FF - Lil bill12
You're right! It really is like Neverland! I wonder how long some of those kids have been there.
My theory is that the campers are the lost innocence of children they embody.
There's a moment when one "grows up". At that moment, the childhood goes to Weedonwantcha while the person continues on to adulthood.
God damnint Katie....the feels...:'(
On a happier note, Tanner didn't decapitate anybody! I am honestly shocked to see that cutting his finger was all the damage he did.