Recent Comments

1. over 14 years ago on For Better or For Worse

   I don’t get it. So, what, she should stay inside with the curtains drawn all day and not take joy in the good weather with her kids when she can, just because her husband is at work? :/ She can’t allow herself to take a little time to relax if her husband isn’t there? What I’m getting from this is that John makes her feel very insecure about being a SAHM, and she feels like she can’t justify herself unless she’s scrubbing and cooking 24/7. This is unhealthy. John needs to respect her work, and she needs to be secure enough with herself to be able to take the time to stop and enjoy life. This is the first time we’ve seen her happy in a long time, and it shouldn’t be making her feel guilty.

2. over 14 years ago on For Better or For Worse

   Heh, even my mom (who had been a SAHM) thought this was just flat-out depressing. As she said, ” What happened to this comic? I don’t remember it being like this. I remember it being realistic but still overall positive. Has the artist just given up?” I didn’t really have an answer for her. ;)

3. over 14 years ago on For Better or For Worse

   lindz.coop,

   No, it’s a hallmark of poor storytelling. She may tell us that they have good relationship, but she doesn’t show us. Most of what she chooses to show us in the daily strips is negative behavior, regardless of how she chooses to describe it after the fact. Half the time these two act like they can barely stand or understand each other. How often do we see them happy? How often do they ever act like “best friends,” let alone a married couple? It’s like if an author says that character is the hero, but then only has the character do evil things; which is true? Your interpretation, or what the author tells you your interpretation should be? An author/artist’s job is to communicate. If she shows us a dysfunctional marriage but keeps telling us they are happy when they clearly aren’t, that is poor storytelling, not a fault of those who point out the disconnect between what we’re told and what we’re shown.

4. over 14 years ago on For Better or For Worse

   Well, yes, it’s very sweet, but it doesn’t really reflect the way we’ve seen either of them behave towards each other up until now. There’s the occassional moment of near-normalcy in their relationship, but so often they come across more like roommates rather than a married couple, let alone “best friends.” It’s not as heartwarming when it feels more like the author is just going, “See? They have a wonderful relationship because I SAY they do, not because I actually show it in their day to day interactions.” The author does seem to make their relationship more solid and believable later on, as I recall, but at this early point in the strip this kinda doesn’t ring true for these particular characters. ;)

5. over 14 years ago on For Better or For Worse

   She’s been shown as miserable and harried in every single strip in this birthday party arc. There was only one panel the other day where she smiled, but afterwards she went right back to complaining about herself and her problems. Maybe she’d be less stressed out if she tried to actually enjoy the moment, make pleasant memories, and maybe finally realize that just because something creates a little mess and takes a little effort doesn’t mean it’s a miserable burden. She’s so painfully self-centered; sure, she goes throught the motions, but in the process acts like it’s such a burden to have to spend time with or entertain her children (ie: complaining ahead of time about how much work it’ll be instead of showing any positive emotion about her daughter’s birthday; focusing on HER age and how old SHE feels instead of her daughter’s b-day; collapsing in a miserable heap afterwards. If it’s that big of a deal for her she should have asked her friends or husband to help, but she seems to prefer martyring herself needlessly instead). How utterly depressing.

6. over 14 years ago on For Better or For Worse

   I can understand if she’s worried about the amount of children she’s invited over, but the way this comic is structured it sounds like she’s mainly freaking out over having to provide a basic cake, celery w/cheese and simple sandwiches for the children & acting as though this is incredibly excessive. If she was planning an large amount of complicated food or crazy activities that would be one thing, but these foods are all easily assembled and she makes no mention of activities. Is providing simple snacks for her daughter’s birthday really that much of a hardship? Yeah, it will take a little effort, but just because you have to put a little work into something doesn’t mean it has to be a stress-inducing misery-fest. Sheesh, Elly, just enjoy your daughter’s birthday for goodness sake, and stop defining the quality of every interaction with your children by how much work it means for you.