I don’t get it. Where is the joke. (Seriously, I’m lost)
The link has extra panels and a comment from the artists that explains it more. This isn’t a joke so much as it is explaining their situation in a joking manner.
Amicable divorces are apparently funny?
I don’t know. It’s an odd one.
The joke is the absurd and funny statement, “ladies, my wife is single (and you should date her (implied))”. Basically they are best friends who broke up and now they are supporting the other dating by joking absurdity of the situation.
They’re married?
I guess they are acting right away instead of waiting for the paperwork to get sorted out.
Not really seeing this as a haha funny moment as much as it is two people who realize their marriage isn’t going to work out having a calm and rational discussion followed by being supportive of each other. Well, it isn’t long enough to show the passenger being supportive, but kind of assume they must be based on context.
Part of the humor comes from subverting the expectations. You might expect this kind of conflict- that one wants kids the other doesn’t, that one wants to change their gender expression into something the other doesn’t like- to cause conflict. Fighting. Anger.
Instead they just fully support each other.
Further, it subverts the mainstream possessiveness of partners. It’s very typical for people to be like “don’t be interested in my partner!” Or to be very uncomfortable with their ex seeing other people. Instead, this person is being very supportive of their person.
A lot of behavior in typical monogamous relationships is really shitty and selfish.
It’s not the funniest thing ever, but that’s how I see the mechanics of it working. Subverting some relationship expectations.
Comics don’t have to have a joke, they can just tell a story. This is a nice story of two people who care for and support each other in spite of discovering their selves and life goals don’t sync with continuing the original relationship. They manage to break up the romance with each feeling freed rather than dumped, so they can continue to be friends. Hopefully their eventual new partners will appreciate this.
Who would have thought that a thing called a “comic” would be funny?
It’s not like serious works of fiction using the same format would need a separate term like “graphic novel” or anything. That would never happen.
When I was a kid I asked my mom why Superman was in a comic book when he wasn’t funny. The answer is the same.
Yes, I’m sure your mother really has her finger on the pulse of nerd pop culture when it comes to nomenclature.
“I asked my mommy” isn’t exactly a compelling argument.
You can’t call something a graphic novel if it’s only one page long though, so what do you call it?
A shitty comic.
An act of self-indulgence.
A desperate cry from an attention starved individual.
Take your pick.
To all of the people saying this is sad, not all relationships have to last forever.
It’s okay to get separated, even if you are married. It’s actually good to realize your differences, decide that you work better apart, and provide support to an ex-spouse emotionally while you move on with your life as well.
I’m not sure that I fully agree. I mean, to each their own etc., but what you’re describing seems to be more suited for relationships without marriage. The whole idea of being married is that your discuss this stuff before your wedding and then don’t just get separated because you “don’t feel it anymore”. The idea is that, if you feel like you drifted apart, that your work on that and don’t just get out of that relationship on a whim. That’s the promise you give. And even if you agree with your partner to just go separate ways (yeah yeah, consenting adults can do whatever the fuck they want, sure), a divorce has the significant chance to screw you financially for decades. I mean, I don’t know how it is in the US, but I’ve seen too many people who got their finances completely fucked by partners that they consentingly parted ways with, who they swore would treat them fairly. Too many houses repossessed, too many careers ruined.
Is it okay to get separated? Sure. It’s obviously also okay to remain close and support each other, of course. But this comic promotes a lighthearted approach to something that deserves a much more careful and serious take that I don’t agree with. Those first few panels should have made them get counselling, not divorced.
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I feel like the fourth panel is what throws me off and left me scratching my head. Based on the previous one I’d imagine both of them to hype each other up, not just the man saying his former wife is single.
I thought the comic was wholesome.
But they’re claiming that if they stop being funny, they’ll die. Was this supposed to be funny?
Artists are funny like that
Can’t believe this out of all things completely confused Lemmy. When I saw this I thought it was sweet, not funny. Not every comic has to be haha funny. I can just hope for half of this experience if I ever feel like I’m no longer compatible with one of my partners.
There’s a weird feel from this comic for me. I’m glad that these two people could have an amicable divorce. I think the thing that feels off is how casual the decision feels in the comic. I suspect this might be why some people are having a negative reaction as well.
Even if you think marriage isn’t forever, it’s still a promise to love and care about someone, to cherish them and share your life with them. I think if you’ve been in a marriage and seen your loved one through hard times together, this comic just feels capricious. A discussion about ending such an important component of your life happening in the span of two panels in a car ride just feels abrupt and unserious.
I imagine in real life the conversation was more serious and the impact of changing you relationship from one of romantic love to friendship weighed on both parties more than the comic has space to show.
If you’ve loved and supported your spouse through difficult and unexpected change or been the recipient of that love and support, this comic can feel dismissive. If you’ve gone through the heartache of losing your special person, even if they are still a part of your life, the celebratory tone sounds wrong.
I am happy that they can separate and still care about each other, but I also understand why people feel like something is wrong about the comic.
I guess not all comic strips have to be funny or you know make sense.
Alright… So lesbian relationship. One of them decides they’re not a woman anymore. They both decide to devorce…
Maybe I’m missing something, but is there supposed to be a joke somewhere in here?
Their mutual regard for one another transcends what they want from the relationship, which contrasts humourously with hetero norms of trying to change one other to get what you want
Ok, but… That’s not something that’s funny.
It would work in a greater narrative, perhaps, where we as readers know the characters. Not this one off thing.
Being selfish is hetero normative? I’m probably being defensive but this feels like a weird statement to make.
It’s societally normative, as is heterosexuality. Correlative, not causative.
I’m here as a het to tell you that the gays do laugh at us, and it’s fine
So stereotyping is suddenly okay if the gays are the ones doing it?
If your jokes made around stereotypes in queer communities are offending people the jokes are probably just veiled insults. You can do things, you just need to be at least a little versed in the community and understand how to make respectful jokes instead of demeaning ones.
The humor for me is that you kind of expect something like this to end in bitter tears and a sad goodbye, but they’re both actually totally fine with a divorce and even hype each other up for new relationships.
A lot of trans discovery/coming out stories don’t end very happily, so it’s nice to see one that does.
Also, it’s a comic strip, which does not necessarily mean there is a joke.
Brenda Starr and Mark Trail were goddamn laugh riots.
This isn’t the “jokes” community, it’s the “comic strips” community
