No it’s not!

Oh wait, nvmd yes it is.

I’m with you so I pay a subscription (it is literally the only one I pay for) but even that is not enough as the enshittification is encouraging creators to release special videos just for their own channel subscribers now. So I need subscriptions on top of my subscriptions (dawg).

YouTube (Google/Alphabet) is a monopoly that needs to be smashed to itty bits.

There’s also the games trap as MS gobbles up development studios left and right. I’m guessing that’s not a coincidence.

I’m personally not a fan of Steam, but HUGE props to Valve for thinking ahead.

I bet Master Roshi would wear a helmet. Wtf, Arnie?

Is OP self aware of the irony of this meme? Maybe that’s the point? I cannot tell.

EDIT: Also, practice self love: use Krita.

Peanots

Who tf is down voting OC work on Lemmy? Gtf outta here losers!

Nice job as usual, Custard.

Okay. How strange. I thought we were having a conversation but I guess you’re just some dipshit.

Oh well. Good luck, dipshit.

I might be, sure.

Not sure why you have a bug up yer bum about it I’m just fucking around, but okay.

EDIT: Also I’m totally serious about the helmet thing. Wear a damn helmet if you can afford it. Don’t care if it sounds naggy, it’s so important!

I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to imply you were calling me a dumbass, I was calling myself that, I apologize.

I can assure you I am not the cartoonist. It seems like I am intimately familiar with the process because I am. You can look at my post history to see a few examples of comics actually created on the fly with no thought, writing, or pencils done ahead of time, just stream of consciousness and pens in a sketchbook. I can tell you, a lot of thought was put into the comic we are discussing because I’ve been through that grinder plenty of times myself.

You’re correct about that third panel housing what most people would consider the actual punchline, which is why the fourth is so interesting. I’m not familiar with this cartoonist, so it could be that they are just so stuck in a four panel writing pattern that they felt the need to fill that panel with something, anything, so they just slapped something in there, but it really reads to me as much more thought out and deliberate. I suppose I could, like, go look at more of their work, but, eeeeeeehhhhhhh…

I also disagree that it’s not a character study. When working with three or four panels, cartoonists have to set characters up quickly and efficiently and this comic does that extremely well. That red guy is consistent throughout every panel, as is the protagonist ,we know exactly who he is. To the point where in panel three, the speech balloon is not attributed to anybody, yet we know exactly who is speaking, which is harder to pull off than you might think.

Anyways, you got me blabbing and blabbing. I could talk this kind of shit all day, I take it pretty seriously, in case you hadn’t noticed.

Again, you could totally be right. Without looking at more of their work, it’s possible this artist is a hack fraud and I am talking up a total sloppy amateur. But just judging from this single piece of work, I suspect they’re probably pretty good.

Well, I guess your read of it suggests the cartoonists didn’t really write this comic and just sort of made it up as they went, I suppose? Or got lazy?

I would argue the artist wrote several punchlines before eventually settling on this one, and for good reason. It’s subtle and, frankly, funny. It relies on character humor rather than a blunt pun or ham fisted political zinger while still making a point. It’s really well crafted, imo.

But I’m just some dumbass on the internet and this cartoonists could be huffing glue, I suppose, so who knows?

I’m not sure what that jargon means, but I’ll take your word for it and cut the e-bikers some slack.

I will say some of the older models with less powerful electric engines felt different. The newer models I see look like they go very fast, even uphill. I would not want to get hit by one.

Good! Keep doing that.

EDIT: Down voting helmet safety? You all are strange, but okay.

The punchline is that the protagonist, in this desperate, confusing moment of panic, finds themselves in the company of a useless buffoon who, although in the same terrifying position, is only capable of “helping” by cheerfully explaining the obvious. An experience we can all relate to on some level, especially if the comic as a whole is read as a metaphor.

I think it’s pretty well done.

I’m going to go ahead and say they’re actually motorized vehicles. They used to be called “mopeds” when they were powered by gas, but now they’re just regular bikes that happen to have motors and so get to use the bike lane too, I guess (yes I am cranky).

EDIT: Either way, those fools should be wearing helmets. Always always always wear a helmet.

There’s nothing vague about the Patriarchy, it’s well understood.

Anyways, I’m sorry you’re so angry. Good luck.

A statement like, “most women need to be excluded from society,” would be grossly misogynistic.

When you say the same thing about men, it doesn’t make me think you’re an especially enlightened person, I’m sorry.

I think the Patriarchy is the problem and participating in endlessly pitting genders against each other doesn’t help.

Yes, let the hate flow through you.

Right, that’s that gender bias I was referring to. Like not all guys are big or tough and not all women are small or meek.

I have been in an abusive relationship and did not fully grasp the extent of the abuse until I was fully out. It’s insidious stuff and can affect anyone.

Yeah I probably would too. I mean, “Man is the real monster!” is an old trope for a reason.

What’s troubling is I wouldn’t necessarily feel the same about a random (unarmed) woman in the forest and I suppose that’s the root of the feels here.

But that probably has something to do with my biases/preconceived ideas of gender as well if I’m being honest with myself. Yikes this bear thing is deeper than it seems at first lol.