Shortpacked! by David Willis
Toys are serious business.
Convention appearances:
Calgary Expo Calgary, AB: April 26-28
Phoenix Comicon Phoenix, AZ: May 23-26, 2013
BotCon San Diego, CA: June 28-30
San Diego Comic-Con San Diego, CA: July 18-21
SPX Bethesda, MD: September 14-15
Phoenix Comicon Phoenix, AZ: May 23-26, 2013
BotCon San Diego, CA: June 28-30
San Diego Comic-Con San Diego, CA: July 18-21
SPX Bethesda, MD: September 14-15
Multiplex
Sorcery 101
Templar, AZ
The Transformers Wiki
Hail to the Slash
80 page GIANT
Axe Cop
The Book of Biff
Butt-Taco
Comics Curmudgeon
College Roomies from Hell!!!
Diesel Sweeties
Dinosaur Comics
Dr. McNinja
Dresden Codak
Fans!
Fleen
Gastrophobia
Girl Genius
Girls with Slingshots
Goats
Hark, a vagrant
Hijinks Ensue
Intrepid Girlbot
Legend of Bill
Medium Large
Not Invented Here
Octopus Pie
Overcompensating
Penny Arcade
PhDcomics
Power Nap
Questionable Content
Real Life
Rob and Elliot
Bad Machinery
Schlock Mercenary
Sheldon
So Far Apart
Something Positive
Two Lumps
Wapsi Square
Wonderella
Wondermark
Frumph.NET
Sorcery 101
Templar, AZ
The Transformers Wiki
Hail to the Slash
80 page GIANT
Axe Cop
The Book of Biff
Butt-Taco
Comics Curmudgeon
College Roomies from Hell!!!
Diesel Sweeties
Dinosaur Comics
Dr. McNinja
Dresden Codak
Fans!
Fleen
Gastrophobia
Girl Genius
Girls with Slingshots
Goats
Hark, a vagrant
Hijinks Ensue
Intrepid Girlbot
Legend of Bill
Medium Large
Not Invented Here
Octopus Pie
Overcompensating
Penny Arcade
PhDcomics
Power Nap
Questionable Content
Real Life
Rob and Elliot
Bad Machinery
Schlock Mercenary
Sheldon
So Far Apart
Something Positive
Two Lumps
Wapsi Square
Wonderella
Wondermark
Frumph.NET
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Amber’s expression in the last panel is priceless.
Bwahahaha, go Mike.
I love this comic.
… I kind of think this is romantic.
Is there something wrong with me?
Either way.. *siiiigh* <333
I definitely think it’s romantic too. In a Mike sort of way.
I think it’s sweet, albeit in a twisted sort of way.
It’s…probably about as romantic as Mike is ever apt to get. XD
…sober.
He’s HONEST. And she was honest with him – she thought he was an asshole, and hit him to make it plain that she didn’t like what he’d done. And unlike his parents, she doesn’t try to gloss it all over and pretend it didn’t happen, nor is she trying to change him the way Dina did.
Plus, being honest with her screws with her mind horribly; it’s like the PERFECT relationship for Mike to get into. He wins both ways.
I believe Amber needs the brutal honesty more than she needs to be handled with kid gloves. Maybe it wasn’t what she always needed, but this is the best way to keep her from becoming a completely codependent personality.
Mike has gone from my second most-hated character (maybe third if I count Galasso) to just about my favorite with this development. No, you’re not the only person who finds this romantic.
Sounds like my current relationship…. obsessively nuerotic girl who refuses to believe I love her and can’t accept that I do. Our biggest arguments are about why I love her.
So yeah kinda romantic I guess.
… well crap. Now I kind’ve want mike again.
This is actually kinda accurate. Mike represents what I have done on countless occasions. It’s a real bummer when you tell someone you love them, and then they get all sad and emotional about it.
It’s not as bad as telling someone you love them and being told they can’t let that be their problem.
Its as romantic as you are ever going to get with Mike
Then there’s something wrong with me too.I went all ‘awwww’ over it.
My first reaction was AAAAAAAAAW!
Mike really doesn’t know how to express himself when he’s not mindfucking someone, does he?
I’d argue that he knows how to express himself *too well*.
ahaha, that’s kind of sweet, in a Mike sort of way.
Well, somebody had to say it.
wow.. this is kinda sweet in the sickest sense.
yes mike. she wants flowers.
HOP TO IT!
I’d be afraid of where he might put them.
Zing!
Or, perhaps I should say, “Bazinga!” ;D
So just to clarify, she is still AT Leslie’s’ house right?
*Next panel* Mike grabs the pony and shreds it.
Yeah, she was only asked to leave that morning, and she was told she’d have all the time she needed to make arrangements to move.
Thought occurred to me, though: Mike is still staying? Seems like in theory, she could stay there as long as she found a place to keep her stuff.
–LBD “Nytetrayn”
Hmmm. Well at least Amber has better things to think about than “my supposed friends are kicking me out.”
Yaaay!
I’ve always like the Amber/Mike pair- however weird it is, they DO have a functional relationship. They’re both more socially functional as a couple than a singlet. Amber’s more social and outgoing, Mike is more..focused in his jerkery, they both make each other think about why they’re doing things. And also it resulted in pain for Faz, so win all around. There was just the weird double-manipulation going on that made me uneasy.
So now I can just enjoy the dysfunctionally functional dynamic, and not be ooged. Thanks, Willis!
LoL, i love this comic!
Yes, Mike. Get her flowers. Roses. With thorns still on the stems. Just to fuck with her even more.
I go all my life avoiding reality TV because it’s filled with people acting like idiots, and yet here I am waiting with anticipation for the next day’s Shortpacked, just to see what happens next with Amber and Mike acting like idiots.
s’ok. It’s a comic. That makes it ART.
Now that Amber’s giving Mike the option to leave he can’t use that as an excuse to stay, huh? Panels 3+4 make me think that Amber hit the nail on the head in panel 2.
I love this storyline. It’s really gripping.
Get her some kind of acid spitting or incredibly toxic flower. Because, at the point, I just don’t care about Amber being in the comic anymore. Now when she’s not boring me, she’s being a complete bitch or endlessly whiny and put upon.
She’s like Dina but with punching! What’s not to love?
I have a list a mile long why I fucking love Mike. This strip just made it to the top of my list!
Wow… Mike must be in love. He’s never lost his temper like that before. He’s always hateful, but he never yells.
!!!
HOLY SHIT you’re right.
Dear Cheese, you’re absolutely right. He didn’t even yell when Walky was beating the crap out of him after Dina died. (I don’t think he said anything at all then)
You, sir, uh, ma’am, er, skull, are very observant!
(either that, or you rolled a natural 20 on your Insight check)
“No punch”
So yeah, not only did he not yell, he got in a twisted little punchline. Hehe, “punch” line…
I always took that partially as a way to solve self-pity on Mike’s part.
Yeah, but Mike doesn’t give a shit about self-pitty (personal or another person’s). Especially if its another person, because that’s more fuel for his fire of ass-hat-ery.
He did yell at Dina once, though.
But yes, I agree that it’s a sign that he’s really emotionally involved.
Do you have a link for when Mike yelled at Dina? I must see any and all examples of Mike ever being anything other than a cold-calculate jack-ass of evil awesomeness.
I don’t have a link to the comic, but I remember the lines.
Dina: You yell because you care.
Mike: I yell because you piss me off.
The word has been said, it cannot be unset. Amber and Mike are lovers.
*gleee* ^____^
Panel 2 seems way too close to home by Mike’s reaction.
I’m going to echo what a couple of others have said: everyone seems very focused on how screwed up Amber is (which she is, I suppose) but less aware of how all of this is affecting Mike, who is also seriously screwed up. I think she perhaps got it right about him and I think he is actually in love with her. After all, she may come across as a bit of a mess to most people but she’s really stood her ground with him, whcih nobody else ever really does.
Seconded on every single part of that.
Mike is kinda adorable. He’s expressing his Twoo Wuv in the only way he knows how: verbal abuse and emotional cruelty. These two have a nearly perfect relationship, given their individual fuckups.
A continuously growing percentage of why I love this storyline consists of the hilarious AmberHate which suddenly appeared out of nowhere, as if springing fully-formed from the forehead of Maxie Zeus. I hope Willis keeps this going long enough for someone to decide that the only way to make the world truly see how much they hate Amber- for some reason why not?- is to set themselves on fire in the middle of the street.
For serious, what is up with that? People get so pissed at her. I actually like Amber quite a bit, and love,love her with Mike. The strips with them are engaging, make you want to know what happens next, funny and disturbingly sweet. I mean sweet in a way that makes you feel uncomfertable with your own mind, but still. Plus it really seems like Willis enjoys them as couple, and thats why I didn’t really worry about him ending them. Amber is not perfect, and has flaws with actual negative effects, which make her more real to me. The importent part is, like Ethan, she attempts to rectify her behavior.
Why so much hate?
Yeah why so much hate? It’s like I never stated my reasons or anything.
I actually like Amber, but I have been critical of some of her actions.
I guess that makes me an evil Amber hater.
Don’t get your hopes up that I will set myself on fire though.
It isn’t necessarily referring to you, over the past strips of this specific storyline there have been people who have said they wanted Amber dead, or written out of the strip. Even on this comic, one guy says to get her poison-spitting flowers because he “just doesn’t care about her in the comic anymore”.
I love mike he is just made of win
I gotta say, I’m really glad that Amber and Mike are fictional characters, so that I can continue to enjoy the fucked-upedness (inasmuch as that’s a noun) of their bizarre relationship without having to worry about how the fallout will injure them as real people!
D’aww, Mike, always with the romance.
I WILL ALWAYS LOVE MIKE FOREVER. Hes been my favourite character of all the series for years.
actually he is my favourite charater of anything i’ve been exposed to, ever.
…does this say something about me?
It says terrible, terrible things about you.
AWESOME.
I know! Isn’t being a horrible human being a lot more fun?
Mike is saying what most of us were thinking.
Seconded on that point
Thirded!
Amber should wake up & realize that many women live in constant worry that their S.O. doesn’t love them; she’s had Mike tell her THREE TIMES in one evening how he’s felt, and she STILL is being exactly what he’s accusing her of. Right now, I think she’s the luckiest character in the storyline.
I’d say Ethan’s first, but his S.O. is still new!
It’s Mike. If someone like Mike told me he loved me after I hit him? I’d be so massively freaked out, I’d change my name and move to another country. Even then, I’d never be truly safe.
I really love Amber a lot, and I haven’t spoken up to say that much lately, but it’s true. And among the many reasons why I love her (and there are a lot) is this: I love her for recognizing that hitting her boyfriend was inappropriate (to her, if not to him), for fearing as I think anyone in her situation would that she is perpetuating the violence her father inflicted on her, and for addressing this.
Aaaand of course I cut myself off! Anyway, I wanted to say I was hugely worried at the start of this particular subplot involving Amber and Mike, because (as previously stated) I love Amber a LOT and I really didn’t and I really don’t want to see her transform into her father.
So, thank you.
I’m wondering if this is a mix of some throw-back to Dinah and his dad saying that he never does anything without a reason of his own.
You’re right. It seems like some people are getting on her back for addressing it, but it’s actually a brave thing to do.
Agreed. I don’t understand why anyone (except Mike, of course) is calling her “whiny” for addressing this issue and also for ending the blackmail. I thought the reason we were supposed to hate Amber was the blackmail? Now we hate her for saying she’s ended the blackmail? Maybe the real reason we are supposed to hate Amber is simply because she got under Mike’s skin, and no one is supposed to be able to do that.
Wow. They shouldn’t be together. It’s so disturbing to watch.
Love??!?! For what smacking him in the face? I don’t get it!
Mike just loves Amber. He has for a while, and he thought she wouldn’t stand up for herself, but by punching him in the face, she proved him wrong, thereby making Mike proud of her.
Wait a second, Mike is some kind of Tsundere!?!??!?!?!
… RUINED FOREVER!
I wouldn’t call that especially tsundere. It’s not like he romanced her in a complete 180 personality change. Even the way he told her he loves her (both times) was kind of demented. I doubt he’s going to change at all, the understanding of his feelings will probably just be there now.
The last panel?
SO. MUCH. LOVE.
I squee. Thank you, Willis! You just made my morning. <3
I love that Mike is ALSO not amused by Amber’s extreme vulnerability. I’ve wanted to smack her for being so melodramatic and sensitive.
The fun part is that probably the whole house can hear Mike’s final line.
Agreed!
I would pay ten whole dollars to see the morning after THAT.
I actually really like panel four. I’ve never wanted to hug Mike before but I so wanna give him a hug. Poor fucked up guy.
Mike was punched in the soul…
Is Mike… POUTING in panel four? D’awwww, somebody’s upset they were already figured out long ago.
ILUSFM Amber. Good on you for giving him an ‘out’ even if he didn’t want it in the end.
What stood out to me is that Amber didn’t hurt herself hitting Mike. That tells me that either you didn’t think of it, or Amber is used to hitting people. Looks like she is! lol
It’s a comic strip. There’s tons of instances of people hitting other people (not just Robin and Mike) and not hurting their hand.
Though it is always a nice touch when it does happen. Punching people/stuff hurts!
Especially in the face. Never punch someone in the face. Punching is for the gut or crotch. Use a blunt instrument on the face, or you’ll cut your damn hand open.
(Though it is, on occasion, hilarious.)
I guess this means they’re official? Well crap. Honestly, this relationship is so dysfunctional and melodramatic that it makes me want to tear my hair out in frustration. Hopefully they’ll solve their issues quickly and we can all move on to Batman.
Wait, Mike *isn’t* Batman?
When the its!walky strip was running, i had a friend who absolutely otp’d mike and sal. I was scarred but I now use that as a barometer to judge any Willis created relationship.
THIS PASSES THAT WAY.
Oh god, the planet would be destroyed the first time they fought. Sal and Mike together is a terrifying thought.
THANK YOU, Mike. Eee! I see the Relationshipocalypse nearing a foreseeable climax.
Also after she falls asleep if I were Mike I would go order her flowers. It would be a total dick move, albeit a sweet one.
I always thought that Mike is a kind hearted guy at the very bottom of his heart and this is the proof. He just needs lots of love!!!!
I’m one of the most romantic and sappy people I know and I ALWAYS think lots of love can be used to solve anything.
But I’m sorry, because Mike is NOT a nice person deep down. He is a jerk with some good qualities and these qualities can be enhanced by being in love but he will always be a a jerk.
SQUEEEE I LOVE IT!! its so messed up but this is just adorable
wow shortpacked has really desensitized me
just remember it’s a cartoon relationship. in real life, socking your significant other in the face is generally frowned upon.
you know, I didn’t think of it till just now, but didn’t Mike get wood while watching Amber beat the hell out of someone with a corn popper? I thought the lesson to be taken from that was that Mike is only attracted to himself, or somebody being as much of an asshole as him.
Coincidence? Or epic forshadowing?
who beat who with what?!
I’m glad I’m not the only one.
I don’t know, something about their relationship just sort of resonates for me. I have always been fond of twisted things that somehow work <3
Amber, you fucking bitch! Let’s work it out!!!
As an abductee with powers which include super-punching and above-human durability, he just wants to feel something…
i love short packed and Roomies/It’s Walky/Joyce and Walky. i think that Joyce and Walky or Sal need to make an appearance. or Monkey Master! (hes an ape you know.) and and Danny!(human danny, not dog danny) and we need to see Mike Visiting Dina’s grave, and looking apologetic (we all know he feels bad about that)
Isn’t Robin supposed the be marrying Joyce and Walky…? I can’t wait the see that reception!!!
God, this comic works on sooooooooo many levels.
I think he needed that from her, not because he wanted to be thought as a human being (I’m sorry, I just don’t see that for Mike, he knows he is, but I just don’t get that feel). Did you notice it wasn’t until he mentioned the analogy of him and her father, that she hit Mike? That she might, for a split second, have seen she was, in a way, cooperating with her father for this facade of a relationship.
By hitting Mike, in her mind, she was rebelling against that. And seeing that rebellion, seeing that she has the strength within her, THAT is what needed to see in her, for the relationship to continue.
Because, I’ll be straight here, you have to be made of fuckin’ titanium to be with Mike. Uterus of STEEL. The only reason I see it in this light is because damn near every time Mike does lay down the nasty truth, it does, in its own way, align the characters to a more…righted path, so to speak.
this
This is now my favorite Shortpacked! strip ever.
This cleared the air considerably. It’s still a fucked up dynamic, but a better kind of fucked-up. They can no longer pretend it’s not a real relationship due to how it started.
This has been your favourite State The Obvious Show. Tune in next time to hear me talk about how adorable Amber looks in panel seven!
i love that quick moment of weakness in mikes face in panel 4. this comic gets better and better.
MAYBE SHE DOES! Ha. No.
This comic reminds me once again that I really want the Mike Warner statue to be re-stocked so I can decorate my home with them.
Everyone who complains about the Mike/Amber relationship needs to read the Man in Manhattan and this story arc :U
Actually, they need to read the part where Mike soberly had sex with a drunken Amber first, and then those other parts
/soapbox
Can I get that last panel on a T-Shirt?
Makes you wonder if Mike is a masochist. Hehehe I can’t see Amber being a dom.
He loves badass, Amber. You have it in you to be more of that. :>
hahaha, this is one of my favourite strips with mike. cos its one of the funniest
I may have done that once in college
And once in high school
=S
OMG.
ive been reading this for 6 days straight. and this my first comment but omg I freaking love mike.
Mike is the only one who can make calling your girlfriend a whiny bitch look sweet
Panel 4
On an earlier page, I suggested that the core of Mike’s actions is they’re always about other people, never himself. What if he, for whatever reason, hates himself? Not because he’s angry, that’s the result of it. It would make sense that he’d finally say “I love you” to Amber after she punched him, because that’s how he thinks he deserves to be treated.
(And knowing my luck, this comment will get posted with the “Cyclopes getting pooped on” icon)
And this gas been romance tips with Mike
Gas beeb