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
Tags
amber
animated
batman
botcon
conquest
conventions
dark of the moon
david willis
dinobot
drew
duncan
ethan
faz
galasso
generations
gijoe
guest strip
hamsters
homosexuality
jacob
jesus
joe
justice league
ken
leslie
malaya
megatron
merch
mike
ninja rick
nipple
optimus prime
politics
religion
robin desanto
ronald reagan
roz
sdcc
sg ravage
shattered glass
star wars
tni strips
transformers
transformers prime
ultra car
©2005-2013 David Willis | Powered by WordPress with ComicPress | Subscribe: RSS | Back to Top ↑
Ahahaha Amber. Oh, you’ve done it now.
I ROFL’d, Literally! Best strip in a long time! Mike’s reaction was priceless!
I’m trying to decide whether it or the “I’ve had it” scream from Dumbing of Age is his best reaction ever.
MARRY WOO
She just said the M-word! OH SHI-
*blinks* … WHAT?!
Amber done gone and broke Mike! *lmao*
Store Policy: She breaks him, she bought him.
That’s probably what Amber wants.
For a nickel, amirite?
I was wondering how long it would take Mike to react to it
It was close, but I can’t tell what happened first: if I read Mike’s line, or heard the same words come out of my own mouth.
Actually, that might’ve been me you overheard asking the same thing.
I said “Wait, what”" almost jumped back into the archives but then I saw Mike’s reaction.
I almost missed Mike’s reaction cause it looked like the comic was over.
Ditto.
I chuckled at the first four panels, went to another tab for a few minutes, came back and scrolled down to read the comments. This was followed by a good two-minute laugh after realizing there was a fifth panel, and that panel contained awesome.
So… the longer it takes you to notice the last panel… the longer it took Mike to backtrack and realize what she just said?
It took Mike 7 hours in my world
Yes, that was f’n awesome.
Also, the black space, aside from making the punchline more of a surprise than a standard beat panel would, also deftly imitates a cartoon ‘iris in/iris out’ effect.
Indeed: wait, what.
Did Amber just out-Mike Mike?
She diiiiiiiid~
Amber is now officially scarier than Mike!
Seven comments and no one mentioned the brilliance of Mike’s scheme.
Ten, my bad.
Amber kind of outshines Mike, though, with dropping the m-bomb.
That is because Amber’s comment kinda overshadowed Mike’s plan somewhat.
My generation: Well okay it’s time we moved in together
And raised a family of our own, you and me
That’s The Way I’ve Always Heard It Should Be
You want to marry me–we’ll marry!
Your generation: If you like then you shoulda put a ring on it!
I like your generation better. Haha, I used to be obsessed with that song.
To head off the usual crowd, I’ll have to say: my generation would be “A full commitment’s what I’m dreamin’ of, you wouldn’t get this from any other guy/ I just wanna tell you what I’m feeling, got to make you understand/ Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down, never gonna turn around and desert you / never gonna make you cry, never gonna say goodbye, never gonna tell a lie and desert you.”
Oddly enough, that song was released thirteen days after I was born. Maybe that’s why I like it so much.
Ouch, Rick Rolled. And in text even. Kudos.
Good grief. I’ve been Rick-rolled in the comments section.
You just RickRolled via simple text. And that’s terrible.
My Generation: Ho ro, my nut brown maiden
Hi ri my nut brown maiden
Ho ro ro, maiden
Who else would I marry but thee
When I was a boy, we didn’t have fancy televisions an’ DVD-rhombuses. If’n I told my pa I was bored he made me go build a henge! My village had henges every which way, and we was grateful for ‘em!
My Generation: People try to put us down/ just because we get around. Things they do look awful cold/ hope I die before I get old.
I’m glad SOMEONE did that.
Mike’s brain = BSoD.
That was awesome.
And here’s where the romance crumbles?
Oh yeah.
Since when was there romance in this relationship? It’s founded on blackmail and hatred.
The romance came into the picture about the time Amber hit Mike in the…no. Not gonna do that here…anyway, when she hit Mike.
It is a pretty odd black shade of upside-down heart with a triangle on the bottom of a relationship. I thought only people with gray hair and candy corn colored horns had that sort of romance but whatever <3< must be where it's at XD
most humans are not familiar with relationship quadrants. Take your shennanigans elswhere.
Actually, that’s how it started, but then Amber let him off the hook saying she didn’t want to continue like that. But then the relationship continued on after that without the blackmail.
Ahahaha!
Excellent broadside, Amber. Well done.
I now keep hearing the Turtles singing the line, “So happy together…” over and over again now. Appropriately creepy.
With Amber, that should be the Ninja turtles singing that.
…You know, I’d be interested in hearing their take on that song.
I like Wonder Woman and her cargo shorts.
Yay!
When I mentioned WW and her cargo shorts to my boyfriend, his reaction was “Wonder Woman would totally rock cargo shorts! She’s practical that way!”
Me too, I kind of want that poster.
Crap, I missed that first time through! Nice catch there Midna! That must be Gail Simone’s booth.
Oh shit.
Seriously, Damn You Willis with your Fuck Me Friday updates!
I know. Now I’m going to be waiting on pins and needles until he reviews that Optimus Prime toy!
Is Mike noticed that Amber called him the Devil or Amber said the word marrying? Either way, this have the signs of going downhill.
I think Mike would like the Devil part, it’s the marrying that the concern here.
C’mon, Mike is not that evil. If he is, I want him to take a guy’s marriage and the guy must have an aunt who was shot by an assassin.
Is that a Spiderman reference or am I way off the mark.
A Spider-Man reference, yes.
i think he would enjoy the comparison regardless of how evil he really is.
Actually, that sounds like exactly the kind of thing Mike would do if he could.
I actually didn’t even notice what amber said until I saw mikes reaction and then I was like “oh.. how did I miss that?”
Her shot let us see the whites of his eyes.
That is the funniest Mike face ever. He looks like he is about to have a seizure.
All we need now is Amber to mention the P-word and Mike face will go into full DERP mode.
P-word?
P- as in, “Pregnant”?
YES exactly!
Pregnant.
I’m guessing pregnant.
pepsi according to max hedrum
Pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism?
Phalanx? Galasso decides that Shortpacked must use Ancient Greek tactics to conquer the world of cheap toys?
Ancient Greek battle tactics, or a techno-organic virus.
Oh thank heavens I’m not the only X-fiend who thinks that when they hear the word Phalanx
paralax?
… Penis?
Now THAT would really freak him out as it’s unexpected.
THAT’S what I’ve been doing wrong. Asking for consent! I should just book the church and make the ‘SURPRISE!’ banner right now.
I’m fairly sure that’s not legal. Besides, how would you plan it without the other party knowing?
Remember that the bride can say no on the altar. It rarely happens outside of hollywood, but the option is right there. “Do you take this man…?”
I choose to believe the pure unbelievable lack of consideration for her own feelings will shell-shock her into such a state that I will have to puppet her through ceremony, with her only waking up to murder me during the honeymoon.
My dream wedding, you see, doesn’t involve me having to go through the horrors of marriage afterward.
Actually, I know a woman who did book a church for the next year and just told her fella, because she knew he’d never propose. He said “okay” and now they are married.
Dun-dun-DUUUUUNN.
indeed.
btw, every time i read or hear that, i always think of the beavis and butthead episode where beavis thinks he’s pregnant.
Really? I think of the soldier from that one Futurama episode where they travel to 1940s Roswell and he’s revealing Bender’s remains to his superior officer.
Wait, what? I’m with Mike here.
What?
Mike just realized how much he’s been owned lately.
i was reading this and was thinking mike was saying what to something offscreen before i thought “did she say marry?” then i had the same reaction as mike. she’s probably the only person capable of putting up with mike’s sh*t. well, in this universe, who knows with DoA
haha, so far joyce has been able to.
0_o; Ohgod drama.
Theories, people!
Just an expression?
Amber made a decision?
Something promised to parental figure, subtly suggesting it?
Fucking with Mike?
I need answers!
Also, at first I thought I had missed an engagement thing in an earlier strip.
I just assumed it had happened offscreen. Figured Mike reacting to some transformers reference I missed.
Willis, if next week isn’t a story week we are all going to be very upset with you. The sounds of “Damn you, Willis!” will echo throughout these halls.
Though to be fair, I personally would accept a strip where Amber just snaps a picture of Mike’s face with her phone, says she was kidding, and then distributes the image on the internet, as proof that even Mike can be Miked.
But a story based on this would be nice too.
Also, “Damn you, Willis!”.
Ladies and Gentlemen, if we look closely, we can see the exact moment when Mike’s mind shatters into a million tiny pieces, leaving only the emptiness of the void
Oh hell yes! I’m Ratchet now!
Heh, I had the same reaction. Figured I’d missed a page, then saw the panel. Well played, Willis, well played.
Am I the only one hoping that maybe they will just get married and live evilly ever after? They’re both well aware of how unhealthy their relationship is and oddly enough, that seems to make it work pretty well.
At any rate, it’s always fantastic to see Mike surprised by anything.
“WOW, I’M MARRYING THE DEVIL…AND HAVING HIS BABY!”
Dun-dun-DUUUUuUNN!!
LOL — good job, sir!!
How to I get my poor gravatar to show up here?
Did you list it as G-rated?
Nope, But I just changed it to G, hope that works.
again?
You also have to wait a few minutes for it to change.
Amber just won.
Hasboro toys at Shortpacked: Approx $10-$30
Price of Gas to go to Shortpacked to get Hasboro toys: $40
Price of Customer Protection Rackets at Shortpacked: $30
To see Mike’s delayed reaction at he and Amber being married: PRICELESS!
For everything else, there’s the Galasso Shortpacked Card….
Mike:
Has superstrength super powers from alien technology
Has survived death…..Twice
Has shunned people endlessly ripping out their very souls whilst doing so
Has fought in numerous alien battles and a human battle at shortpacked
But his soul can’t survive the phrase of Amber: “I’m marrying the devil”
This is like a reversal of the creepy smile vs scared Amber thing from a while back. Amber’s the calm one and he’s the flipping out one…
… I just had a scary thought… This means that Mike is going to do something very terrible to try to put that schism between him and her… You realize how horrifically terrible this is going to play out…
Wait, WHAT?!
Mike… Amber… marriage… mind broken… damn you, willis!
Looks like Amber got engaged without telling us. Or her fiance.
Must have slipped her mind…
My first thought, before I realized there was a fifth panel, was “oh s#!t, I must’ve missed a day!”
I was just about to click the button to go back a strip when I noticed something at the bottom of the comic…
I love those rare occasions like these where Mike reacts in some manner other than physical violence or scathing verbal abuse. It’s just nice to get to see a different expression on his face other than his perpetual glare.
I call it the ‘wtf’ face.
Glad i wasn’t the only one who stalled out.
Best way to pop the question ever.
Will Mike have to take Amber’s last name since she asked? Mike O’Malley is already taken! Although Mike Warner does have GUTS!
and if that’s the case, does mike get the shiny ring? will it have a glowing piece of the aggro crag?
Oh man, I’ve been married forever and I’ve had no interest in a large shiny object to show off that fact
. . .until NOW
ticktickticktick…DING “Wait..WHAT!?”
absolutely priceless
I figured Mike was in the relationship as a long term plan to destroy Amber. His reaction makes me think otherwise.
I didn’t scroll down far enough when I first read this one, so my reaction was EXACTLY like Mike’s. It wasn’t until I was about to comment that I saw the rest of it. Well played Mr. Willis. Well played.
Oh, man, me too. I was all, “Whaaat where did I miss that???”
I like how you decided to bitch them out after they made it clear it wasn’t intentional. Asshole.
I know assholes, sir. And you sir, are an asshole and a half.
Who on earth are you replying to?
HOISTED BY MY OWN PETARD.
How did you manage to have two different gravatars at the same time???
How did you get two different avatars showing up at the same time?
Woops double post and the question was meant for JayStrang.
Heh, figured. One’s on my PC, the other’s on my phone.
Lol, I almost missed the last panel and was all, ‘Wait, what what WHAT?! Mike, she used the M-word, where is your reaction?!! FFFFFFF?’ and then fifthe panel obliges. Masterful placement of panel made the whole thing infinitely more hilarious. *_*b
What can I say? I was like a sperm Juggernaught.
YES YES YES! Go Amber! I was grinning so hard core after reading this. So funny. Also, Willis, so help me, if you break Mike and Amber up, I will go back home, find your house, knock on your door, and when you answer scream “DAMN YOU WILLIS!” in your face. They are my favorite and you already ruined my second favorite.
Also, thank you for giving us the gift of seeing Mike so out of his element! And the whites of his eyes.
that must be why he’s moving.
I would say not too. >_>
*sighs* Yay for innocent comments being taken way out of context….
Few people have managed to make Mike do a double take. Congratulations, Amber!
Thank you internet window size- saw the first four, and had roughly Mike’s reaction- followed by an enforced Mike’s reaction.
Heh.
OK, I get that the M-thing is a big deal, but am I the only one who thought, “Wait, does that mean Mike waited in line for four hours?” Ethan I could see, but Mike?
he probably did it so he could buy the thing so someone else would not get a chance at getting it.
Or possibly he was in that line so damn fast he was near the front of it, thus giving him only a few minutes in the line. By the time he walked away, it was four hours long.
He didn’t say he waited in a line. He just got it from the booth, somehow. Maybe there was an unattended baby holding one.
Mike has bought plane tickets and made a cross-country flight for the sole purpose of hurting/pissing off one person. He always gives his evil plans his all.
Wait a second, that’s not one of Mike’s three sober expressions.
It is not neutral surliness.
It is not belligerent surliness.
It is not unbridled sadism.
I know Mike is capable of other expressions, but it always comes as a shock.
I believe this one is Primal Terror.
Woah…. I have nothing more intelligent to say at this time.
OH GOD THAT WAS BRILLIANT.
Number one, you drop this in a strip that people expect to just be a non-story gag strip because that’s what con strips usually are.
Then you have Amber’s last line, and set it up so that people catch the bonus panel just as they process “Wait, marrying? Did I miss something?”
I haven’t laughed this hard at a Shortpacked in a while.
Like others I thought the strip was over at panel.
Then MIKE REACTION OUT OF NOWHERE. Holy poop I laughed.
*at panel 4. Oopsies!
Run Mike! Ruuuuuuuuuuuuuun!
At first Mike may be opposed to the idea but then he will realize the potential for even greater evil including the possibility (if we accept Amber’s hypothesis that she is marrying the devil) of siring the anti-Christ.
(Plus then Willis can just coast for a while parodying Rosemary’s Baby, the Omen, etc.)
Mike being Mike and And a PLOT TWIST!
Oh and WW in cargo shorts. They flatter her.
Mike: say yes. Say yes, dammit. She is the best thing to ever happen to you and you know it.
(And if she is just kidding, imagine how saying “yes” will screw with her head.)
Also, I actually think the cargo shorts would work well for Diana. Maybe with a little snap-clip for the lasso. Hell, if Connor and Wondergirl can get away with jeans and T-shirts. . .
Hey, wait a minute… is Wonder Woman wearing khaki shorts in the background?!
sure looks like it. First she has leather pants, then bikini bottoms and now khakis. Next she’ll wear bellbottom jeans, before moving on to a thong and then comes the hippster jeans.
I’m another one of those folks who thought “Wait, what?” before noticing the final panel (I actually only saw it when I scrolled down to hit the Comment link).
Hmmm, could be interesting.
Mawwage! Twu wuv!
The removal of Offended Person’s complaint thread makes the replies look reeeally random.
And now the replies appear after this post for some reason.
I was wondering where it went, it’s just as well, it might have turned this thread into a race-based slanging match.
He must be hung, there’s gotta be a reason why he doens’t walk very quickly.
Wonder Woman in cargo shorts is still better than Jim Lee’s lameass designs.
OH GOD MIKE’S EYES HAVE WHITES
Crafty, Willis! I had to do a double take right with Mike.
I am -so- Donatello.
Even “I” did a ‘wait what’ reaction before Mike.
D’awwww…
This actually reminds me of the time my girlfriend and I were coming out of history class, and in that history class we learned about the ancient chinese custom of binding women’s feet so that they become smaller, so that they’d look “pretty” and be less likely to run away from their husbands.
What did my girlfriend say as we left the class?
“Don’t you ever be a husband like that!”
Heh. I had just assumed I’d missed a strip where one of them proposed. Then I saw Mike’s face and el-oh-el’d.
LOL AMBER
DROPPIN` THE BOMB
It took me even longer to react than Mike did. Just shows how observant I am. The question is, will he just go with it or fight it?
Laughed so hard, I cried. xDDDD
My reaction to the fourth panel… almost exactly Mike’s in the last.
Holy shit, is this the first time Mike’s whole eyes have been seen?
Anyone else who had that Wait What? Moment at the EXACT SAME TIME as Mike; the nonstandard panel layout just helped it more. Comic Brilliance AND smooth transition from topical one-off humor to plot points? this may just be…
THE BEST SHORTPACKED! STRIP* EVER!!!!(tm)
*Not involving sex
I love Mike’s expression in the last panel!
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: strips with Mike make any Shortpacked! and DoA strip better.
More Mike, please.
P.S.: and Connie. I miss her.
-airfox
bacdafucupaminnit!
I had to read this out loud before I realized what you were saying.
Haha wow. Maybe the best Mike face and reaction ever
Whoa, SCLERAE!
*applause*
Monday: Batman Jokes!
I must have read this at least five damn times before I realized what she said.
Am i wrong or is that the first time since Dina’s death that Mike’s actually been shocked at something?
… wait, WHAT.
Suddenly, Mike hears a “k-THUNK” from inside his head from the gears falling.
ahhhhh she said it!
Now the real twist is that Mike doesn’t really give a shit if anyone knows how he is when he’s drunk, and he’s just been going out with Amber, waiting to get to this point in the relationship to break it off in the last minute for maximum damage.
I think this is precisely why their relationship works… Mike’s evil, but Amber possesses the capability to out-evil him. He’d never say it, but he’s actually taking lessons in evil from her.
When she mentioned marriage I thought I had missed something. Then I saw Mike’s face. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one.
Amber and Mike forever!!!
Amber and Mike forever!
I didn’t even notice the “marrying” bit. I was actually trying to figure out what he was “what?” over
Wait, what?
…Why are Amber and Mike at a con?
Finally caught up. Great stuff. That is a look that I didn’t really expect to see on Mike. Probably happened before, but can’t remember.
And I’m sitting here thinking, “What’d I miss? Since when are they engaged?” *scrolls down* “Ohhhhhhhhhh”
reminds me of first gen pokemon episode where misty told ash thats how they would be married one day and ash reacted the exact same way.
I wasn’t calling that… o.o”
Now that’s impressive… Getting Mike to react that way. Good job Amber.
Also his face makes me laugh so hard.
Oh god noooooooo.
Hhahahahaha!!