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
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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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You point to Ethan as though he’s the most representative cross-section of manhood out there… =’
Because at one point, he was the most normal person at Shortpacked?
ANd look how that turned out, at least Drew is normal-ish.
He SEEMS perfectly normal. But that’s probably because we haven’t seen that much of him. Almost everyone else seems normal at first, until we discover their flaws/issues. It’s the primary force behind the plot!
The only normal ones left either work at McAwesomes or maybe Arnold.
Drama tag pls.
Leslie is the most normal person on Shortpacked!
I’d say Leslie is the most normal, but she does tend to make bad relationship choices so there’s that.
So… most normal, then.
oh, “RODIMUSES”… are you sure that’s right?
Could be Rodimii.
No it couldn’t. It could be Rodimi, but to be Rodimii, the singular would have to be Rodimius.
Speaking of which, how do you pluralize “penis”?
By having sex with more than one man?
Ha!
nominative plural is penes
In Latin yes, but that can get a bit awkward at times, so you can always go with a standard English plural and say ‘penises.’
Of course, I don’t have much room to talk about awkward morphology, since I almost always use ‘octopodes’ as the plural of ‘octopus.’
Rodimopodes.
The only people without issues are dead ones.
But they can’t enjoy it.
The only people without issues cancelled their subscription.
Ba-dum PUNCH! 8~D
*Snort* I seem the be the exception there, then. I canceled a magazine subscription over a year ago, and they’re STILL sending me stuff. Which would have been great… if they were the magazines I’d requested in the first place.
I hope Amber doesn’t get second thoughts. I like her and Mike together. It’s adorable. D=
What’s depressing is, this is Ethan making actual progress.
Jacob’s working off an old playbook. Amber’s self-esteem has never been higher. But he might not be all wrong about her system for choosing a partner.
I’d disagree. “We love eachother and have maintained a stable relationship for multiple years, so why not tie the knot” seems like a pretty valid approach to choosing a life partner.
How she chose him as a temporary partner had its’ faults, but at this point I think she’s approaching this all quite sensibly. Perhaps light will be shed on this that will indicate otherwise, but thus far she seems to love him for his faults and for his better qualities.
If Jacob weren’t in such a terrible headspace right now I’d actually be a bit put off that he’d even deign to think it was his place to tell Amber what she should be looking for in a spouse. Heck, I’m not even sure he’s aware that Amber’s issues run as deep as anyone’s yet. They’re not that close and everyone who is that close to Amber seems to have accepted that whatever’s between these two is perfectly healthy and not at all harmful. You know full well Ethan would have stepped in the moment it wasn’t at the very least, to say nothing of the multitude of other caring people she has in her life.
We’ve practically got the entire neighborhood watch looking after Amber and making sure she doesn’t hurt herself because of those confidence issues Jacob mentioned and he just steps in and thinks he knows what’s going on.
Heck, even the notion that someone should only be with someone “In their own league” is inherently faulty. Though once again this is all quite forgivable. Jacob’s really not at his best right now. That’s why Amber’s here in the first place.
Counterpoint: She wants to marry *Mike*. Who one only needs to talk to for a few minutes to see isn’t the best of picks for anyone. (Their relationship is seriously unhealthy, which is why it’s great for a comic.)
Also, I’m pretty sure he’s both aware that she has issues too since he just pointed out her self-esteem issues, and he’s aware that he’s got issues too, since that’s the reason he took himself off the table there.
You only need to talk to him for a few minutes to know he isn’t the best for anyone do you? Well if we were talking about him settling down with anyone I’m sure that would be a real astute observation. As is we’re talking about him settling down with Amber, and for all their mutual unhealth they both seem to make eachother happy.
There will always be those who puzzle over what you see in your significant other. If you genuinely like what you got then there’s no problem.
He feels that she has self esteem issues because she’s with Mike. He has a cursory knowledge of her character at best, and his knowledge of her issues barely scratches the surface of what she has. I don’t think I said anything to indicate he’s ignorant of his own problems. Such a statement would be blatantly false.
Also, a cursory knowledge of Mike’s character.
To be fair, it’s not like Mike’s character has that much depth. He’s an asshole, straight up. A terrible, godawful human being who creates misery and discomfort in others for no discernible reason. He doesn’t even seem to enjoy it.
Everyone’s got issues, sure. But I think it’s reasonable to draw the line at sociopaths. Then again, for some reason Mike and Amber have apparently fashioned a stable, mutually pleasant relationship for the past couple years, so hell, why NOT marriage? It makes just as little sense as what they currently have, no reason not to be equally successful.
See, I never got that. What I like about Mike is that he looks like a godawful human being at first, then you look closer and notice pretty much everything he does is for the betterment of those around him – see when Ethan wanted Mike to beat up Faz way back, hoping to manipulate Mike through Mike’s desire to be a corrupting asshole. Mike chose not to (and in fact pointed out that Ethan had already corrupted himself), forcing Ethan to either descend into assholery himself or learn to suck it up. In fact, Mike frequently acts as the moral compass of the group, pointing out where characters are acting like huge hypocrites, and they tend to pull back.
Then you notice that this effectively gives Mike free rein to be as much of an asshole as he pleases. Mike isn’t a straight-up asshole, or even a plain old abusive dick. He’s a complex asshole.
To be honest, I feel like Mike has represented a cute little shell game for a long time now. Willis’ initial description of the character called him “an asshole. Claim anything else and you’re reaching.” Yet Amber does seem happy– not happy-in-desperate-denial like Dina, but genuinely happy. And most of the other cast members’ lives seem either better for Mike’s influence or unchanged. Is that because Mike hasn’t sprung his ultimate trap yet? Or is he really acting “for the benefit of everyone around him?”
Does the fact that his social circle KEEPS HIM AROUND reflect that on some level, they KNOW he is a true friend to them in a way that no one else can be? He’s a co-worker, so they have to deal with him some, but they don’t invite Faz or Galasso to watch movies, go drinking or live in the same apartment. Mike received similar oddly friendly treatment from his teammates at SEMME, for the most part.
I can’t help but feel like we’re reaching some kind of crisis point where this is going to have to be answered, one way or the other. I mean, I can accept a long con, but Mike giving Amber years of connubial/cohabitative bliss, just so he can say “ha ha, I never really loved you” at the end of it, seems like… an inefficient use of resources. If Mike were to dump her tomorrow, Amber would be heartbroken, and she’d struggle for a while. But in the final analysis, she’d STILL be stronger than she’s ever been, and Mike would still be part of the reason why. (Ethan’s a bigger part, but still.)
In any case, Jacob’s perspective is useful, and he certainly can’t be blamed for feeling as he does. Remember, he was the one Amber vented to, shortly after Mike horrified her by telling her that he loved her.
As far as I can tell, Jacob’s never known anything about Amber’s own issues, and thinks she’s “normal” – though of course learning that she had an abusive father might just strengthen his belief that her relationship with Mike is unhealthy. It has nothing to do with where Jacob’s head is right now and everything to do with his perception of Amber as a perfectly nice girl with no major issues except low self-esteem, and Mike as one of the biggest assholes alive. He doesn’t know either party well enough to realize how off that perception is, but I can’t really fault him for wanting to intervene.
Ethan’s actually giving up a lot, ere. This is just the tip of he iceberg, so it looks small, but can you imagine if he did this for every toy he has duplicates of?
He really cares about his relationship.
Joe and Jacob would’ve been best friends. =)
Last Panel Amber: See, here is exhibit A.
This might be bad, but it does seem that Mike is the most normal relationship Amber’s had in the run of the comic.
And that’s sad!
“Similar reasons” = banging Amber’s mom?
‘similar reasons’ being he’s a big ball of issues himself. Seriously, is there anyone in this comic who CAN’T be described as a ‘big ball of issues’? It’s what makes them compelling.
IMHO, that applies to real life too. Everyone has issues. The most interesting people make them work for them; the dullest people just bury them deep, and some of them end up being as scary as the ones with no control over theirs.
Roz isn’t. She’s got a lot of character flaws, but there’s a difference between a flaw and an issue. She has no internal conflict about her flaws, doesn’t even acknowledge them as flaws.
For that matter, Mike isn’t really either. He causes issues for other people. I would classify him a a big ball of problems.
Thank you for bringing that up
It is a far more interesting aspect of this comic. Why is everyone here so wrapped up on talking about Mike/Amber?
THANKYOU! Oh god, I was hoping someone would bring this up. Can you imagine waking up next to someone who will never show you any honest affection that isn’t wrapped in anger or lies, every day for the rest of your life.
Seriously, thankyou for dealing with this part of their characters. Id been concerned over the last few years of comics that this was being treated as a healthy relationship. I love Mike, but noone deserves to be subjected to him for their entire life.
Yaaaaaay!
The thing is, Amber has serious issues, too. Primarily issues with her father. She doesn’t know how to handle a relationship that isn’t based on abuse and manipulation. So instead, she found someone that is an acceptable target, and will enjoy her manipulation, while going after her with the same tools. Unless Amber gets professional help, that’s the best she can do.
That still doesn’t mean she should be with Mike though. That relationship isn’t just unhealthy, it’s physically dangerous. No matter how much you love your partner, resentment can still build, and be triggered with nasty results. If one of those people are MIKE, it’s scary to think about.
Unless you mean they SHOULDNT be together, in which case I agree with you.
Building your relationship around the notion of whether or not you could take them if they snapped hardly seems healthy.
Look at my point below. If ‘the best relationship you can find” is abusive, you can still do better. It’s better to be alone than trapped in something like that.
And as for Robin and Mike… well, what’s it going to be like in ten years? Twenty? More? How is she going to feel about “Well, everybody has issues” then?
Not arguing your point. If Amber was settling for someone who didn’t have what she wanted in a man or was in any way in an abusive relationship then this would be a problem.
Amber and Mike are happy together. They’ve been together for what, three or four years now? I’m not a soothsayer. I don’t know what twenty years from now holds, but if Amber has made the decision that she’s in this for the long haul then I see no reason to dispute this.
Amber seems to be into it.
A principle for the future:
Yes, everyone has flaws. Yes, nobdoy is perfect. You certainly aren’t. No, you will never find perfection in a partner. But you don’t have to stay with a monster. You do not have to settle for abuse. You deserve better, even if “better” means “staying alone.”
(I’m not gonna call Mike an abusive monster, this is more of a general principle)
Jacob is in the wrong comic to be making those kinds of comments.
Errr….. Define normal
Amber is right though. Everyone has issues. The important thing in a relationship is being able to work together to deal with those issues. The important thing is that those issues don’t harm the other person or cause a rift to be created between the two.
Amber accepts Mike is an asshole. And Mike told her at the start that dating him would not be easy, because other people had tried it before and all had failed. But oddly enough the do work well together. I mean, its not like her parent’s relationship. She stands up to Mike, and he seems to love her for that.
This. In real life, it probably wouldn’t fly, but in Shortpacked universe? They work together.
I dunno, I kind of see them like Dr. Cox and Jordan from Scrubs. It sure don’t look like a healthy relationship, but they love each other and enjoy it.
Well in real life, Mike would be dead or in jail and Amber would probably not be as well adjusted as she is now. But yeah, Cox and Jordan seems about right. Its not normal, but for some reason it works for them and makes them happy.
Mike’s an asshole. Yes. That’s a given.
Been reading all the reasons why Amber should not be with Mike, that they’re comparing it to an abusive relationship.
I just want to know…has Mike been ever abusive of Amber? Physically? Emotionally? I mean, in the part where *after* he finally confesses of loving her and they move out to live together?
Before they both moved out of Leslie’s house, I just saw them as “seeing” each other than be in a serious relationship given the background of blackmail. So I’m just wondering if Mike’s been abusing her after they moved out to live together to warrant such vitriol over the idea of Amber marrying Mike.
Because..you know, there’s a huge difference between living with a difficult person, as versus living with an abusive person.
*kicked out of Leslie’s house rather.
So I’m guessing those Rodimuses are all from the Classics mold, since there’s three? It’d be easier if they weren’t all colored the same! :p
No, but seriously, I’m more curious why he’s just donating the stuff to Goodwill. He might not break even, but it could do his budget a little more good to put the ones he has to get rid of on ebay, or the B/S/T of his favorite Transformers forum.
Both those other options will get him seeing MORE toys he wants.
And take long enough to give him a chance to change his mind.
Ugh. I wish Ebay existed back in the late 90′s when I had to sell my anime collection to help pay for my mom’s cancer treatment. Would have been a lot easier to do rather than tote several sacks worth of toys, poster, manga, figs every weekend to anime garage sales. >_<
The again the shipping would have eaten on whatever profit I get. So bleah.
Well yes, but Ethan doesn’t count either.
Normality is like the cake… It is a lie. However, there is a certain level of issues that is just not acceptable… To some people. But this level is different for everyone, and perhaps different in every relationship, depending on one’s needs at the time.
Wow, Goodwill, really? Why doesn’t Drew suggest he list them on eBay? If you’re gonna get rid of something, why not get some cash back on it?
I mean, if he’s gonna try and dictate what Ethan should do with his collection…
eBay gives him time to dwell on it. Good Will is a quick rip of the stitches and it’s done.
But it goes back to one of Drew’s issues with Ethan’s collecting habits – the money being spent. Besides, sure you can stew on it with eBay, but would you risk getting negative feedback/a rep as one of ‘those’ sellers because you keep removing the items you’re selling? As both an eBayer and a collector, my instincts say no.
Most of the time Ethan hates the idea of putting transformers on ebay, because he hates the thought that it might be bought by a kitbasher that will cut up the poor toy in an ungodly manner and create some soulless monster of a kitbash (Like Unicron legs being used for a Superion).
Oh yeah, forgot about that…
Ask you to marry you? Because marrying yourself is in this season!
Jacob…. shut your face.
It’s like Amber said. Everybody has issues. Not everybody is OPEN about their issues, but they’re there. At least Mike’s is out in the open, and plus it is 100% honestly true that Amber and Mike do care about eachother (talk about a 1/10^100 chance.)
I’m glad that Amber’s honest about that since everybody tends to forget that very obvious fact. On a similar note, Ethan’s arrival was a perfect example of a person trying to get over their issues for another.
Oh, how I am an Ehmber shipper.
Oh Jacob, you’re a cool dude, but if you break up Amber and Mike I will end you.
The difference between Jacobs ball of issues and the rest of the cast’s balls of issues is that the rest of the cast’s balls are for the most part at least mildly interesting.
Yeah, so I read that sentence back and noticed the obvious problems, rather than edit it I decided to share.
You know, I’d love to see what some of Drew’s interests are . . . Here he’s down on Ethan for his toy collecting, but I have to wonder about his hobbies. I’ve always found it ridiculous that grown men can be obsessively devoted to a sports team (and expect everyone around them to be as well) and that’s acceptable, but toy collecting and sci-fi isn’t. I really have to wonder what _Ethan’s_ putting up with in the relationship.
Oh, and Jacob’s right, IMO. Although, despite my opinion of Amber having improved recently, I still think it’s Mike that can do better, rather than Amber.
Sport as always been more noble socially speaking, because, well it’s been invented by people who didn’t had to work, ie nobles. Nowadays, we still have this social call for nobility and fairplay in sport, even if it is now a bit flawed. Nevertheless, when industry barons chose to control workers anger with team support, they created the socially acceptable norm. Very few people gave their employees a planetarium. Then toy collecting and sci fi are relatively modern compared to organized sport fandoms, therefore older and wider fandom is more acceptable.
But to answer the ground of your post, I don’t believe Drew able to accept the same level of devotion to sport that he isn’t able to accept concerning sci-fi or toys collecting. Remember, he thought he was himself a geek before knowing Ethan.
I’m sorry, but you’re talking out of your arse. Plenty of sports were created and played by the working class. Nobility doesn’t enter into it. If there is an explanation with people’s fascination with sports, I’m willing to bet it more likely goes back into our biological history, and the fact that among our ancestors, the ones who could prove their physical prowess got to reproduce more often than the ones that didn’t.
(there’s something hilariously ironic about my gravatar being Asland when I’m jabbering about evolutionary biology)
Read closer what I wrote, you are misunderstanding.
I dunno, I think if Ethan was obsessively devoted to a sports team to the point of filling their shared living space with merchandise devoted to that team, to the point that he can’t even display all or even most of it, with absolutely no signs that the buying is going to subside, Drew would still be worried. It’s not about -toys-, or nerdy stuff, it’s about Ethan being a hoarder.
No, it’s about Drew being “creeped out” by all the little robots. He said as much back when this started being an issue. So Ethan put his collection away, and at least claims to have slowed down in response to Drew’s discomfort. True, he eventually filled the space up again, but that’s the nature of collecting. If Drew doesn’t like that he shouldn’t be dating a collector.
Amber gives as good as she gets with Mike. I don’t think there’s anything unhealthy about their relationship. When she was blackmailing him, yes, but not now. Even if there is, there’s nothing anyone can do about it… she’s immune to criticism, after all. Your negative words bounce off of her like bullets off of Superman’s ass.
There are people who don’t have issues. They’re called the Amish.
I have to side with Jacob on this; Mike is entertaining, but he is not a good person.
His issues are beyond just some obsessions or low self-esteem; he is a compulsive asshole who makes no effort to grow as a person.
Amber grows as a person; if she married Mike then ten years down the road she’d be broken and bitter; her self-esteem would be worse than ever.
AND MIKE WOULD TAKE PRIDE IN THAT!
Keep that in mind…
Normal is relative, but regardless of the standard of ‘normal’ Mike is a bad person…
I’d also like to point out one little detail everyone is forgetting -
MIKE DOESN’T SEEM TO ACTUALLY WANNA MARRY AMBER! Her belief that he does stems from her own issues and are only loosely based in reality! Every proposal “suggestion” has just been an attempt to upset Amber or piss her off… (Which is a pretty good reflection of what their marriage would be like.)
All you Mike fans who are defending Mike/Amber sure don’t give a crap about Mike’s feeling on the subject… Funny how that is…
Also why does Mike have to propose? Why doesn’t Amber? Oh right – her self-esteem… (Of course if she did Mike would probably reject in some over the top manner, but my point stands.)
Honestly – I don’t think Amber is ready for marriage anyway…
I’ll consider the rest of your arguments, but let’s not get personal about what Mike fans want or ignore.
I don’t know. To me, it seems Mike has already proposed – in a Mike sort of way – and Amber hasn’t taken the hint.
There are better – and more hurtful ways – to make it clear that he doesn’t want to marry her if that were the case.
-airfox
Amber needs to realize she’d rather be dating girls. Shortpacked! needs more lesbians.
All this talk about how compatible Mike is for anyone while poor Ethan is in a relationship that’s forcing him to make Sophie’s Choice? Priorities, people!
Exactly! I think it’s Drew who’s being abusive. We’re missing who is the REAL monster here.
Noo, not that one! *waits* NOOOOOOO! Not that one either!
The problem is anyone “normal” she could be with is in a relationship or gay.
Or in a gay relationship.
Oh come on Jacob. Mike isn’t THAT abusive to Amber. Seriously. And they love each other. If they are fine with their relationship, then let them be happy in their own way. Sheash. Everyone out trying to “help” others often makes things worse.
…I really don’t like Drew now.
FINALLY someone who speaks sense!
Normal people? In the Shortpacked! universe?
D:
Stop it Jacob, I want this to work out for Mike. It’s obvious that he actually DOES love Amber >_>
“You want Mike to ask you to marry you?”
damn amber bit of an ego you have there, marrying yourself
A whole day until somebody noticed that? YOU GUYS ARE FIRED AS PROOFREADERS.
To be fair, Gargos did point it out only three hours after it was released.
Where’s the severance check?
I noticed it, I just forgot to point it out.
Sorry.
Because blackmail, rape, and punching your friends totally aren’t signs of any issues.
It’s been established that Mike effectively began the relationship by allowing Amber to find something to “blackmail” him with, and that they both silently understood that the relationship was wanted and consensual from the very beginning. The punching is certainly a sign of an issue, but not a problem within the relationship, and Amber is very self-aware about it, which is a good start if not an excuse.