Difference between revisions of "147: A Way So Familiar"

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{{comic
 
{{comic
 
| number    = 147
 
| number    = 147
| date      = 2006-08-23 <!-- Click on the "All Comics" button in the sidebar on the left and find this comic in the list. The date is in the rightmost column, in the form YYYY-MM-DD. -->
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| date      = August 23, 2006
 
| title    = A Way So Familiar
 
| title    = A Way So Familiar
| image    = mario.png
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| image    = a_way_so_familiar.png
 
| titletext = Two Hedwig references, an obscure Joey Comeau, and a girl with a mohawk. Yes.
 
| titletext = Two Hedwig references, an obscure Joey Comeau, and a girl with a mohawk. Yes.
 
}}
 
}}
  
 
==Explanation==
 
==Explanation==
<!-- Replace this line with the explanation! -->
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Some {{w|Introversion|introverts}} tend to empathize with other people they perceive as being shy or introverted. Sometimes their imagination leads them on to obscure visions. A person outside the imaginative world can easily see through this and judge as a delusion.
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[[Hairy]] points out he saw a girl at the bank and probably started having platonic romantic feelings toward her, describing many characteristics that would be impossible to know about her without actually talking to her.
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In the last panel, the reader finds out she probably does not look like the sweet girl the reader imagined, having a Mohawk and shoveling (presumably dead) prostitutes into a car.
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{{w|Joey Comeau}} is a Canadian writer, best known for the "A softer world" webcomic. The "obscure" reference is probably to one of the entires in his 'Overqualified' series, another project in which he submits sincere-sounding, but clearly unacceptable job inquiries to real companies. That particular entry is addressed to the marketing department of Toyota, the makers of the {{w|Toyota Camry}}. The post could be found [http://www.asofterworld.com/oq-display.php?id=57 here].
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Hedwig refers to the musical {{w|Hedwig and the Angry Inch (musical)|Hedwig and the Angry Inch}} and the comic references the musical's song "The Origin of Love." This song is based a satirical idea from {{w|Symposium (Plato)#Aristophanes|Plato's ''Symposium''|}} whereby every person originally consisted of two bodies joined together; the gods eventually violently tore us apart, and we fall in love when we find the person who was once physically joined to us. This song contains the lyrics:
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:''You had a way so familiar''
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:''I couldn't recognize''
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:'''cause you had blood on your face''
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:''I had blood in my eyes''
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:''But I could tell by your expression''
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:''That the pain down in your soul''
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:''Was the same as the one down in mine'' [http://www.amazon.com/Hedwig-Angry-Inch-Vocal-selections/dp/0634068814/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1366215386&sr=1-1&keywords=hedwig+and+the+angry+inch]
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The joke is that Hairy seems oblivious to the fact that his imagination is a very obvious delusion. While people could forgive a guy empathizing with a "cute pretty girl", [[Cueball]] seems annoyed by the lack of judgement of Hairy.
  
 
==Transcript==
 
==Transcript==
:Person 1: I saw a cute girl outside the bank today. She looked nice.
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:Hairy: I saw a cute girl outside the bank today. She looked nice.
:Person 2: Oh no, not again. You are the _worst_ judge of these things.
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:Cueball: Oh no, not again. You are the <u>worst</u> judge of these things.
:Person 1: But she was so sweet. Shy, but there was something in her eyes. A pain down in her soul, the same as the one down in mine.
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:Hairy: But she was so sweet. Shy, but there was something in her eyes. A pain down in her soul, the same as the one down in mine.
:Person 2: Mm hmm.
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:Cueball: Mm hmm.
:Person 1: The police light played through her mohawk like the sun setting through pine trees as she shoveled the third hooker into the trunk of the camry...
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:Hairy: The police light played through her mohawk like the sun setting through pine trees as she shoveled the third hooker into the trunk of the camry...
:Person 2: Back up.
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:Cueball: Back up.
  
 
{{comic discussion}}
 
{{comic discussion}}
<!-- Include any categories below this line-->
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[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
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[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]

Revision as of 19:39, 11 June 2014

A Way So Familiar
Two Hedwig references, an obscure Joey Comeau, and a girl with a mohawk. Yes.
Title text: Two Hedwig references, an obscure Joey Comeau, and a girl with a mohawk. Yes.

Explanation

Some introverts tend to empathize with other people they perceive as being shy or introverted. Sometimes their imagination leads them on to obscure visions. A person outside the imaginative world can easily see through this and judge as a delusion.

Hairy points out he saw a girl at the bank and probably started having platonic romantic feelings toward her, describing many characteristics that would be impossible to know about her without actually talking to her.

In the last panel, the reader finds out she probably does not look like the sweet girl the reader imagined, having a Mohawk and shoveling (presumably dead) prostitutes into a car.

Joey Comeau is a Canadian writer, best known for the "A softer world" webcomic. The "obscure" reference is probably to one of the entires in his 'Overqualified' series, another project in which he submits sincere-sounding, but clearly unacceptable job inquiries to real companies. That particular entry is addressed to the marketing department of Toyota, the makers of the Toyota Camry. The post could be found here.

Hedwig refers to the musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch and the comic references the musical's song "The Origin of Love." This song is based a satirical idea from Plato's Symposium whereby every person originally consisted of two bodies joined together; the gods eventually violently tore us apart, and we fall in love when we find the person who was once physically joined to us. This song contains the lyrics:

You had a way so familiar
I couldn't recognize
'cause you had blood on your face
I had blood in my eyes
But I could tell by your expression
That the pain down in your soul
Was the same as the one down in mine [1]

The joke is that Hairy seems oblivious to the fact that his imagination is a very obvious delusion. While people could forgive a guy empathizing with a "cute pretty girl", Cueball seems annoyed by the lack of judgement of Hairy.

Transcript

Hairy: I saw a cute girl outside the bank today. She looked nice.
Cueball: Oh no, not again. You are the worst judge of these things.
Hairy: But she was so sweet. Shy, but there was something in her eyes. A pain down in her soul, the same as the one down in mine.
Cueball: Mm hmm.
Hairy: The police light played through her mohawk like the sun setting through pine trees as she shoveled the third hooker into the trunk of the camry...
Cueball: Back up.


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Discussion

I've added some explanation. But the joke could be taken the other way. Cueball is judgemental on girls with mohawks (that shovel prostitutes into cars), maybe she is indeed a cute girl in pain. Now that's food for thought! --Pnariyoshi (talk) 14:33, 15 March 2013 (UTC)

Does anybody know what the reference is to Joey Comeau's work? 98.166.43.28 23:04, 30 August 2013 (UTC)DBrak