I hate the Anthony/Liz/Paul triangle with a passion. I hate that somehow Anthony gets a pass for dumping all of his emotional baggage and putting the moves on Liz minutes after someone tried to rape her. I hate that his emotional infidelity, which dated back to before his marriage, was swept away in the face of his ex-wife's physical infidelity. I hate the whole "his ex-wife was an unnatural person who didn't want children, and poor Anthony is a saint for bargaining with her to have a child and then looking after it himself" thing. I hate the way that Liz treats her relationship with Paul; "Oh, I'm just going to take off to Toronto now that I've heard my ex-bf is divorcing; you can get a transfer there, can't you? Oh, why aren't you here for me?". I hate hate hate the way that Paul is now apparently cheating with Susan, all in order to make Liz the innocent victim and clear the way for Anthony.
It all sucks. It's all incredibly heavy handed. And it's shitty storytelling.
Plus, I'm still incredibly pissed off about the whole Micheal going back into the burning building storyline and how that was glossed over. Because I swear to God, if someone ever left me to get down a fire escape, in winter, with two small kids to get down with me, in order to go back to "rescue" the last chapter of his manuscript, I'd have a hard time deciding between serving him divorce papers as they pulled his wheezing body out of the house, or killing him myself.
Carolyn and I both loathe Anthony, for pretty much the same reasons that A. points out. Liz handled her relationship with Paul poorly, but, yeah, that's common enough in fiction as well as real life. I don't remember her transferring to Toronto in connection with Anthony's divorce (though I'm not saying my recollection is accurate), but because she missed her family. Anthony's divorce was coincidental. Regardless, I do think Johnston is going for some sort of "it was fated to be" story for Liz and Anthony. I could stomach that if Anthony weren't such a spineless wuss.
I hadn't thought about Paul apparently cheating with Susan in the light A. gives it, but now that she brings it up, I agree that it's lousy storytelling. Liz needs to have some consequences, not sail blithely through life without suffering any real ill effects of her decisions. Granted, some people do manage to go through real life without reaping what they've sown, but it makes for unsatisfying fiction (at least the way Johnston seems to be handling it).
As for Michael... I didn't think about what he was doing. I've never liked his wife, because tends to be self-effacing. I tend to "bleep" over those storylines as a result, so I didn't notice what a jackass move that was on his part.
Of course, what occurs to me as I think about it NOW is ... why was it even necessary for him to go back in? Maybe twenty years ago it might have been understandable, when there weren't a zillion options for backing things like that up. But for Pete's sake, this is the 21st century! I have copies of my novel on my laptop, on my work computer, on an external hard drive, and uploaded to three different web-based repositories, two of which are free. I'd go back into my burning house to rescue my wife, the cats, and Pookie. Maybe the coffee roaster. But for my novel? No need. It isn't there. All of the creative writers I know back up their work with as much redundancy as is possible.
She *said* it was because she missed her family. However, she started "missing her family" immediately after she got the message from her sister that Anthony was getting a divorce.
According to the monthly letters, he had everything but the last chapter (which he'd just finished) backed up and in copies in various places. So it was for the sake of the last chapter. Still an asshat thing to do, given that (in a real life equivalent situation) one would not only be putting one's self and family at risk, but also the poor firefighters who then have to go in after the idiot.
I'm beginning to think that she deserves Anthony, creepy and awful as he is.
Paul's well out of it -- hopefully he'll give her a blast of "what the hell were you thinking asking me to transfer twice in one year as you scamper off all over the place."
All that you said! I have heard that the comic will be ending this year, not sure ti's true, but this descent into soap opera storylines really diminishes my respect for her as a storyteller.
In september, though it's going to continue on in some hybrid form in which the characters are frozen at their current ages, and then one of them (probably Michael) acts as a framing device while the bulk of each strip comes from the old archives. So, for example, michael starts off the strip by opening a photo album, which launches the rest of the strip into the vintage strip.
Oh yeah, gotta keep that lovely money coming in... Yeah, I'm pretty cynical about these things. I won't read it then, but the fact that it'll be a blatant milking of fans turns me totally off.
My first line, in response to your "what? why?" was "because I'm kind of unbalanced" and then I flipped into my rant. At the end of the rant, I meant to write "see? unbalanced", but then I forgot. So I tacked it on into another comment.
Bleah - I was hoping that your suspicions about Paul weren't true, but it wasn't to be. I think Liz had better stop with the relationships and take some time to evaluate why she keeps getting involved with men who cheat on her. I'd forgotten about the guy in college until I read Liz's bio on the fbofw site, but it indicates she's really in a continuous destructive pattern with men.
But of course, since she's a comics character and not well-written, she'll end "happily ever after" with Anthony-the-wuss who was a doormat to his ex and will undoubtedly be a doormat to Liz as well.
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timeasmymeasure
Why?
Date: 2007-01-10 12:26 pm (UTC)Re: Why?
Date: 2007-01-10 01:11 pm (UTC)I hate the Anthony/Liz/Paul triangle with a passion.
I hate that somehow Anthony gets a pass for dumping all of his emotional baggage and putting the moves on Liz minutes after someone tried to rape her.
I hate that his emotional infidelity, which dated back to before his marriage, was swept away in the face of his ex-wife's physical infidelity.
I hate the whole "his ex-wife was an unnatural person who didn't want children, and poor Anthony is a saint for bargaining with her to have a child and then looking after it himself" thing.
I hate the way that Liz treats her relationship with Paul; "Oh, I'm just going to take off to Toronto now that I've heard my ex-bf is divorcing; you can get a transfer there, can't you? Oh, why aren't you here for me?".
I hate hate hate the way that Paul is now apparently cheating with Susan, all in order to make Liz the innocent victim and clear the way for Anthony.
It all sucks. It's all incredibly heavy handed. And it's shitty storytelling.
Plus, I'm still incredibly pissed off about the whole Micheal going back into the burning building storyline and how that was glossed over. Because I swear to God, if someone ever left me to get down a fire escape, in winter, with two small kids to get down with me, in order to go back to "rescue" the last chapter of his manuscript, I'd have a hard time deciding between serving him divorce papers as they pulled his wheezing body out of the house, or killing him myself.
Re: Why?
Date: 2007-01-10 01:54 pm (UTC)However, it's actually real-life for too many people; it's not quite as hard to believe as a soap opera, but it's written, I think, to keep interest.
meh. I keep reading, at any rate.
And I agree with both of you
Date: 2007-01-10 02:43 pm (UTC)I hadn't thought about Paul apparently cheating with Susan in the light A. gives it, but now that she brings it up, I agree that it's lousy storytelling. Liz needs to have some consequences, not sail blithely through life without suffering any real ill effects of her decisions. Granted, some people do manage to go through real life without reaping what they've sown, but it makes for unsatisfying fiction (at least the way Johnston seems to be handling it).
As for Michael... I didn't think about what he was doing. I've never liked his wife, because tends to be self-effacing. I tend to "bleep" over those storylines as a result, so I didn't notice what a jackass move that was on his part.
Of course, what occurs to me as I think about it NOW is ... why was it even necessary for him to go back in? Maybe twenty years ago it might have been understandable, when there weren't a zillion options for backing things like that up. But for Pete's sake, this is the 21st century! I have copies of my novel on my laptop, on my work computer, on an external hard drive, and uploaded to three different web-based repositories, two of which are free. I'd go back into my burning house to rescue my wife, the cats, and Pookie. Maybe the coffee roaster. But for my novel? No need. It isn't there. All of the creative writers I know back up their work with as much redundancy as is possible.
Re: And I agree with both of you
Date: 2007-01-10 04:29 pm (UTC)According to the monthly letters, he had everything but the last chapter (which he'd just finished) backed up and in copies in various places. So it was for the sake of the last chapter. Still an asshat thing to do, given that (in a real life equivalent situation) one would not only be putting one's self and family at risk, but also the poor firefighters who then have to go in after the idiot.
Re: And I agree with both of you
Date: 2007-01-10 05:28 pm (UTC)Paul's the only appealing one, and Liz blew it. As far as I'm concerned she needs to wind up alone.
Re: And I agree with both of you
Date: 2007-01-10 05:46 pm (UTC)Paul's well out of it -- hopefully he'll give her a blast of "what the hell were you thinking asking me to transfer twice in one year as you scamper off all over the place."
Re: Why?
Date: 2007-01-10 03:13 pm (UTC)Re: Why?
Date: 2007-01-10 04:09 pm (UTC)Re: Why?
Date: 2007-01-10 04:31 pm (UTC)Re: Why?
Date: 2007-01-10 04:42 pm (UTC)Yeah, I'm pretty cynical about these things. I won't read it then, but the fact that it'll be a blatant milking of fans turns me totally off.
Re: Why?
Date: 2007-01-10 01:12 pm (UTC)Re: Why?
Date: 2007-01-10 02:25 pm (UTC)Huh?
Re: Why?
Date: 2007-01-10 04:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-10 01:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-12 08:59 pm (UTC)But of course, since she's a comics character and not well-written, she'll end "happily ever after" with Anthony-the-wuss who was a doormat to his ex and will undoubtedly be a doormat to Liz as well.
Again, bleah. I used to really like this strip.