PTC 21-05-19 I'm the winner here

[Giz]

New PTC comic is up! http://www.ma3comic.com/strips-ma3/i-am ... nner-here/

[Spidrift]

Zadie's IQ really is plummeting by the frame, isn't it? I guess that being cheated on made her understandably angry, but all else aside, she's hardly being polite to Aaron here -- she's using him as a prop and confusing him. And really, cold disdain works better.

If her function in the comic is to be the outsider who gets the world of indie comics publishing and fandom explained to her, it would probably work better if she didn't look quite such an idiot.

[OllieOrOlly]

Zadie's IQ really is plummeting by the frame, isn't it? I guess that being cheated on made her understandably angry, but all else aside, she's hardly being polite to Aaron here -- she's using him as a prop and confusing him. And really, cold disdain works better.

If her function in the comic is to be the outsider who gets the world of indie comics publishing and fandom explained to her, it would probably work better if she didn't look quite such an idiot.

Took the words out of my mouth.

Zadie trying to frame the break-up as a situation that has a "win/lose" dichotomy seems to indicate she may have not been the best girlfriend, in that she has an unhealthy competitive streak a la Monica from Friends. I'm assuming she has issues beyond the currently shown because otherwise Raymond's indifference seems less like someone who doesn't want to engage with an irrational person and more like an utterly callous jerk, thus so unlikeable it is a wonder any woman would like him (yeah, he appears attractive and buff, but that base appeal couldn't feasibly last six months).

Aaron annoyed me before and I still haven't seen anything to endear him to the audience yet, however, as obnoxious as he has been, I agree that he doesn't deserve to be used as a prop in Zadie's preposterous relationship drama.

[Spidrift]

Well, I'm long past expecting anyone in this setting to be especially rational -- but honestly, Raymond comes out of this strip looking dangerously close to an only sane man. "Uh, right" and walking away may be the wisest response to Ma3 character shenanigans, really; whether it's "callous" is beside the point. Provoking sympathy for a proven unfaithful jerk may not have been the writer's intention...

And I'm left still looking for a reason to follow this comic beyond "It's the successor to Ma3 and SDB". Which will, admittedly, probably keep me around for quite a few months, but still -- we know that Giz can do better than this. Though I guess that this is about comparable to Ma3 in some of its duller moments, and not as bad as Ma3 at it's most stupid.

[KaedeKisaragi]

Am I the only one who thinks Zadie is totally rushing off to the wrong conclusion when she said her boyfriend cheated on her?

I dunno, that first panel's dialogue seems to indicate that the guy isn't even aware she found him cheating... Maybe that removed message was something with a meaning beyond the one that seems obvious, and that'll be the punchline, that Zadie is too impulsive and she loses her boyfriend because of that?

I mean, the guy doesn't even blink or overreact when she begins ranting at him with the "mr rock hard" thing... What if it that was actually something related, maybe, to a gift he was gonna give Zadie and he nearly spoiled it by sending her the message instead of this other girl?

[Spidrift]

The message looked quite incriminating to me, he’s not looking overly confused or hurt by Zadie dumping him, and he is wandering around in company with a cute girl. Zadie is being written as an impetuous idiot, but I see mo signs that she’s wrong about Raymond.

[brasca]

Zadie's IQ really is plummeting by the frame, isn't it? I guess that being cheated on made her understandably angry, but all else aside, she's hardly being polite to Aaron here -- she's using him as a prop and confusing him. And really, cold disdain works better.

If her function in the comic is to be the outsider who gets the world of indie comics publishing and fandom explained to her, it would probably work better if she didn't look quite such an idiot.

She's got a weak spot. She's be boring if she was perfect. And while I agree she's using Aaron as a prop here I don't think he minds all that much. I imagine that kiss is as close to any contact with a girl he's gotten in a long time.

[OldBrit]

Is Zadie now going to offer Aaron the spare place in her apartment, in order to keep up her pretence?

[worldshaking00]

Zadie has a shovel in her hand, and isn't afraid to use it! She's digging herself deeper and deeper.

[Error of Logic]

Aaron? One of the important steps on the path to becoming a man is to recognize when it's quiet time...

And I hope we won't see Mr. "Rock Hard" again in a hurry. The hypocrite.

[Opus the Poet]

Wasn't there a character in MA3 who knocked out Gary trying to out abs the nurse (and yes, I'm terrible at names, just ask my wife, Bob, her name is actually Barb, but because she's from Upstate NY all I have ever heard her called by is with a very soft "r") because she was so hypercompetitive? She was one of the wrestlers.

[vampire hunter D]

Maura

[Azrael]

You can stop digging now, Zadie.

[BlairFan]

Nice ending line by Zadie there. Now if only Aaron can learn to stop talking- when appropriate.

[Valkog]

I'm waiting for a reason to like a single one of these characters.