Akimbo Comics – Comics Everyone Can Hate

Discussion (6) ¬

1. 
   Ben

   March 22, 2010 at 4:10 pm | #

   Just started reading these, rather deep. Nice art too.
2. 
   AJ

   March 4, 2011 at 11:07 pm | #

   i dont get this one, anyone care to elaborate?
   whats with the reference to the girl?
3. 
   Char

   December 12, 2011 at 4:05 pm | #

   @AJ Well my interpretation is: This story is basically about apathy and how it can be a self-fulfilling prophecy. The reference to the girl entering is precognitive, which itself is a reference to the way our protagonist has fallen into a deterministic depression. The coke represents stress and the booze represents sloth. Both of these things have embedded themselves in our hero of his own volition although he was expected to allow this to happen based on societal norms. He has submitted to failure because he is so desperate to avoid mediocrity, yet he justifies his laziness and apathetic attitude with the knowledge that it is “normal” to take some time off school. I believe the girl is “Sara,” mentioned on page 1. The hero mentions they “had an understanding” which sounds like they made a deal not to get too serious. The relationship evolved anyway though, and the hero is doomed by his commitment to a promise that has already been broken. This relationship is symbolic of the hero’s perspective of life: you are supposed to behave and aspire to follow a certain plan, sail a determined course. But you are always swallowed by the whale, the plans always go awry. Thus he is frozen without will, because he can no longer bring himself to adapt and change due to the crushing despair he feels every time he allows a part of his childhood idealism to wither and die. The story is encapsulated in the line “even the degree to which this fails to move him fails to move him.” The hero says this to himself to assert how little he cares, but it is such a sad and tragic line born of a powerful pain he must feel, which, ironically, the line itself denies. He is trapped in the cycle of giving up, and he only got there because of a deep-seated fear of failure, which is caused by AND causes him to fail. Talk about being the in belly of a fish!
4. 
   WolffBrosef2

   September 20, 2012 at 9:11 pm | #

   @Char Wow. Great and deep stuff. Also, it may be a more basic interpretation, but the first thing I thought of was the tale of Jonah. Just like the prophet of old, our main character decided to not do what he was supposed to do (finish college), or at least put it off for a while, citing his own reasons and justifying it within himself. But in the end, he only finds that he’s caused his own demise, represented by being in the belly of the great fish. Unfortunately, even this is not enough to convince him to change….
5. 
   FractalFreak

   February 5, 2013 at 7:44 am | #

   I’m curious is Char short for character and is in fact a pseudonym for the writer? Or are you simply insightful…
6. 
   bpatrick

   February 5, 2013 at 8:58 pm | #

   Char is simply insightful. WolffBrosef2 ain’t bad either.