Heidi’s Story 3
Sep12
I worried that I went too far on this one. But lord knows, I use gallows humor all the time to cope with bad situations. So Heidi ain’t totally out of line here.
If you have any complaints, this ain’t Penny Arcade. Direct your protests to your cat. We will not apologize or try to make amends. You don’t like how this comic goes? Don’t read it. We’re not enabling or supporting anything evil here. Just telling a story. Remember: This guy gets shot to death, in the end. Spoiler alert, I know, but what can you do?
To further splash gasoline on flames: Proper child rearing.
But…
What if I don’t have a cat to direct protests to?
Steal one, or hit a pet cemetery and dig one up.
I have one. If you need, I’ll set up an email account for it and read your protests to it.
I got six, and a number of neighborhood strays looking for a home. Interested?
“Gone too far”..”gallows humor” …
Where?
At this point I see no humor, gallows or other, just that you’re telling a suspenseful story.
Heh..oddly enough, for me the real suspense and fear has nothing to do with what happened to Heidi. We already know; she lived.
What I’m on the edge of my seat about is, what will Mick do now? Is he going to be stupid?
Nice horrific drawing, by the way, yipes! Really well done.
(Except for the foot. That looks pretty funny)
The “gallows humor” was Heidi saying, “Heh. You know I like a little choking.” It’s someone in a situation that they can’t quite deal with, trying to make a little joke to help ease the tension or pressure or what-have-you. I definitely see the humor in what she said, and how it works in that situation. I’ve done the same, myself. Not that I’ve ever been in Heidi’s place, but I’ve been in situations that are just as traumatic, and I cracked a number of jokes that others may have thought were dark/black/gallows humor, and it just made it a bit easier for me to deal with.
I guess. I have been in almost Heidi’s exact situation, and now that I think of it: yeah, I used to sprinkle the retelling with jokey asides and sarcastic comments.
Sometimes, I laughed pretty hard, even.
I don’t see what’s “gallows” about it, though, nor did I ever really think of it as some kind of coping mechanism. After all, sometimes even horrific events have irony, and humor is humor.
I really don’t see where that stupid picture in the beginning of the clip is coming from.
Didn’t you know? 12 year old girls are automatically Lara Croft now.
Nono, I mean, if you watch the same clip on Youtube, that pic isn’t there.
Sensationalism. Obviously she was a gun-crazed 12 year old. You go girl. You saved yourself…
I didn’t mean, “what does it mean” where-is-it-coming-from; I mean it’s not part of the original youtube clip. So who put it there, and why?
It is kind of insulting, I mean can’t a female pick up a gun and successfully defend herself, without it automatically brining up an image of her in a push-up negligee?
Guys apparently don’t inspire that..it’s like, if a guy uses a firearm, it’s reality, but if a girl does it, it’s cute, and she’s suddenly in Penthouse?
People put images on their YouTube videos like that to attract attention to them. They show up as the thumbnail, but aren’t a part of the video. Just to try and get views. Some guy is looking at videos, and he sees that show up in his Recommended list, so he clicks it, without really looking at the title. He just sees the hot chick with guns.
Nobody does the nightmare faces like you, sir. *brrr*
Bravo. The humor actually lightened this strip up a bit.
And complaints? – – those motards can go to Helen Wait.
+1 for parenting skills.
Also, after reading today’s comic, both cats went upside my head and told me to sack up.
Good strip, good story line. Anyone sees anything to complain about needs to go read Family Circus.
As far as the Video- We bring them up right in Oklahoma- at least some of us do ;o) My daughter was shooting my ’98 Mauser by the time she was 12, and was about 54″ tall
Anyone complaining about the plot at this moment, kindly direct them to The Disney Channel. We know where the situation started, we know how it ended. So far I’m seeing a decently told and logical middle.
As someone who responds to stress with humor, I’m not going to complain about this strip. I can’t recall a situation where I’ve been injured (seriously or not) where I haven’t cracked a joke as soon as possible. For me, it’s a way to get people to calm the fuck down. Trauma nurses are too goddamned intense, you know?
(But I did end up with “UNSPECIFIED BRAIN INJURY” on my chart after I convincingly drank the entire cup of barium tracer and said it was delicious. I was quite thirsty.)
i was making the folks in the OR crack up prior to getting knocked out for surgery. i don’t want tense people working on my insides, thanks!
Yeah, this. The orthopedic surgeon who came to fix my busted leg? His surname was Maul. SERIOUSLY. This was some years before the SW prequels, but a maul is also a Big Fucking Hammer that was used to put down horses who had broken their legs.
Me: “MAUL? Are you shitting me? A man named Maul is gonna work on me while I’m unconscious?”
Doc: “Yep!” *guffaw*
Me: “Oh GOOD.”
+1 internets for you.
Applause for both the young girl in the clip and her parents. Had she not had the gun and known how to use it, the ending might have been quite different.
As to the strip, being possessed of a somewhat strange sense of humor, I appreciated the joke.
This entire part of the strip could very well be used as an illustration of why it is better to be armed. I know I am almost all the time as I am too old to either run or fight.
… what kind of a douche kicks in a door wearing loafers?
WHAT? You were ALL thinking it!
So what? Loafers are f******* awesome! Entire life wearing regular shoes and sneaker, and then trying loafers I regret not getting them earlier.
But do you kick doors open while wearing them?
Good point. I mean if you have already thought far enough ahead to bring a crow bar to break the door, make sure you have the proper footwear in case there are chunks of door that fly off. I mean if that loafer comes off, you might step on a hunk of wood.
remember people, when committing a home invasion, you want something comfortable, but secure. A good pair of workboots are recommended. Safety first. Make sure you have your safety glasses on as well. Chunks of door and frame may go flying in all directions, and it is possible that some of it may come back at you. Come to think of it when committing a home invasion the following PPE is required:
Work gloves
Steel toed shoes
Eye protection
Hearing protection
kevlar vest
The hearing protection is for your best interest, as hearing loss is cumulative.
Some may think the kevlar vest is optional, and in many cities like New York or DC you may be right to forgo the added expense, but the hearing protection will save your hearing should some person begin screaming. Some women can have a scream over 110 db(around the same as a gunshot), so it is in your best interest to protect your hearing.
Well played.
Gallows humor is awesome. What happened when I fell down the stairs and fucked up my ankle? I laughed my ass off, because it was fucking FUNNY. (And hey, being grateful not to be lying on the landing with a broken neck is good, too, since I somehow wound up with my feet pointing up.) Husband slices his hand open while trying to cut a block of cheese? “WHO CUT THE CHEESE, A DUR HUR HUR!”
The only fitting response to “You can’t tell a joke about THAT!” is “Challenge accepted!”
For whatever it’s worth- I think this strip is great, no complaints. Violent crime is not pretty or happy or anything anybody wants to deal with. Living in our relatively comfortable safe lives, it’s easy to forget that it exists.
As gun owners, it’s important to remember the reality of what can happen. It’s easy to talk about CCW and defensive firearm usage and make jokes on the Internet about dead criminals, but the reality of violent crime (regardless of how it turns out) is not funny or pretty, it’s ugly. To hide that away and pretend it doesn’t exist is doing everybody a disservice.
My cat however is doing plenty of complaining at me. Since you (jlgrant) instructed me to pass my complaints about your strip along to my cat, I am returning the favor and passing my cat’s complaints about who knows what on to you. Thanks! 🙂
Gallows humor very much is a valid coping mechanism. Lots of people do it and a few admit to it.
I sincerely hope I never have to do the post shooting explanation. They’d lock me up for joking about it the whole time. It’s how I have always dealt with serious situations. When my sister was kidnapped and killed, they wouldn’t use my interview on air, because even though I was torn up inside, I seemed jovial on the outside because I couldn’t really show my grief. I have a strange emotional handicap. Push me too far, and I can’t remember how I’m supposed to be. The more panicked I am, the more calm I appear. The more angry, the happier I appear. None of my “negative” emotions appear. The only way people can tell it’s a negative emotion is my eyes. They go bright green(not Hulk green, but a nice light green) as opposed to the usual brown.
Having been through some ugly crap in my life, I would agree that developing a bit of gallows humor is an excellent coping mechanism.
Having been through attacks, rapes, and other unpleasantness, I appreciate why you had to show it how you did. I’m just glad those are far enough in the past that I only cringed at the pictures. Helps that it’s obviously a comic and not one of those weird ones where the artists are super-accurate. My only suggestion might be to have a “Trigger Warning” somewhere, but beyond that I think you’re doing marvelously so far.
he hasnt stuck in his dick in her yet? I am starting to suffer feeling of rage and disappointment, I was just so sure. ): 🙁 );
I read Flem many years ago. It’s impossible to offend me.