There isn’t a single normal woman in the strip. Faye has ISSUES, Dora has crippling self-esteem problems, Raven is an idiot savant, Hannelore is an OCD freak, Marigold is a weird nerdgirl gamer stereotype, and Penelope may secretly be a superhero. The least crazy women in the strip were Ellen and Sarah who were Put On A Bus and eaten by an allosaurus, respectively. Compare that to the relative normal-ness of Steve, Amir, and Sven. Jeph doesn’t do run-of-the-mill women.
Steve is either a raging alcoholic, or James Bond, or both. Sven is a genius with a crippling inability to form lasting relationships. Amir lives in an unfurnished studio with no utilities, and doesn’t bathe.
I wouldn’t describe any of them as relatively normal, even compared to the women in the strip.
Because his easygoing-ness makes their issues all the more glaring.
Also, remember that Amir is the ‘old guy who hangs out at clubs’. He’s 35+ and hasn’t moved on from his mid-20s. That’s a type of disfunction right there.
And give props to Faye. She may have issues but she was aware of them and turned away from Marten romantically because she WAS aware of them. That may not be normal but it’s better than acting out because of her issues.
I don’t think what Marten did was that bad. Yeah, he was a little bitch for making up an excuse instead of saying why he was pissed, but that’s Marten. You can see when his mother visited why he’s such a wuss and lets women walk all over him.
A week of no returned calls or texts would have pissed me off as well.
Especially in a relationship that was a dead end anyway. Padma was leaving so there was no future in this relationship worth struggling for. All Marten had to hope for for was one more night. So I’m kind of glad he decided that standing up for himself was worth more than a night of sex.
So instead of wussying around and then having a night of sex, he gets to wussy around and then not have sex? Yay?
Hard to fault Marten for being pissed, and at least he’s showing some backbone even if it’s a bitchy backbone. I’m not sure exactly where the cartoonist is coming from with Marten. He’s almost more of a girlfriend to the other female characters than a man. He’s practically a doormat, yet when he does show some backbone he gets yelled at. I dislike the weak and whiny parts of his character, yet I feel sorry for him at the same time.
I’ve always thought the writer hated Marten.
Interesting how many people here are assuming the phone call was a direct prelude to more sex.
Whether it was more sex or Padma looking for some emotional gratification before clearing off, the answer’s still pretty much the same.
Yeah, this wasn’t my interpretation at all, actually I thought it was pretty unlikely that after a loaded emotional conversation and then a week of ignoring him she was just making a booty call. I also would have assumed they’d stay friends after she moved to CA. They have common interests, mutual friends, etc., and they’re both young, they could easily find themselves in a situation in the future where they could get back together romantically.
To clarify, I don’t think what Marten did was so bad (and I certainly wouldn’t label him an asshole for it), but I don’t think that it “showed backbone” so much as weakness of character. Obviously it’s a matter of opinion, but if I were in Marten’s shoes I’d try to set aside my hurt feelings and give Padma the benefit of the doubt for now rather than burning all ties because she didn’t return my calls for a week. It just seems like a petty thing to (most likely) end a friendship over.
Yeah, this was anything but Marten standing up for himself. This was Marten cutting off his nose to spite his face.
We don’t get to find out what it was a prelude to because Marten decided to be petty instead of mature.
So what would standing up for himself have entailed?
What burning all ties? He said he was busy that one night and wished her a good trip. If being Padma’s friend required Marten to drop whatever he was doing and go to her whenever she calls, then it was a pretty one-sided friendship.
“Padma, I feel hurt that you don’t bother to respond to my phonecalls for a week and then call me the night before you leave as if you haven’t been avoiding me all week. Why are you calling now and not 5 days ago?”
Then Padma responds and we get to find out what’s been going on in her life instead of just making assumptions.
Dude, if you’re ever on the other side of a conversation like Martin’s, trust me on this: the person you’re talking to does not want you to call you again. When Martin said, “Have a nice trip,” he did not mean, “Have a nice trip.” He meant, “Fuck you, bitch.”
Seriously, this is classic passive aggressive behavior. He’s hurt because Padma was “busy” when he wanted to see her - which is a legitimate reaction. But the way he handles it is incredibly immature. When she calls him to try to see him again, his reaction is to lie and say he’s too busy to see her. Instead of being forward with his problem with her, he tries to “teach her a lesson” by treating her as poorly as she treated him.
Padma was a coward. She was afraid to deal with Martin, and avoided him, which hurt him. Martin was a whiny douche. Instead of honestly airing his grievance with Padma, he spitefully tried to get “revenge” on her. Neither of them are looking good, here.
On preview: Fuck, that’s a lot of scare quotes.
So any time someone’s too busy to talk to you, that’s “Fuck you”?
And “I’ve been busy. Packing and stuff.” was honest?
I’m not saying Marten handling this well. But Padma handled it at least as poorly. But for some reason, Marten’s supposed to be understanding when Padma makes bad choices but he’s an “asshole” when he makes a bad choice.
As I’ve already said, Marten’s been a doormat for too long. He’s not responsible for dealing with Padma’s issues. They’re her issues, so she needs to deal with them.
Marten should look for a woman who can handle a normal relationship.