If we were to draw a narrative between the strips, it would appear Ryan has decided, to avoid his mothers scorn again, to flee his home and venture out into nature where he can be with his own thoughts in perfect temperance!
But ho, what is this I say? A busy bodied female approaches him, questioning why he doesn’t ‘do something’. Another female character confronting the male about why he doesn’t DO something. The second prong from the second strip is further strengthened I believe as this particular female takes on the caricature of the ‘free love’, ‘independent’, ‘feminist’. It seems the male’s abilitiy to slink away from society for a moment to reflect on his role is not to the female’s liking! What sort of ‘something’ does she mean? Perhaps get a job as a bus driver? Or an electrician? Would a plumber suffice?
Ryan fires back, of course, with a tawdry remark. “I am doing something. I’m waiting for Godot!”. That Ryan can be a saucy one! His remark is in reference, of course, to the famous Samuel Beckett play “Waiting for Godot” whereas two friends wait aimless by a tree waiting for someone named Godot. I don’t want to ruin anything about the story for you, but I will say if you haven’t read it yet, you are only doing a disservice to yourself! It really is quite brilliant.
Of course this strip reinforces again the feminist attack on the Male Genius. It really does capture her subtefuge of the Male pursuit of the intelligent high life all at once! How she attempts to ‘bring him down’ by telling him he should do something more ‘material’ and ‘worthwhile’. Wong is the most pointed he has been thus far! In the ‘punchline’ panel,
Wong also utilizes the classic ‘feet elevating in the hair, mid faint’ as the character (in this case, the Feminist) is unable to cope with the brilliance of Ryan’s retort and proceeds to shift from a mental reaction to a physical reaction (again hinting at the fundamental difference that drives male/female relationships. That difference being men are stronger both mentally and physically than women.) The panel evokes a rich history of comics history while at the same time serves to greatly illustrate Wong’s purpose with La Vie Vide.
Ah, the artist has proven my point for me.
If we were to draw a narrative between the strips, it would appear Ryan has decided, to avoid his mothers scorn again, to flee his home and venture out into nature where he can be with his own thoughts in perfect temperance!
But ho, what is this I say? A busy bodied female approaches him, questioning why he doesn’t ‘do something’. Another female character confronting the male about why he doesn’t DO something. The second prong from the second strip is further strengthened I believe as this particular female takes on the caricature of the ‘free love’, ‘independent’, ‘feminist’. It seems the male’s abilitiy to slink away from society for a moment to reflect on his role is not to the female’s liking! What sort of ‘something’ does she mean? Perhaps get a job as a bus driver? Or an electrician? Would a plumber suffice?
Ryan fires back, of course, with a tawdry remark. “I am doing something. I’m waiting for Godot!”. That Ryan can be a saucy one! His remark is in reference, of course, to the famous Samuel Beckett play “Waiting for Godot” whereas two friends wait aimless by a tree waiting for someone named Godot. I don’t want to ruin anything about the story for you, but I will say if you haven’t read it yet, you are only doing a disservice to yourself! It really is quite brilliant.
Of course this strip reinforces again the feminist attack on the Male Genius. It really does capture her subtefuge of the Male pursuit of the intelligent high life all at once! How she attempts to ‘bring him down’ by telling him he should do something more ‘material’ and ‘worthwhile’. Wong is the most pointed he has been thus far! In the ‘punchline’ panel,
Wong also utilizes the classic ‘feet elevating in the hair, mid faint’ as the character (in this case, the Feminist) is unable to cope with the brilliance of Ryan’s retort and proceeds to shift from a mental reaction to a physical reaction (again hinting at the fundamental difference that drives male/female relationships. That difference being men are stronger both mentally and physically than women.) The panel evokes a rich history of comics history while at the same time serves to greatly illustrate Wong’s purpose with La Vie Vide.
— Olaf Demeanor Dec 18, 10:45 #