Tag: Wally

Friend or Photo?

I suppose today’s strip indicates that Adeela was the mother and not the child in last Sunday’s strip, which makes her fairly close to Wally in age.

No, that wasn’t obvious. Wally has been back in Westview for 9 years now. He was taken hostage in late 2007, BEFORE the time jump*, so he hasn’t patrolled an Afghan street in about two decades (heck, it is still a decade plus if you ignore the time jump). Adeela easily could have been that child and, oy… piecing together this strip’s timeline makes my head hurt. Still, I gotta say that Adeela has aged better than anyone in this strip except for maybe Cindy.

* Back in early Act III when Wally had apparently disappeared from the strip after the 10 year time jump, TB stated in a blog post (the infamous “it’s called writing…” post, in fact) that a “clue” in regards to Wally’s whereabouts appeared in the October 11, 2007 strip, in the immediate aftermath of Lisa’s death and just before the Act II to III time jump. That clue being the newspaper in the newspaper box that Les slumps past before he is pickpocketed by a couple of hipsters. It reads, muddily, “Soldiers Taken Hostage”.

Wally remained a hostage until July 2009…

The 4 Foot Culture Gap

Well, I guess Wally and Adeela compromised on yesterday’s to-be-or-not-to-be around people problem by accommodating neither one of them in any way, as in today’s strip they are neither in a crowd nor especially alone. They are also sitting at separate tables for… reasons, I guess.

Yeah, yeah, I know. They are uncomfortable with each other and neither will admit it. We established that LAST Wednesday and the strip has been illustrating it over and over and over building “tension” ever since. I’m much less curious about where this story arc is going (I think we all know where) than I am about when was the last time that TB observed college students studying in a library.

Hai-comfortable

Today’s strip we find
Both Adeela and Wally
Uncomfortable

“And being around
A lot of people tends to…
freak… me… out…” – Wally

Wait, was not Wally
Just in a crowded classroom?
Seemed OK at first

Plus there was that time
He subjected Buddy to
Monsters of Metal

Rache called that concert
His PTSD final
So I guess he failed

Adeela, of course
Was also in full classroom
Uncomfortable

Crowds freak Wally out
How can he run Montoni’s
When Funky hands off?

Ha ha ha ha ha
Crowds at Montoni’s? c’mon
I crack myself up

Summa Cum Lame

Back to tha jokez in today’s strip, huh? Honestly, I’ll take it over the substantial ideas and awards panhandling we will undoubtedly return to shortly.

Still, if this is Wally’s best material, I can see why Adeela is not especially comfortable around him. And on another note, it is nice to see a food and beverage business in this strip other than Montoni’s.

Sick Degrees Of Separation

Adeela finally gets to use the photo album corners in today’s strip. I think so, anyways. Is that her as a child or is that her with the child?  Or is that her at all?

Wally was in Afghanistan long enough ago that a young child then would be old enough to go to college now, especially when TB treats his 10 year time jump as that, a time jump, and not just an age jump to make his Act I and II characters older (well… Cindy in mind only, not body). HA! OK, scratch that last part then, the “time jump” has never been more than excuse to age his characters.

Still, the story of a Afghan war veteran and an Afghan refugee struggling to feel comfortable enough around each other to complete a college project could well prove interesting. Now, if only we could find someone to write that story… If only.