I’ve seen this on my dash quite a bit the last few days. I (honestly, really) have to say, I don’t see what the big deal is. More specifically, I don’t find this sad or slightly tragic. I don’t find the protagonist at all sympathetic or appealing. I don’t know why anyone likes this or cares about it. What is wrong with you?

If you don’t feel like looking at the somewhat long webcomic, it describes a man and a woman in a relationship. They cohabitate. The woman has a job and the man does not. She asks him to get a job over dinner one night, “because, the rent.” This is a totally fair, honest, reasonable, and realistic request to make of someone you’re a) in a relationship with, and b) living with.

The man proceeds to “apply” for various jobs like a marine animal and old man at a bar. He doesn’t get any of these jobs. By the end, the woman leaves him, and he finally “breaks down and gets a job at Wendy’s.” There are so many fucked up things with how this is presented.

First. Getting a job is hard. Look a-fucking-round. Even a job at Wendy’s is not a guarantee. Really. No job is guaranteed. That the author of the comic thinks you can just automatically get a job at Wendy’s because he’s such a good… web comic (?) is facetious and insulting. I think the subtext is that the reason a job at Wendy’s is assured is that he’s a white guy who went to college. How else did he learn to be so infantalized and sure in his own employability at a “real/shitty” job?

Second. What’s wrong with working at Wendy’s? I know a lot of people who’ve worked in fast food. They turned out great. Just the nicest, smartest, best people. What. The. Fuck. Is. Wrong. With. Working. At. Wendy’s. It’s such a weak punchline that the comic seems like it was made to just be that punchline, as if the author just wanted a super SEO reddit viral link title for his stupid shit.

Third. What’s wrong with this asshole? Sorry you didn’t want to grow up. I know how that is; I have a tumblr! It could be that the whole trying-to-get-a-job-as-a-marine-creature is just a metaphor for being a useless web comic author. Is that the point? You did a good job proving your point! Your web comic sucks! Good work convincing me it’s a useless, fanciful, position that makes you both unemployable and unfuckable! Twist ending: You are actually a great web comic author!

(themattsmith:theycallmebruce:absurdlakefront:thisistheglamorous:bwall05)