6-24-05

A Relationship Comedy for a New Generation

Every generation, it seems, has its own relationship comic.  The Baby Boomers have Cathy—Guisewhite's fluffy ingenue's self-obsession and erratic indecisiveness typifies (if it doesn't actually define) the relational weirdness of the rapidly aging ex-hippies.  My generation had Funky Winkerbean—all those flawed kids trying not to make the same dumb mistakes over and over.  The latest generation out of the gate—the twenties getting out of college and just discovering the world—have P.Chuu's et-cetera.
          Chuu's character-driven strip is sharp, usually funny, and addresses the many relationship pitfalls of the new century in a sympathetic way, moving beyond the old archetypes into new territory that would leave Cathy reeling and Funky reaching for a bottle of Scotch.  The comic begins with Bingo Weiss, the main character moving out of her parents home and into an apartment of her own with the aid of her dog boy, Lucky.  Since she knows she won't be able to pay her own rent, she begins interviewing roommates.  Unfortunately, her first prospective roomie is not only a little crazed (she sings the camp song "Bingo" when she learns our heroine's name), she has removed or destroyed all of Bingo's advertising to eliminate any competition.  Luckily, there was one other applicant, the unflappably normal Ophelia McGillan, who moves in and begins to develop a crush on Bingo (did I mention that Ophy is gay?  It's easy to forget; homosexuality is one of those things that Chuu deals with in an off-hand manner that would surprise those of us who grew up with "very-special" episodes).
          That's the first two or three weeks of the archive.  et-cetera is a daily, a daily that Chuu has updated more or less faithfully since it began.  There have been some lapses, when she was sick or visiting family, but no Ian Quartey-style unexplained month-long absences.
          The characters are believable, and, for the most part, likable.  Bingo is sarcastic without being either "wisecracking" or irredeemably bitchy.  Lucky is particularly sympathetic.  He is, as I mentioned, Bingo's dog boy (a dog boy, for those who don't know, is a man who is completely in love with a woman but has fallen so deeply into her "friend zone" that all he can do is follow her around like a lovesick puppy), but he knows it, and some of the most poignant moments of the comic are those strips where Lucky agonizes over the choice between risking the friendship and making Bingo see him as a man.  Ophy provides stability that is only slightly disconnected by her loving relationship with the crazy applicant, Megara (she lives next door—it's hard to explain...read the comic).  Neither Ophy nor Meg are about being gay; they just are.  You wouldn't even know they are until you saw them sitting together on Bingo's couch.
          The art takes some getting used to.  I'm not sure if Chuu's main influences are Tumbleweeds or Bratz dolls, but the result is that all of the characters have soma really big heads and tiny little bodies.  Other than that, the line work is smooth and well-crafted (some of the early comics, compared to the last half-year or so, really show Chuu's growth as an artist).  More importantly, Chuu does an excellent job framing and crafting each panel to tell the story.
          There's some adult language (there always seems to be adult language in webcomics), and, of course, the subject matter is mature in nature, but et-cetera is very worksafe (at least I don't think I've ever seen an exposed breast or graphic sex scene—hard to say, Chuu would probably play it off, anyway).  Don't read it to your four-year-old nephew, but if you want to laugh at modern romance, particularly if you're young enough to have to deal with it, this is a good read.

Updates:  Daily
Caveats:  Mature themes and humor, big heads
Rating: