Early update for November 6, 2025
Added 2025-11-05 04:55:01 +0000 UTCoh no my medal
Comments
That's USUALLY how this strip tends to go, but this strip really seems to read like Joyce in her hubris should be listening to the Muslim who's a victim just by being an American. What you're saying is why it feels out of place to me.
T Campbell
2025-11-13 12:44:20 +0000 UTCThe more of the consensus opinion I read about Joyce/Raidah, the more I feel like I read a different set of comics than others. Joyce is standing by herself. Then, Raidah comes over to blast her with unapologetic homophobia. Raidah, who had only ever treated Joyce with derision and contempt even before the Jacob thing. Raidah, who has spent a year trying to socially destroy Sarah for doing the right-but-hard thing regarding a mutual friend. Raidah, who doesn't even seem to hold homophobic views herself, but is just using it as an excuse to be cruel. And somehow, the correct and moral thing that Joyce should know she should do is change the topic of conversation away from the things Raidah has actually said and done, to something she and Raidah have never spoken about, based purely on the assumption that Raidah must care about it because she's Muslim? One of the things I appreciate about this comic is that in a large and diverse cast, no one is relegated to being merely "good representation". No matter which marginalized groups a character may belong to, they are still allowed a unique set of vices and virtues. Joyce is not a paragon of unspoiled virtue designed to teach the audience "see, queer autistic women are just like you, the imagined median reader!"; she's a 19-year-old mess whose brain isn't fully formed yet, who is still regularly learning how wrong she is about fundamental aspects of herself, who also happens to be queer and autistic. Retconning away Raidah's hard edges just because she's Muslim would be taking away her character, devolving her into an expository device to teach the imagined median reader things they should know already. And at least to me, that would be the greater disrespect, both to the character and the readers.
Dmitri0240
2025-11-07 21:00:34 +0000 UTCclosed eyes, gay hearts, can't lose?
Sumit
2025-11-07 00:27:46 +0000 UTC
