I gratuitously put myself in my own comic on April 3 for my nineteenth birthday, as you do. Â Apparently I’m Alex’s roommate! Â And there’s some sort of passive-aggressive plea for romantic companionship.
True story:  My awesome and thoughtful mom sent me a birthday cake on my birthday.  Like, I went down to the lobby to pick up my mail and there was a damn birthday cake waiting for me behind the desk.  She’d probably ordered it over the phone from back home.  And my mom had asked them to, from what I gathered, take whatever Roomies! strip had printed in the newspaper and place it on top of the cake.  And of course it was this one.
Meaning I ate birthday cake alone in the dark in my room that night. Â A birthday cake with an image of myself on it talking about being so, so alone.
This was the year I probably should have been on antidepressants.
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So, is this version of you canonically the same as the one who does Shortpants! and edit-wars with Ethan?
Supposedly he found a girlfriend as he hit the ground, and went on to marry her.
You’re forgetting the years he spent as a member of SEMME.
Yeah, I remember him being there. Mine and his Squad had the same hall. I was 14 after Semme disbanded. Squad 238 was his squad, mine being 158.
Oh do I love inserting myself in these stories. Willis does it, so I have a right to…. I think….he is the writer though. LOL!
Quick walkyverse role playing site go!
do your magic tumblr
Panel two is one of my favorite things.
Wow, I don’t remember this from the archive…
Not that that’s a bad thing.
This is my favorite strip from the SAL?! arc.
You’re certainly a lot happier next time I remember seeing you (if you call being chased with your not yet wife by an angry woman with a corn popper happier). Random thought, given Shortpants, was fictional you writing some comic at this point?
Actually come to think of it, you sound like me a little (but my birthday for my first year of university hasn’t come yet). I think I’ve resolved my feelings about not having a girlfriend now though.
My first two years at college I was stuck in the mindset that I COULDN’T be happy if I didn’t have a girlfriend, that I wasn’t allowed to feel happy or fulfilled unless I was getting laid. Then in my third year, I lived with a friend for a few months who was an insecure musclehead, and he spent all his time convincing me that this mindset was true.
Then I had a falling out with that “friend,” and during the next six months I finally got to “find myself”, so to speak, and mature a lot. I realized that I didn’t need sex/a relationship in order to be happy. I could still want them, and I do, but my life wasn’t dependant on it anymore. It was a very freeing feeling. I’m 22 now and I still haven’t been in a real relationship yet (not for lack of trying though!), but now I have the joy of wanting one just for myself, and not just to live up to what I think other people expect of me.
You should have had Danny set you up with Joyce. That would have solved everybody’s problems!
(And been indicative of much, much deeper ones… but, hey, can’t win ’em all!)
Who would have though Alex would have a roomie? But then, guess you’d be as good as any he would have; considering he only wants his computer and you only want a girl. No xpurposes there.
I’ve always really liked this one, but now that I think about it, the day I read through all of Roomies! and It’s Walky! for the first time was smack dab in the middle of my own lonesome/depressed/unmedicated semester at college, so maybe I just empathized a bunch. Heh.
It’s really odd how sometimes you can’t see how deep a hole you’ve been in without hindsight.
That’s an amazing story about the cake, though. Just too perfect.
Yes, indeed, that’s why they say the raw material for stories is… life itself. +1
Y’know, when you said there was a year you probably should’ve been on antidepressants while writing Roomies!, I can’t say I thought it was this one. I had assumed it was around the time Ruth showed up.
It’s more of a calendar year, not a school year.
When I first read through the archives I thought this was Walky. Is it just a coincidence that they are both David W.?
I think David Walkerton was an author substitute for David Willis at one point, but sometime before he gets introduced in Roomies! he’s been changed enough so that no longer applies.
As was Danny Wilcox.
Hence the prevalance of hoodies.
And DWs.
This is one of the few strips I completely remember, mostly because I can sympathize with young Willis in the fourth panel.
…and for some reason up until reading the comments, I thought DP451 was female.
What? Alex can be a girl’s name!
Turns out she was, 1998 Willis just didn’t know yet! And neither did 2013 Willis when posting commentary…
Holy shit, that cake story introduces entirely new dimensions of tragedy to this strip. I just want to reach out to crudely-drawn college-Willis and give him a hug ;_;
Fictional David is writing a newspaper comic called Apartners, which gradually morphs into an epic tale of aliens and character development. Later, he reboots some of the characters for Shortpants!. Later still, he makes a site called Bring Back Apartners, mostly worth reading for the snarky perspective on his old self.
Brilliant, you forgot about Numbing with Age though.
Couldn’t think of a funny name for it. Then you swooped in, you hero, you. And can’t forget It’s Walky-Talky, the heartwarming chronicles of a two-way radio who learns the true meaning of love.
LOLOL! That’s so great! And then there’s Josing and Walky-Talky!
Josing and Walky-Talky, Michael Bruthers (the resident jerk), Raven DePanto, Inza Ect (who Walky-Talky has a slight relationship with to get Josing jealous), Seth (ladies’ man)…
I don’t suppose my name is any sort of huge secret at this point so lemme just say, considering my total and complete non-interest in getting laid, being slotted in for Joe (albeit unintentionally) is completely friggin’ hilarious.
Too bad Sal’s already in the room, he could’ve met her on her way IN the window!
Wow. I need to launch saddavidwillisstories.com just to have this entry in the hall of fame.
Reminds me of one Valentine’s Day when my Mom sent me candies (which wasn’t too unusual), and a *blank* Valentine’s Day card… I couldn’t tell if she was trying to give me a hint or what, needless to say I was especially confused that Valentine’s, and sad…
Oh well, I had lots of candy all for myself! Depression eating is tasty eating.
STILL brutal!
Wow, way to be a complete downer.
Originally posted:
April 3, 1998