As with most lies and liars, the truth catches up to Donna. So, learning from Donna’s bitter experiences as a prevaricator, I give you my vow. When it comes to love, I stand before you with my right hand raised and my left hand resting on ACG’s Lovelorn #14 (1951), where this tale appears, to swear to you that I will never lie to you, Pappy readers. I love you deeply and am committed to your happiness.
Ha-ha. And if you believe that then I am a better liar than I thought. Here is what I have learned in a lifetime’s experience. Everybody lies. On the job, to the traffic court judge, to the significant other. It is part of being human. The part that gets you in trouble is the bad lie, trying to lie yourself out of trouble with the boss or the law. Lying in love...well, all is fair, as the wise one said.
Art by Paul Cooper.
From years past, here are two more entertaining stories from Lovelorn. Just click on the thumbnails.
Has anyone ever gave you proper credit for your great prose, Mr. Pappy?
ReplyDeleteAs for the story, Here's a case where the inevitable happy ending ruins everything. "I believe you Donna, Now and Always." Can't help but thinking: "Poor, poor man."
The art here is servicable, but uneven. And I think that, if Donna were spinning the web, then she oughtn't to have wings in the slash panel.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, Frank seems to have confused necessity with sufficiency. If Donna had continued to lie, even when likely caught-out, that would at least strongly suggest that she were not reformed. But, having been placed in a position with a strong chance of exposure, she might abandon the effort of lying about the matter at hand, yet be perfectly willing to lie in future.
I've been through the experience of dealing with a girlfriend who said and did rotten things, admitted to lies when they were exploded, and then seemed to be sincerely remorseful, but was not, or fell back on old patterns, or some of both.
I don't know whether I learned my lesson. I still don't really know where are the lines past which one should walk away.
I do know that truthfulness is a powerful thing to bring to a relationship; and that, more generally, the ethos of striving invariably to do the right thing can grab a woman's heart like nothing else, once she gets her head around the fact that it's really what you're doing.
Daniel, lies are for so many different reasons, and some of them not all bad. "Does this dress make me look fat?" is one of those things that brings on a polite lie, "Of course not, dear." Which will probably save an evening, if not a relationship. But we have all known people for whom lying is not just a way of life, but perhaps they just don't know how to handle a situation any other way.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your "ethos of striving to do the right thing." If everyone thought like that we would all be better off. Even if truth causes pain, the outing of a lie can often cause even more pain.
P.S., I have been a liar in relationships, and I have been caught more than once. Late in life I realized that it was better to just tell the truth and face immediate consequences. It helps me sleep a little better, anyway.
J D, I don't think credit is due for writing. I write exactly the same as I speak. I don't think of it as anything more than just putting down with keystrokes what I have spoken out loud.
ReplyDeleteAs you may have noticed from past postings, I don't believe so much in happy endings. Sometimes I accept them because I don't like to think of what would really happen after the story we see is over. There is often some nagging feeling that as soon as I turned the page to a new story, the characters in the old story have done something to ruin their own happy ending.
@Pappy: Then I'll give you credit for your ability in speech.
ReplyDeleteI've checked the Governement Gal's story and I'm inclined to think happy endings ruin ALL these comics. This chick deserved at least one trip to Siberia, but no... it always ends with a kiss! What a letdown...
@Daniel: I guess she's depicted as a fly because she gets caught in the web created by her own lies (so she was a spider also? a bit confusing...).
As for your last lines, I hope you're right.
Definitely, the only thing I like in these comics is the art.
Sincerely yours, JD
Egads. This thing is just awful, but before I get to the snark, look at the thumbnail for page 4.
ReplyDeleteDonna against the curtain, then followed by the fabric on angles makes the entire page look distorted. You could get sea sick if you looked at it too much!
Where to start on this one. First, normally these are a great read, but the speed at which this thing turns makes it hard to believe anything, less the lies and truths which the story hinges on. And the "boss?" I'm going out in the street and staring at women and then demanding they tell me if they love me!
Donna might be a liar, but her new boyfriend is a scary creep!
JD, I wrote that last line from experience, but other things can be at play, so that there is no longer a hope of a relationship when a woman gets her head around what you've actually been doing. I've some sad and ugly stories.
ReplyDeleteBTW, Pappy, just this morning, one female friend proposed that she employ a white lie to aid me in pursuit of another woman. Which illustrates how reflexive lying can be.
Well, of course, Daniel...we not only lie to serve ourselves but to serve others.
ReplyDeleteDuring the course of this topic I have been hearing this Henry Rollins song in my head, so I will inflict...errrrr...provide it for you. "I'm A Liar".