Either way, the relationship is over. Did you catch that ‘Demolition’ referred to Demolition Duke and the demolition of this relationship? Clever, Tim.
I love that he stopped looking for a story to give her and went off on a wild Ethan tangent. He looks so serious.
Michiel
5 years ago
Phew! At least that fire has been put out. Quick thinking, Ethan.
raven0ak
5 years ago
Ethan you be screwed now
Christopher Dittrich
5 years ago
Oh Ethan, just let her in on your story. Don’t let it end as you did with Lilah. Of course under very different circumstances, but still, don’t let anything separate you!
toughluck
5 years ago
This is where she accidentally kills him and he spawns back, right?
Okay thats not exactly my guess that that is hilarious. My guess is that the Xbot will show up or just kidnap her. Kidnapping the girlfriend is such a common trope.
MarthKoopa
5 years ago
I really really really REALLY hope Ethan comes clean by the next strip. This kind of “can’t tell the secret” drama is toooooooo cliche.
It’s cliche because it works. It’s boring and predictable, sure, but it still functions for the story. You need the right amount anyway. Too much cliches and you’re effectively copy-pasting another story. Too little (meaning, trying to avoid them or “be original”) and the story is confusing and is effectively what looks like an Andy Warhol painting in written form. Everything is about balance. Cliches included.
Stories are confusing when they avoid cliches? That’s an interesting take. And I like how you say “it works’ but then immediately follow with “boring and predictable”.
I don’t know. The secret identity thing has been explored. It is very dangerous to Not have one. For starters it is like coming home for veterans. A chance to breathe. So having one entails the risks inherent to it. The letting it get out. Ethan has known her a relatively short time. And letting her in on his secret reveals Lucas as well. So the trope really is needed. The problem is he was caught in a lie and needs to find a way around it or out of it. Admitting who he is may not be the smart… Read more »
Possibly unpopular opinion: It’s not that I hate the analog and d-pad comics, it’s just that I would probably be more excited about them if they were a specific comic I was tuning in for. Same for Starjammers. We had a Superhero arc, followed by like 3 regular comics, followed by a stand alone Superhero plug of “Hey, subscribe to my patreon to get this!” followed by maybe 2 regular comics and now back to Superhero. It was the better part of a decade ago when this comic ‘ended’ the Ethan and Lucus main comic. Which weirded people out, but… Read more »
I disagree with you 100%. I could care less about gaming comics and CAD hasn’t been a strictly gaming comic for a long time now.
I’m here for the stories. I love it.
Also the reason why we’re seeing a lot more of Ethan and Lucas 2.0 is because of a Poll ran a few years ago. By a huge landslide people wanted way more Ethan and Lucas.
I wonder if the author ever feels like he has painted himself in a corner where he’d really like to do something else but the ghosts of the past are what keeps the lights on.
See, I would totally understand that. And I would totally understand if he said “CAD is ending” and started a new comic. Webcomics aren’t ‘new’ anymore, they haven’t been new for about 2 decades. We’ve seen comics end, we’ve seen artists start new projects. But I guess he feels if he didn’t have CAD’s long standing namesake going, no one would care, he’d lose clicks and ad money. It’s like Sinfest (to an insanely lesser extent.) Rather than start a new comic, Tatsuya wanted to keep the Sinfest ‘brand’ and of course the audience, so he just gradually twisted his… Read more »
I disagree with you both 🙂
Yes, I really like CAD, but also the Console Wars, and I love the funny colored P&P sessions, and of course I really liked the Starcaster Chronicles. And I like how they mix up. The only thing I don’t like is too much critics on how free content is being published. No offense, but I’m grateful for the great comics and stories I can enjoy here.
I can say for certain that I disagree entirely with you on this.
I enjoy the gaming based comics (and especially love the Console Wars) but I’m really here for the Ethan and Co. story comics, and always had been.
The end of CAD 1.0, and subsequent replacement with CAD 2.0, was never something I was particularly happy about, and subsequently I’m never as pleased with CAD 2.0 as when new Analog and D-Pad stories come out.
Go to top, click on “Comics” dropdown. Click to comic of your choice. Bookmark as you please. /thumbsup
That said, I have no issue with things alternating week to week. I originally got into CAD for the funny gaming comics. Then the Ethan and Lucas storyline. Since 2.0, it’s been like this and that’s fine. As long as we’re sticking to one main storyline comic (be it Analog + DPad or Starcaster), I’m good. My brain can track the multiple arcs.
There has never been a moment, in the entire time I’ve been drawing this comic, that I wanted to stick to one thing. And if I were to pick ONE thing to focus on, gaming one-shots would be dead last on that list. I like being able to make jokes about a specific game, or the industry, or whatever. But doing so requires me to be at the mercy of the industry. A company or game has to DO something I find funny, in order for me to then be able to do my job. With stories and character-driven comics,… Read more »
Have loved seeing this comic grow over the past decade. And the analog and Dpad story line, the way I see it, almost seems line what the original Ethan and Lucas universe could have been. It’s not that the old storylines were bad but it shows howuch you have learned over the years in writing the comic and i always see it as alternate universe.
Speaking of your schedule, I’m curious Tim, how much planning do you put into a particular run? Like do you have an overarching idea and just kinda draw and see where it takes you, or do you have things pretty well cemented before you put pen to paper and begin?
I am greatly enjoying the A+D arcs. Those and Starcaster keep me coming back. Really looking forward to the next full issue (hoping there will be one, anyway).
Gaming was and is the HOOK. You stay for the characters and the storylines. Even at the console wars thing (my fav!), the fun comes more from the military cliches and the whole crazyness of the idea itself than the critique of a conflict that’s has been more or less completely imaginary the whole time. Why, I’ve been a hard core RPG player most of my life, and the comics I like the least are the players playing an RPG. The story is dull, not taken seriously by anyone (not even the players, except poor 3) and see no point… Read more »
Kinda agree, but I love all the comics that Tim comes up with.
I think all the comics are fantastic good fun, but I agree that there could be some separation with the way they are put out. Maybe have separate links on the front page to the various comics so people could read the arcs in one go without having to go through the other comic stories just to find the next page.
My apologies. I usually read while on the bus to work in the morning so the links aren’t the most obvious. I didn’t see the “Comics” text link at the top. My bad ^_^;;
hmmm. debating if i agree or not. But here is a thought. what if the original comic never ended? Here is my theory. The device the supposedly kill Ethan actually cause him to be split between realities. And all the web-comics on this site being made are a view of what is going on in those realities. and at some point Ethan will pop up in all of them or some version of him. And he slowly comes realize what has happened to him and he begins trying to figure out how to return to his own reality and time.
Bwauder
5 years ago
At this point in the argument, given past points of view, there is NO way to win for Ethan.
Might as well go for the technical victory, with extra points for major confusion.
“You should have told me you were at the apartment. I had headphones on” – Ethan telling a reasonable lie related to their mutual hobbies and hard to disprove
tiamattt
5 years ago
Someone tell Lucas to never let Ethan anywhere near a blackjack table, because he really picks the worse times to double down.
Twilight Faze
5 years ago
THIS is Friday’s comic?! Augh of all the cliffhangers to start the weekend on…
Nekopanzer
5 years ago
Looks like Ethan possesses yet another super power:
Super hole digging power!
CharleyB
5 years ago
idiot. Ethan’s making me cringe all over again. Ethan, might I suggest you go meta and look up a webcomic called ctrl-alt-del from some years back. You might learn something, lol
Tumbleweed
5 years ago
Yeah, even I know you can’t tumble out of that situation.
Agreed. Either decide to trust her, tell the truth, and deal with the consequences, or just tell her flatly that you can’t share that info and that you shouldn’t be dating. At some point, trust has to be there, and you owe her this knowledge. It’s not because she found out, it’s because you two are a much closer couple than just a casual fling.
Plus, you promised. Don’t destroy her trust. It’s not easily gained back.
BTrammel
5 years ago
Aaaaand the story title didn’t necessarily refer to the bank heist…
Korith
5 years ago
Ruh Roh
Eldest Gruff
5 years ago
YES. I was worried that we had just gone past this and wouldn’t revisit fora while.
Chris
5 years ago
Oooo the direct approach…I don’t think any of us saw this one coming…
Chris
5 years ago
Insert contrived breakup so he’s free to chase Lilah.
Contrived? It would be a perfectly logical progression to have a fight and break up after this. He’s been lying to her, and she caught him.
Tyco
5 years ago
That might be the best argument Ethan has ever made though.
Mike
5 years ago
Ethan, you’re not smart enough to use that argument…
Stephen
5 years ago
Nope, Ethan too late. Your best move at this point is to just jump out the window.
Karrde
5 years ago
Ethan cant come up with a lie, because Ethan. Either he doubles down on not telling her and they break up, or he tells her, and opens up that can of worms.
Alex Larson
5 years ago
I don’t like how contrived this all feels. Ethan could have just said he was out with Lucas and there wouldn’t be an issue. Feels like drama for drama sake. I’m sure you’ve gotta get rid of Emily at some point so Lilah can come into the picture but at least make the fight over something real.
Bear in mind that just because you, the reader, with all of the information and 20/20 hindsight can come up with a marginally better lie, doesn’t make it implausable that in the moment and on the spot, Ethan would come up with the wrong lie for the situation. 😉 As far as he’s thinking, Emily had class and it wasn’t even on his mind that she’d be at his doorstep. His instinct in the moment is simply “distance myself from what I’m really doing as much as possible.” He’s not yet been in a situation where he’s had to think… Read more »
Halosty
5 years ago
On re-read, I now interpret her expression in the third panel as “Oh, Ethan broke again.”
Vukodlak
5 years ago
Well Lucas could save the day by stepping in and saying “Oh Emily, you here? were you able to buzz in okay its been broken the past couple days”
24
Ethan no, she’s caught you. Either come up with a convincing lie or tell her the truth. Perhaps it will change her mind about super heroes.
It’s Ethan, he can’t tell the truth until it’s far too late.
Either way, the relationship is over. Did you catch that ‘Demolition’ referred to Demolition Duke and the demolition of this relationship? Clever, Tim.
I guess he could kill himself.. to show her..
Or just break up with her, since he wants to be with Lilah and is pretty much just stringing Emily along anyway.
https://cad-comic.com/comic/swapped-p6/
I love that he stopped looking for a story to give her and went off on a wild Ethan tangent. He looks so serious.
Phew! At least that fire has been put out. Quick thinking, Ethan.
Ethan you be screwed now
Oh Ethan, just let her in on your story. Don’t let it end as you did with Lilah. Of course under very different circumstances, but still, don’t let anything separate you!
This is where she accidentally kills him and he spawns back, right?
Yeah, “accidentally”
Okay thats not exactly my guess that that is hilarious. My guess is that the Xbot will show up or just kidnap her. Kidnapping the girlfriend is such a common trope.
I really really really REALLY hope Ethan comes clean by the next strip. This kind of “can’t tell the secret” drama is toooooooo cliche.
It’s cliche because it works. It’s boring and predictable, sure, but it still functions for the story. You need the right amount anyway. Too much cliches and you’re effectively copy-pasting another story. Too little (meaning, trying to avoid them or “be original”) and the story is confusing and is effectively what looks like an Andy Warhol painting in written form. Everything is about balance. Cliches included.
Stories are confusing when they avoid cliches? That’s an interesting take. And I like how you say “it works’ but then immediately follow with “boring and predictable”.
I don’t know. The secret identity thing has been explored. It is very dangerous to Not have one. For starters it is like coming home for veterans. A chance to breathe. So having one entails the risks inherent to it. The letting it get out. Ethan has known her a relatively short time. And letting her in on his secret reveals Lucas as well. So the trope really is needed. The problem is he was caught in a lie and needs to find a way around it or out of it. Admitting who he is may not be the smart… Read more »
He might as well. His chance of keeping a secret identity longer than a year seems about zero to me anyhow. He just doesn’t have the impulse control.
Don’t forget this is our new see-saw Ethan – still wild and silly for games but able to be mature and restrained for important things.
It WOULD be a nice change, actually.
Possibly unpopular opinion: It’s not that I hate the analog and d-pad comics, it’s just that I would probably be more excited about them if they were a specific comic I was tuning in for. Same for Starjammers. We had a Superhero arc, followed by like 3 regular comics, followed by a stand alone Superhero plug of “Hey, subscribe to my patreon to get this!” followed by maybe 2 regular comics and now back to Superhero. It was the better part of a decade ago when this comic ‘ended’ the Ethan and Lucus main comic. Which weirded people out, but… Read more »
I disagree with you 100%. I could care less about gaming comics and CAD hasn’t been a strictly gaming comic for a long time now.
I’m here for the stories. I love it.
Also the reason why we’re seeing a lot more of Ethan and Lucas 2.0 is because of a Poll ran a few years ago. By a huge landslide people wanted way more Ethan and Lucas.
I wonder if the author ever feels like he has painted himself in a corner where he’d really like to do something else but the ghosts of the past are what keeps the lights on.
See, I would totally understand that. And I would totally understand if he said “CAD is ending” and started a new comic. Webcomics aren’t ‘new’ anymore, they haven’t been new for about 2 decades. We’ve seen comics end, we’ve seen artists start new projects. But I guess he feels if he didn’t have CAD’s long standing namesake going, no one would care, he’d lose clicks and ad money. It’s like Sinfest (to an insanely lesser extent.) Rather than start a new comic, Tatsuya wanted to keep the Sinfest ‘brand’ and of course the audience, so he just gradually twisted his… Read more »
I disagree with you both 🙂
Yes, I really like CAD, but also the Console Wars, and I love the funny colored P&P sessions, and of course I really liked the Starcaster Chronicles. And I like how they mix up. The only thing I don’t like is too much critics on how free content is being published. No offense, but I’m grateful for the great comics and stories I can enjoy here.
I can say for certain that I disagree entirely with you on this.
I enjoy the gaming based comics (and especially love the Console Wars) but I’m really here for the Ethan and Co. story comics, and always had been.
The end of CAD 1.0, and subsequent replacement with CAD 2.0, was never something I was particularly happy about, and subsequently I’m never as pleased with CAD 2.0 as when new Analog and D-Pad stories come out.
Go to top, click on “Comics” dropdown. Click to comic of your choice. Bookmark as you please. /thumbsup
That said, I have no issue with things alternating week to week. I originally got into CAD for the funny gaming comics. Then the Ethan and Lucas storyline. Since 2.0, it’s been like this and that’s fine. As long as we’re sticking to one main storyline comic (be it Analog + DPad or Starcaster), I’m good. My brain can track the multiple arcs.
There has never been a moment, in the entire time I’ve been drawing this comic, that I wanted to stick to one thing. And if I were to pick ONE thing to focus on, gaming one-shots would be dead last on that list. I like being able to make jokes about a specific game, or the industry, or whatever. But doing so requires me to be at the mercy of the industry. A company or game has to DO something I find funny, in order for me to then be able to do my job. With stories and character-driven comics,… Read more »
Have loved seeing this comic grow over the past decade. And the analog and Dpad story line, the way I see it, almost seems line what the original Ethan and Lucas universe could have been. It’s not that the old storylines were bad but it shows howuch you have learned over the years in writing the comic and i always see it as alternate universe.
Speaking of your schedule, I’m curious Tim, how much planning do you put into a particular run? Like do you have an overarching idea and just kinda draw and see where it takes you, or do you have things pretty well cemented before you put pen to paper and begin?
I am greatly enjoying the A+D arcs. Those and Starcaster keep me coming back. Really looking forward to the next full issue (hoping there will be one, anyway).
Gaming was and is the HOOK. You stay for the characters and the storylines. Even at the console wars thing (my fav!), the fun comes more from the military cliches and the whole crazyness of the idea itself than the critique of a conflict that’s has been more or less completely imaginary the whole time. Why, I’ve been a hard core RPG player most of my life, and the comics I like the least are the players playing an RPG. The story is dull, not taken seriously by anyone (not even the players, except poor 3) and see no point… Read more »
Kinda agree, but I love all the comics that Tim comes up with.
I think all the comics are fantastic good fun, but I agree that there could be some separation with the way they are put out. Maybe have separate links on the front page to the various comics so people could read the arcs in one go without having to go through the other comic stories just to find the next page.
That being said, keep up the good work Tim!
That is literally what happens if you click “comics” at the top of the page.
You can select and navigate an archive specifically for each series.
My apologies. I usually read while on the bus to work in the morning so the links aren’t the most obvious. I didn’t see the “Comics” text link at the top. My bad ^_^;;
hmmm. debating if i agree or not. But here is a thought. what if the original comic never ended? Here is my theory. The device the supposedly kill Ethan actually cause him to be split between realities. And all the web-comics on this site being made are a view of what is going on in those realities. and at some point Ethan will pop up in all of them or some version of him. And he slowly comes realize what has happened to him and he begins trying to figure out how to return to his own reality and time.
At this point in the argument, given past points of view, there is NO way to win for Ethan.
Might as well go for the technical victory, with extra points for major confusion.
“You should have told me you were at the apartment. I had headphones on” – Ethan telling a reasonable lie related to their mutual hobbies and hard to disprove
Someone tell Lucas to never let Ethan anywhere near a blackjack table, because he really picks the worse times to double down.
THIS is Friday’s comic?! Augh of all the cliffhangers to start the weekend on…
Looks like Ethan possesses yet another super power:
Super hole digging power!
idiot. Ethan’s making me cringe all over again. Ethan, might I suggest you go meta and look up a webcomic called ctrl-alt-del from some years back. You might learn something, lol
Yeah, even I know you can’t tumble out of that situation.
Should he have to explain himself?
Yes.
I’m usually on Ethan’s general side because hijinks . but this is some gaslighting bullshit right hyah
Whaa?
Gaslighting: manipulate (someone) by psychological means into questioning their own sanity.
well hes not wrong…
Immortality won’t save you this time
That’s a bold strategy cotton, let’s see if it pays off for him
Just tell the truth, Ethan….nothing good comes from trying to cover it up….
Agreed. Either decide to trust her, tell the truth, and deal with the consequences, or just tell her flatly that you can’t share that info and that you shouldn’t be dating. At some point, trust has to be there, and you owe her this knowledge. It’s not because she found out, it’s because you two are a much closer couple than just a casual fling.
Plus, you promised. Don’t destroy her trust. It’s not easily gained back.
Aaaaand the story title didn’t necessarily refer to the bank heist…
Ruh Roh
YES. I was worried that we had just gone past this and wouldn’t revisit fora while.
Oooo the direct approach…I don’t think any of us saw this one coming…
Insert contrived breakup so he’s free to chase Lilah.
Contrived? It would be a perfectly logical progression to have a fight and break up after this. He’s been lying to her, and she caught him.
That might be the best argument Ethan has ever made though.
Ethan, you’re not smart enough to use that argument…
Nope, Ethan too late. Your best move at this point is to just jump out the window.
Ethan cant come up with a lie, because Ethan. Either he doubles down on not telling her and they break up, or he tells her, and opens up that can of worms.
I don’t like how contrived this all feels. Ethan could have just said he was out with Lucas and there wouldn’t be an issue. Feels like drama for drama sake. I’m sure you’ve gotta get rid of Emily at some point so Lilah can come into the picture but at least make the fight over something real.
Bear in mind that just because you, the reader, with all of the information and 20/20 hindsight can come up with a marginally better lie, doesn’t make it implausable that in the moment and on the spot, Ethan would come up with the wrong lie for the situation. 😉 As far as he’s thinking, Emily had class and it wasn’t even on his mind that she’d be at his doorstep. His instinct in the moment is simply “distance myself from what I’m really doing as much as possible.” He’s not yet been in a situation where he’s had to think… Read more »
On re-read, I now interpret her expression in the third panel as “Oh, Ethan broke again.”
Well Lucas could save the day by stepping in and saying “Oh Emily, you here? were you able to buzz in okay its been broken the past couple days”
Sadly predictable. Also is the final outcome.