Lying is just another martial art. Know when and how to deploy it, or you’re an asshole. And if you have to use it, and it’s right to use it… be discreet, careful. It’s easy to say now that he should have said “We went out for a walk. Be back at the apartment in a bit… unless you want to meet somewhere else?”… actually, that would probably have been better without hindsight.
If you feel like you should be telling someone the whole truth about something and you choose not to… That is still a lie. Why else would you have the guilt and ethical response if it wasn’t a lie? It is no different than if your girlfriend asks where you are going and you say “going to go see a friend”, but that “friend” happens to be an affair… its not a lie but its also not a truth. In many ways it is worse because you are abusing their trust by presenting partial information. If you flat out lied… Read more »
It can be a survival skill, but too often it then also becomes the first resort, because we humans are lazy and don’t like awkwardness. It needs to be the last resort for relationships (with employees, employers, clients, spouses, family, etc) to work well. Honesty, particularly using it regularly, with kindness and with carefully chosen phrasing, is a powerful tool too and should be practiced often and with care. The reputation you can get of being a straight shooter and of being someone who calls it as they see it and who lets people know where they stand (so there… Read more »
Tumbleweed
5 years ago
I’d return that cake. I don’t want to eat it when it’s full of lies.
James Rye
5 years ago
Lucas the playboy playing the boys like a man. XD
Some Guy Name Sbeve
5 years ago
Uh, oh! Ethan is sounding normal again! Sounds like Tim is about to reset the comic yet another time.
EMMachine
5 years ago
Still it would have been an better alternative to say “I’m out with Lucas”, than “I’m at home watching TV” which would have saved lot’s of trouble. At least that wouldn’t have been a lie. Well, let’s see if there is still a future for Ethan + Emily.
I think in case of “Dating another woman”, it would be easier to date a Super Hero (the problem in this case should be finding one).
I’d say that’s the second best lie. It’s definitely the most effective form of lying… wrap a core deception in a many aspects of the truth like a fine camouflage scheme. The best lie is the one you don’t tell because you don’t need to. And a lot of times people lie, it isn’t out of a genuine need (before someone says you never need to, there are crappy situations – boss is out to shoot the messenger or take out his mistake on someone more junior, someone is going to use the truth to hurt you, etc – where… Read more »
Mmm, while I try to be mostly honest. I have to honestly say that I do lie on occasion if I think it is for the best. Ask me what I think of a meal. Honesty. Why were you just fired? Honesty. Discussing politics with my father who has a heart condition and high blood pressure while he is drinking. . . Lies to change subject and calm him down. Way to improve integrity. Have conversation and state something. Checking later that your statement was false. Go back to previous persons and admit you were wrong. Thus you are not… Read more »
I usually find the story where the hero is trying to figure out if he wants to be with the superheroine/villaness or the normal girl, because it’s usually a difficult answer to come up with….
Brent
5 years ago
Now I want a comic run focusing on Lucas falling for a cop that we later find out is on a quest to bring in all unregistered heroes.
That would be interesting, but I’m not sure we’d see that given that the impetus behind it (“my significant other doesn’t like superheroes”) was just done in this storyline. What we could see is Ethan or Lucas falling for someone and it turns out the significant other is also a superhero / supervillain.
Ashi
5 years ago
“Lying is a skill like any other and if you want to maintain a level of excellence, you have to practice constantly.”
Wow… I didn’t expect ANY of that from either of them. Lucas is advocating dishonesty and is apparently a bit of a player, and also gay, which I must have missed/forgotten if it came up earlier in the comic. And Ethan is taking what just happened to him and making a sober, kind of mature assessment of his life based on recent events. It’s kind of refreshing, actually. It reminds me that while this comic is still Lucas and Ethan, it’s also two new characters and we don’t exactly know what they’re going to do based on how their previous… Read more »
Just wait until the re-reboot. It’s going to include a gender-swapped Ethan and Lucas, mobile games, a sentient virtual AI named Siri that Ethany created herself (much to Lucy’s distain), and be titled Command+Option+Esc.
… no, not really. But that would be a hilarious one-shot.
lol I’d agree it would be hilarious but be careful about giveing Tim idea’s like that. That kind of alternate universe one shot could easily balloon into yet another side project to manage.
Down that path lies insanity. Some fans likeing it better and demanding more. Yet other fans demanding to know why he’s rebooting agian and saying these new characters dont fit with their idea of what they should be. I wouldn’t pull the pin on that grenade.
Agreed. Always better when its just normal rather than the tolken character that just announces “Im gay!” at the top of his lungs once an episode that alot of media seems to go for to meet their diversity quota.
So based off your reasoning a gay character is handled well when being gay is something you easily forget about their character. Then Ethan’s sexuality must be characterized very poorly as there is an entire storyline about his sexuality and in almost every page he announces his heterosexuality.
Or is being homosexual different than being heterosexual and so the rules are different for what constitutes a good characterization?
Yeah, in some ways he’s actually the asshole here. His advice isnt bad. No one starts off their first date with “sometimes I pee in the shower.” That’s said, Ethan has an excellent point about how Lucas isn’t even trying for a relationship. He thinks 20 dates is a huge number.
Eldest Gruff
5 years ago
Wow. I really feel like this one is speaking to me. Honesty is so important. Some secrets are small. “I really love disco” is small. If you hide your music preferences, pretend to be different, and one day your SO finds out your playlist is full of 70s hits, probably no issue. You’ll laugh, joke, and potentially be bothered that they didn’t trust you enough not to judge. “My pastime puts you and others in danger and oh I can’t die, but I do this to help people” is a big one. Maybe the person will understand and see the… Read more »
I know this happened a year ago, but I often reread and have been thinking: Ethan’s hang-up with honesty could actually be how he gets together with Lilah eventually. Lilah already knows his superhero side. There’s a conflict of interest because of her being a reporter (for the superhero section of the newspaper no less), but if they started interacting more she could start getting close to him as Analog. She already seems to like the inherent goofiness of Ethan. I’m even thinking of a funny moment where Ethan as Analog gets close to Lilah then Ethan as…Ethan starts dating… Read more »
Jeff CB Jones
5 years ago
All he’s gotta do is swing by Emily’s place in full costume, with Lucas, have Lucas kill him with an arrow, come back to like, traumatize Emily for life and once the therapy starts to work, they’re all set!
Thing is, Ethan’s biggest fear was about whether Emily would still like him, even knowing all his secrets. If, once she knew, she would still love him for who he is, or dislike him more. When he told her the truth, she pretty much just threw it back in his face and insulted the idea. Now, granted, she didn’t believe for a second that he was telling her the truth. Her words came out of hurt and anger. But whatever pushed him to trust her was harmed at that point. WOULD Ethan trust her and make her know, 100% for… Read more »
John Tern
5 years ago
I came because I heard this was a gaming comic. Then I just got depressed. Also, What is “Old CAD” mean?
Check the archive at the top and go all the way back to the beginning. This iteration is a reboot of the original CAD comic. It’s a lot to read through all the archives, but it’s definitely well worth it. Everything going on now will make perfect sense. This reboot is admittedly a bit darker and edgier than the original, which was far goofier and more lighthearted. So many of us here love them both and have thoroughly enjoyed the progression of the characters.
It is, but CAD isn’t like your standard “Penny Arcade” gag-a-day slapstick comic. Tim does a lot of different things. Multiple series. One-shot joke strips. Large sprawling stories. And he focuses on a lot of different gamer-related culture: board games, card games, tabletop games, superheroes – and by far, the people who love these things. You’re kind of stepping into the story right in the middle of a major plot arc. It’s like watching someone play the end of Disc 1 of FFVII and saying, “What? This is depressing! I thought this was a video game! Where are the goombas?”… Read more »
Twilight Faze
5 years ago
This is a thorny road. Some lies are needed if it’s meant to protect, like with Ethan’s point, but these days trust is more fragile than snowfrost on a spring afternoon. Lucas isn’t wrong in that we all have secrets and we sometimes lie to keep those secrets. Maybe it’s for selfish reasons or maybe it’s for valid ones, but it doesn’t change the fact it’s a lie. Another reality is that even if people say they can handle certain truths, they turn out not to when it comes to light. So that same fragility works both ways.
NiteStick
5 years ago
I’m really torn about this. I think these guys were great together and I feel bad for Ethan, but on the other hand I am just like it has to be Ethan and Lilah. Maybe he will get luck and Lilah will be bitten by a radioactive gamer and become a super hero he doesn’t have to lie to!
24
Lying is just another martial art. Know when and how to deploy it, or you’re an asshole. And if you have to use it, and it’s right to use it… be discreet, careful. It’s easy to say now that he should have said “We went out for a walk. Be back at the apartment in a bit… unless you want to meet somewhere else?”… actually, that would probably have been better without hindsight.
I’m out with Lucas. Doing what? Oh just some gamer stuff, off battling an evil villain. Not even a lie.
If you feel like you should be telling someone the whole truth about something and you choose not to… That is still a lie. Why else would you have the guilt and ethical response if it wasn’t a lie? It is no different than if your girlfriend asks where you are going and you say “going to go see a friend”, but that “friend” happens to be an affair… its not a lie but its also not a truth. In many ways it is worse because you are abusing their trust by presenting partial information. If you flat out lied… Read more »
It can be a survival skill, but too often it then also becomes the first resort, because we humans are lazy and don’t like awkwardness. It needs to be the last resort for relationships (with employees, employers, clients, spouses, family, etc) to work well. Honesty, particularly using it regularly, with kindness and with carefully chosen phrasing, is a powerful tool too and should be practiced often and with care. The reputation you can get of being a straight shooter and of being someone who calls it as they see it and who lets people know where they stand (so there… Read more »
I’d return that cake. I don’t want to eat it when it’s full of lies.
Lucas the playboy playing the boys like a man. XD
Uh, oh! Ethan is sounding normal again! Sounds like Tim is about to reset the comic yet another time.
Still it would have been an better alternative to say “I’m out with Lucas”, than “I’m at home watching TV” which would have saved lot’s of trouble. At least that wouldn’t have been a lie. Well, let’s see if there is still a future for Ethan + Emily.
I think in case of “Dating another woman”, it would be easier to date a Super Hero (the problem in this case should be finding one).
The best lies contain 80% truth.
I’d say that’s the second best lie. It’s definitely the most effective form of lying… wrap a core deception in a many aspects of the truth like a fine camouflage scheme. The best lie is the one you don’t tell because you don’t need to. And a lot of times people lie, it isn’t out of a genuine need (before someone says you never need to, there are crappy situations – boss is out to shoot the messenger or take out his mistake on someone more junior, someone is going to use the truth to hurt you, etc – where… Read more »
Mmm, while I try to be mostly honest. I have to honestly say that I do lie on occasion if I think it is for the best. Ask me what I think of a meal. Honesty. Why were you just fired? Honesty. Discussing politics with my father who has a heart condition and high blood pressure while he is drinking. . . Lies to change subject and calm him down. Way to improve integrity. Have conversation and state something. Checking later that your statement was false. Go back to previous persons and admit you were wrong. Thus you are not… Read more »
I usually find the story where the hero is trying to figure out if he wants to be with the superheroine/villaness or the normal girl, because it’s usually a difficult answer to come up with….
Now I want a comic run focusing on Lucas falling for a cop that we later find out is on a quest to bring in all unregistered heroes.
That would be interesting, but I’m not sure we’d see that given that the impetus behind it (“my significant other doesn’t like superheroes”) was just done in this storyline. What we could see is Ethan or Lucas falling for someone and it turns out the significant other is also a superhero / supervillain.
“Lying is a skill like any other and if you want to maintain a level of excellence, you have to practice constantly.”
Garak the wise!
Wow… I didn’t expect ANY of that from either of them. Lucas is advocating dishonesty and is apparently a bit of a player, and also gay, which I must have missed/forgotten if it came up earlier in the comic. And Ethan is taking what just happened to him and making a sober, kind of mature assessment of his life based on recent events. It’s kind of refreshing, actually. It reminds me that while this comic is still Lucas and Ethan, it’s also two new characters and we don’t exactly know what they’re going to do based on how their previous… Read more »
It definitely came up earlier. He even had a double date with Ethan.
Just wait until the re-reboot. It’s going to include a gender-swapped Ethan and Lucas, mobile games, a sentient virtual AI named Siri that Ethany created herself (much to Lucy’s distain), and be titled Command+Option+Esc.
… no, not really. But that would be a hilarious one-shot.
lol I’d agree it would be hilarious but be careful about giveing Tim idea’s like that. That kind of alternate universe one shot could easily balloon into yet another side project to manage.
Down that path lies insanity. Some fans likeing it better and demanding more. Yet other fans demanding to know why he’s rebooting agian and saying these new characters dont fit with their idea of what they should be. I wouldn’t pull the pin on that grenade.
I think it’s a testament to how well Lucas’s sexuality is being handled that I keep forgetting about it until it gets brought up.
Agreed. Always better when its just normal rather than the tolken character that just announces “Im gay!” at the top of his lungs once an episode that alot of media seems to go for to meet their diversity quota.
So based off your reasoning a gay character is handled well when being gay is something you easily forget about their character. Then Ethan’s sexuality must be characterized very poorly as there is an entire storyline about his sexuality and in almost every page he announces his heterosexuality.
Or is being homosexual different than being heterosexual and so the rules are different for what constitutes a good characterization?
I dont think Lucas is a guru of wisdom
Yeah, in some ways he’s actually the asshole here. His advice isnt bad. No one starts off their first date with “sometimes I pee in the shower.” That’s said, Ethan has an excellent point about how Lucas isn’t even trying for a relationship. He thinks 20 dates is a huge number.
Wow. I really feel like this one is speaking to me. Honesty is so important. Some secrets are small. “I really love disco” is small. If you hide your music preferences, pretend to be different, and one day your SO finds out your playlist is full of 70s hits, probably no issue. You’ll laugh, joke, and potentially be bothered that they didn’t trust you enough not to judge. “My pastime puts you and others in danger and oh I can’t die, but I do this to help people” is a big one. Maybe the person will understand and see the… Read more »
I know this happened a year ago, but I often reread and have been thinking: Ethan’s hang-up with honesty could actually be how he gets together with Lilah eventually. Lilah already knows his superhero side. There’s a conflict of interest because of her being a reporter (for the superhero section of the newspaper no less), but if they started interacting more she could start getting close to him as Analog. She already seems to like the inherent goofiness of Ethan. I’m even thinking of a funny moment where Ethan as Analog gets close to Lilah then Ethan as…Ethan starts dating… Read more »
All he’s gotta do is swing by Emily’s place in full costume, with Lucas, have Lucas kill him with an arrow, come back to like, traumatize Emily for life and once the therapy starts to work, they’re all set!
Wait….
*life. Come back to life.
Thing is, Ethan’s biggest fear was about whether Emily would still like him, even knowing all his secrets. If, once she knew, she would still love him for who he is, or dislike him more. When he told her the truth, she pretty much just threw it back in his face and insulted the idea. Now, granted, she didn’t believe for a second that he was telling her the truth. Her words came out of hurt and anger. But whatever pushed him to trust her was harmed at that point. WOULD Ethan trust her and make her know, 100% for… Read more »
I came because I heard this was a gaming comic. Then I just got depressed. Also, What is “Old CAD” mean?
Check the archive at the top and go all the way back to the beginning. This iteration is a reboot of the original CAD comic. It’s a lot to read through all the archives, but it’s definitely well worth it. Everything going on now will make perfect sense. This reboot is admittedly a bit darker and edgier than the original, which was far goofier and more lighthearted. So many of us here love them both and have thoroughly enjoyed the progression of the characters.
It is, but CAD isn’t like your standard “Penny Arcade” gag-a-day slapstick comic. Tim does a lot of different things. Multiple series. One-shot joke strips. Large sprawling stories. And he focuses on a lot of different gamer-related culture: board games, card games, tabletop games, superheroes – and by far, the people who love these things. You’re kind of stepping into the story right in the middle of a major plot arc. It’s like watching someone play the end of Disc 1 of FFVII and saying, “What? This is depressing! I thought this was a video game! Where are the goombas?”… Read more »
This is a thorny road. Some lies are needed if it’s meant to protect, like with Ethan’s point, but these days trust is more fragile than snowfrost on a spring afternoon. Lucas isn’t wrong in that we all have secrets and we sometimes lie to keep those secrets. Maybe it’s for selfish reasons or maybe it’s for valid ones, but it doesn’t change the fact it’s a lie. Another reality is that even if people say they can handle certain truths, they turn out not to when it comes to light. So that same fragility works both ways.
I’m really torn about this. I think these guys were great together and I feel bad for Ethan, but on the other hand I am just like it has to be Ethan and Lilah. Maybe he will get luck and Lilah will be bitten by a radioactive gamer and become a super hero he doesn’t have to lie to!