I’m wrapping up the story line, and there are just a few things left to clean up. For example: did BigCorp install the can light in her office for dramatic effect? Some answers will never be given, but rest assured that we’ll wrap up this story soon and start on another, with possibly a brief stopover in one-offville. As to our main character’s fate? Stay tuned for the next update. The punishment shall fit the pre-crime.
I really wanted to explore the acronym cult more in these comics, and I wanted to give the executives who are members of the cult a fair shake. While I think irresponsible fiscal policy driven by unsustainable growth is a major culprit, I certainly wouldn’t want to be the guy responsible for growing less than average. Shareholders can actually sue you if you don’t run your company into the ground in the pursuit of profits. It’s crazy! That’s why I don’t want anything to do with management. I’m a good soldier, and at the bottom of the ladder is where I’d like to stay.
I also don’t believe that executives enjoy laying off staff, cutting benefits or the like. I think they sleep well at night on their silken mattresses stuffed with cash, cash that could have been used to pay salaries, but I doubt they really get pleasure from making the lives of their staff harder. I do wish they would realize that the cost of living marches nigh inexorably upward, and any time they freeze pay, ask us to share more of the costs of insurance or reduce benefits it does indeed come out of our pockets and is in essence a pay cut. I think if they thought of it that way, they could at least be more honest with us about how the company is doing. But if nothing else, I’m sure it makes them feel better about doing it to frame it their way.
This is one of those cases where people will call or e-mail and ask what jobs my company is sending overseas and if my job is safe. While I would never consider a job “safe” these days, I would like to remind everyone that this comic is fiction. My company does not and does not appear to have any inclination toward sending jobs overseas or using shoddy products. In fact, I’m trying to think of the products we use and for the ones I can source they’re American-made. So, remember: the comic is fiction, and is not a representation of my life.
I do rip liberally from the lives of me and my friends, of course, and the notion of a buzzword-obsessed cult of executives plotting to keep the economy from totally collapsing while running unsustainable shell games is definitely the kind of thing we would joke about.
You know, if I weren’t reporting the unvarnished truth.
The thought of a secret and incompetent cabal of people running the government and major corporations makes me laugh. Then, it makes me cry when I think it’s quite plausible. The only thing worse than a military-industrial complex is a poorly-run military-industrial complex.
And the thought that these people have pot lucks and evening theme dinners? They might as well, since they’re clearly spending a lot of time coming up with crazy schemes that manipulate people the way Rube Goldberg graphically manipulated simple machines.
Comic 222: http://www.yawcomic.com/2008/10/26/222/
Comic 223: http://www.yawcomic.com/2008/10/28/223/
Wow, my art has come a long way.
I’ve noticed the walls in office buildings are, as they say, paper-thin. I imagine it has to do with a cheap, low-grade drywall hung on barely-there metal studs, at least partly. That, and the plenum above the drop-ceilings generally is not separated between offices. I guess there’s not much you can do about that, except keep the evil cackling to a minimum.
Dental Plan! Lisa Needs Braces! That`s a little Simpsons reference for those of you not hopped up on Nyquil and coffee.
I cut this story line short because I didn`t like where it was going. Well, I liked the potential, but I needed a diferent format, and I`m not ready to switch things up that drastically yet. Instead, I`ve been looking at some more subtle things, like checking my writing and, in today`s comic, trying something new with hands. It`s subtle, but I`m simplifying them and so far I like what I`ve sketched (and done with the second panel here). I`ll probably stick with four fingers, but don`t be surprised if your favorite characters lose a pair of digits.
I like this one, it has two jokes rolled together. The first one is a bit subtle, and does require you to be familiar with the guy`s job…He`s on the bottom rung, so when he says “hold my calls”, he`s talking to the phone. That one cracks me up for some reason, so I hope everyone else enjoyed it. The next is the exaggeration of the girl`s importance in creating a new buzzword. These mysterious people even have a cult and a secret meeting place in which to worship her!