NEW VOTING INCENTIVE! MORE PUCK VOLUME TWO PREVIEWS!
Vote for Puck on TWC to get another glimpse of the upcoming exclusive story arc that will only be found in Puck Volume 2, whenever that comes out!
VOTE FOR PUCK TO SHOW THAT DEMOCRACY STILL WORKS!!!
As for this comic…
Just to reassure people, this dress will not be what Daphne wears to prom. I wouldn't do that to her. Even if she kinda deserves it. In fact, we will never see this dress after this comic. My wife, for one, was very thankful to hear that.
Daphne's comments on the strapless dress fallacy really are an expression of my own observations. I see many girls wearing this sort of dress to prom, and throughout the whole evening they keep needing to do that move Daphne's doing in panel three - a maneuver that I shall dub 'the yank-up' - in order to avert disaster. Shoulder straps are a good thing. Now I realize that I'm making this pragmatic observation while also designing clothing like Phoebe's outfit, which rightly should not stay up at all. But Phoebe's clothing operates in its own weird pocket of the universe where gravity and space-time operate differently. When it comes to all girls who aren't Phoebe, gravity is not a friend. And strapless is a bad idea.
Puck 449
NEW VOTING INCENTIVE! MORE PUCK VOLUME TWO PREVIEWS!
Vote for Puck on TWC to get another glimpse of the upcoming exclusive story arc that will only be found in Puck Volume 2, whenever that comes out!
VOTE FOR PUCK TO SHOW THAT DEMOCRACY STILL WORKS!!!
As for this comic…
Just to reassure people, this dress will not be what Daphne wears to prom. I wouldn't do that to her. Even if she kinda deserves it. In fact, we will never see this dress after this comic. My wife, for one, was very thankful to hear that.
Daphne's comments on the strapless dress fallacy really are an expression of my own observations. I see many girls wearing this sort of dress to prom, and throughout the whole evening they keep needing to do that move Daphne's doing in panel three - a maneuver that I shall dub 'the yank-up' - in order to avert disaster. Shoulder straps are a good thing. Now I realize that I'm making this pragmatic observation while also designing clothing like Phoebe's outfit, which rightly should not stay up at all. But Phoebe's clothing operates in its own weird pocket of the universe where gravity and space-time operate differently. When it comes to all girls who aren't Phoebe, gravity is not a friend. And strapless is a bad idea.
Laugh Out Loud !
This week is worth spelling LOL right on out.
Daphne, Fashion ain’t as easy as it looks.
Or Haute Couture, as classy cats prefer to call it.
But yeah, lookin’ good BABE.
I like the dress. It’s simple and timeless, combining a classic design with a retro-futuristic flair in the fabric. I say she should go for it. Wear that, and Tyler’s jaw will drop.
I like the dress, but Daphne wouldn’t be able to pull it off. It’s the same advice I give to my wife when she has a piece of clothing that’s a bit small or revealing, and she asks whether she can wear said item to some event, and my answer is always, “Yes, but … are you comfortable wearing it?” If you’re not comfortable wearing it, and will constantly be self-conscious about your dress, then the end result will be bad. The answer from my wife, by the way, is almost always, “No.”
Do you ask that for your’s or her’s sake?
I ask that for her sake. I really don’t have any stock in the matter. I’m not a dude who feels I have a right to have a say in how my wife dresses. Like, if she holds up two dresses and asks, “Which one do you like better?” I’ll tell her. But unless she asks, I don’t need to have a say.
I ask the same thing “Are you comfortable?”.
Since I know if she is uncomfortable I may eventually be uncomfortable myself.
I do it out of self preservation not the need to control what she wears.
The final decision is always hers.
Well, that makes sense. I suppose there is always a level of self-preservation in all such choices.
That’s fair.
“When I saw her in her first strapless gown I knew which one of us was the mature one.” —Ted Baxter.
Catty. But potentially accurate.
Hey, Daffy! Who cares if you slip out of that dress? Whoever saw a naked jackal as p*rn?
People care. And don’t ask that second question. NEVER ask that second question. Because the answer to the second question is always, “A small but fervent pocket of the internet.”
Okay. I’ll file that under “People who know what ‘waifu’ means.”
More like people who abuse their waifu endlessly. I mean, why lump the person who harmlessly sleeps worth their favorite character? Be it a stuffed yogi beat, stuffed cat in a gimp suit, pink panther, five foot ten life sized overstuffed teddy bear depicted on “The Big Bang Theory,” or a waifu as a security blanket?
Susan obviously you never heard of ‘Rule 34’ of the internet.
Is that the one about Hitler? If not, I guess I haven’t
No, that’s Godwin’s Law.
Rule 34 of the internet states: If it exists, there is pr0n of it.
Don’t forget rule 34a: If there isn’t…there will be.
That’s … even more terrifying.
I am going to get my Phloebes pic scanned tomorrow. Look out, world!
I am eager with anticipation!
Okay, “Phoebe: ‘Nice store, but a bit conservative for me’.”
http://tinypic.com/m/jv4sxc/3
I think EG has just found the artist for his next GUEST STRIP.
The large local mall (the one Phoebe and Daphne are currently in) is now almost 50% lingerie. And 30% Sephora. Not sure what’s up with that. But yes, Vicky’s Mysteries does take up a good chunk of the main floor.
If it isn’t held up by magic, it’s too frumpy. If it doesn’t feel like tissue paper, it’s too heavy. If you can wear it with underwear, it’s too loose.
-Every teenage boy, ever.
That does seem to be an accurate rundown of the mentality.
Yeah right. Not every one is as perverted. Besides, your argument is invalidated by the subset of individuals who accept the evidence as it stands, do to speak.
What’s really strange is that this is the first time I’ve noticed that she DOESN’T have a tail.
She doesn’t have a tail. I don’t know why. But it seemed to be a decision I made twenty (cough) years ago, and I can’t question it now.
I suppose Daphne would have a strong aversion to double sided tape, what with the fur. We’ve never seen her with so much as a band-aid.
Yeah, the tape option, while potentially more effective at sticking, would probably be less pleasant for removal. And we’ve never seen anyone with a band-aid in this comic, I don’t think.
Velcro tabs. Just the part with the hooks. Daphne’s got the fuzz. 😀
THAT is clever.
You won the Internet for today!
I like this arc. It good to see the vulnerable, insecure side of Daphne, rather than the saracastic teen we usually see. Helps define her as a character more.
And I think that Phoebe’s outfits are held in place by the souls of those ne’re do well prudes who condemn and shame her for dressing like she does.
I find that most of the time when you run into someone who is caustic and mean and runs a good offense, it’s usually because they’re actually trying to run a good defense. I’ve always felt Daphne is like that. Like a good many teens, she’s not entirely cool with who she is yet.
And your theory on Phoebe is so good, it should be canon.
Y’know, you’re the one who could make it canon. I mean, you just have to say it is.
I never like to make ANYTHING canon, though, even if I come up with it myself. Every time I make something canon, I end up regretting it later.
That CAN’T be cannon, because it conflicts with my head-cannon theory about Phoebe! That the reason she’s so nice and helpful and caring is that she’s rebelling against daddy!
Well, Phoebe IS rebelling against Daddy … sort of. It’s not really intentional rebellion, though. It’s just that her nature is fundamentally out of sync with his.
I never understood who designed that those dresses. My personal theory on how those dresses are even a thing was that someone took a piece of cloth, made it into a cylindrical shape and said “There we go, a dress.”
“But… How are they gonna keep it up?”
“YES!”
Your theory is the most plausible I’ve heard. Either that, or they were initially generated as a practical joke.
Men’s pants kind of adopted the same principle. Since low-hanging pants became fashionable, having a tummy, a bigger-than-average package or both is a constant headache.
Low-hanging pants are GREAT for fat people, I thought! The gut goes OVER the pants! That’s why there’s such a low rise on maternity clothing!
Those dresses originated in the “Roaring 20’s, sillies. The girls that wore them were called “flappers,” and Phoebe would just have thought that Puck was flat! http://tinypic.com/m/jv58xk/3
Hold onto the 20’s flapper dress concept. It will come into play later in this very story arc.
Ooh! Lord Foreshadow strikes again,
I´m surprised that phoebe would choose something so plain, i´d expected to see at least some glitter since i´m fairly sure that daph is allergic to pink….but chin up daph, it could be worse! remember, phoebe can sew – can you imagine what kind of colourful, sparkly nightmare with indecent cut-outs she´d come up with?
Well, glitter might come out, though I always have to be a little cautious with the glitter because it has a habit of crashing of my drawing program. And your in-depth knowledge of Phoebe gives you some powerful insights: the chances of Daphne actually getting a dress off the rack are slim. Chances of Aunt Phoebe making one? High.
Phoebe’s top is mystically strapped to her collar. So there.
Invisible straps (one between the front folds, holding the girls together, and two up to the collar on either side) would TOTALLY explain her outfit’s physical properties.
I was wondering how that worked
That’s why in my fanart, I hitched the sleeves to the collar in back. With Phloebes, the front is all most guys wanna look at anyway. ” When it comes to all girls who aren’t Phoebe, gravity is not a friend. And strapless is a bad idea.” *snort*
Is that a snort of agreement or scorn?
Agreement, my dear EG. I have been present when wardrobe malfunctions happened to women whom I was with, notably at a fancy party where she had been over-served. She fell down in the foyer of Beau Nash and pop went the weasels. Her husband was humiliated, but she never referred to it, afterwards.
People never seem to recognize the comedy in such moments. Speaking personally, that sounds hilarious.
Phoebe’s outfits are held together by demon magic, the same magic that makes her never need “Body By Victoria” push-ups.
My rule for cocktail dresses is, “Find something that looks like a swimsuit my mom would wear, with thinner fabric and so tight that it can cause breathing difficulties if you pig out at the buffet.” Which is why, males, there are always a tray of crudites with diet ranch at those things. Have you ever seen a man eat a crudite? Neither have I. I only nibble at them because having an audibly growling stomach is very unattractive. I have to watch out for that because it is usually the case since I haven’t eaten anything all day.
You, my dear lady, are part of the problem and the reason that this never-ending, forever escalating war of outrageous outfits.
Yeah? So? Talk to Phoebe.
My latest cocktail dress: https://shop.nordstrom.com/s/astr-lace-bodycon-dress/4970290?origin=category-personalizedsort&breadcrumb=Home%2FWomen%2FClothing%2FDresses%2FCocktail%20%26%20Party&color=navy%20peacoat
@Susan
Yowza !
Very nice, but that link does not show us how you wear the dress.
Me? I’ll prolly roll up the lace hem and tape it to the lining, such as it is. No sense wasting the airbrush tan and all that running. And the aforementioned Body By Victoria pushup and a little slip, of course. Black lace choker and pearl earrings, add a little clutch and I’ll be ready to go.
Words, words, words. A picture is worth a thousand of them!
You want a pic of me? In that dress? Well, since I have never worn that dress, except for fittings, you may have to wait a bit. When’s the next cocktail party? Labor Day?
Well, that gives me something to look forward to for Labor Day. Because otherwise all I have to look forward to on Labor Day is the return to work. Bleagh.
I like veggies, I just find real ranch to dip them in, or blue cheese. I’m a man, and I eat crudites. To be fair, I eat almost anything. I should weigh in 500 to 600 lbs. with the way I eat, but thanks to a trick metabolism, weigh only 230. Only. Okay, I’m still a fat ass, but not as much as I should be. Still, the point remains that I loves me some crudites.
If I eat everything I ever wanted, I generally max out at around 210. I never get fat, per se. I just get doughy.
You both need a running program 😛
Please note that I am NOT 210 pounds because I generally restrict my diet and don’t eat everything I want. I don’t like to be doughy.
I hate running. HATE running. I have a very low lung capacity for a dude as big as me. (Apparently the average adult has a functioning lung capacity around 5000 ml. I have around 3500. I don’t know why it’s so low, but there you are.) I’m quite strong, and I am more than capable of walking for hours and hours, but strenuous aerobic exercise winds me and puts me in a very bad state very quickly.
I also simply don’t have the time for adequate exercise. (This comic has a lot to do with that.) So without the ability to properly exercise, I am left with one option: eat mostly salads and avoid desserts. That’s the option I take.
I have screwed up knees and a bad back. I used to run, in the Army, but now? Not so much. Still, I need to start a workout program, again.
Would Daphne win prom with a hypercolor gown?
What is this, 1991? NO. No one wins prom in a hypercolor gown.
Hmmmm . . . I’m really not sure black is Daphne’s colour. And there should be at least one strap, perhaps one of those dresses that covers one shoulder and has the other bare.
The one strap thing. I never understood the one strap thing. Like, where’s the other strap? Non-symmetrical clothing just irks me for some reason.
Hot dog ! 😉
Daphne really looks good like that. Nice going, Mr. Gecko, you are a true artist.
If the mark of a true artist is the ability to draw tight dresses, then I’ll take that title gladly. Look out Monet! I’m coming for ya!
Instead, I’d say we need to go one sartorial advisor saner.
Daphne? Run home. Find Puck. With this, you can trust her!
Too late! She’s chosen her fairy godmother. She might have chosen wrong, though.
I’m not sure what either of those outfits is saying, but I don’t think I want to hear it. o_o
Really? Not the least bit curious?
Their contents considered… nope.
Would a padded bra be of any help here?
Enh, I don’t think that’s the problem. It’s more the general level of exposure.
Two things. First, embarrassed Daphne is as cute as can be. Who’d have thought tough as nails Daphne could be embarrassed that easily. Second, Daphne has quite the body to be a high schooler. They didn’t look that good when I was in high school. Back when I was in high school, a girl with THAT kind of body was at LEAST 50% bigger than Daphne is. LOL.
Well, it must be noted that Daphne’s body shape may in part be due to a limitation of my artistic abilities. I generally have one female body (and one male body) that I can draw well. Puck is kind of the midline. When I’m drawing Daphne, I lessen the curves. When I’m drawing Phoebe, I amplify the curves. When I’m drawing Tracee, I amplify the curves even further. The end result, though, is that things aren’t always 100% right. That said, people come in all shapes and sizes, even in high school. There’s a lot of girls who, by about sixteen (Daphne’s age) are the height, shape and size they’ll be for the next twenty (if they’re lucky) years. And others not. All depends.
That depends on which school did you went. Most of my classmates looked like that.
One of the few good things about the people there, really.
Oh, I graduated high school 45 years ago so, things were a WEE bit different back then.
Daffy, cute? Ew,ew, and double ew.
That aside, I have been amused when I was at the Galleria behind some girl in very short shorts on the “Up” escalator. She kept looking around and tugging at the hem of the practically non-existent, legs of the shorts. When we got to the floor I wanted, I slapped her on the shoulder, pointed to Macy’s and told her, “They sell jeans in there, honey. You will be more comfortable and won’t have to worry. ” She looked dreadfully offended, but I walked off laughing. Go little or go home.
@Susan That is good.
And I also want to see that picture on Labor Day, please.
As for Daphne not feeling comfortable in her skin yet, perhaps if she does achieve her aim at prom, this will giver her the self-confidence and she won’t be so sarcastic. But that the whole comic strip dynamic will change and I like it the way it is. Looking forward to prom.
I too feel the tension between keeping a dynamic the same and changing it. Because I like characters and story arcs to develop, but I also don’t want to alter the dynamics that people know and love too much. But I feel, strongly, that things can happen and development can occur in a character’s story as long as said character is allowed to remain true to who he/she is. It’s when characters undergo a major event and then suddenly morph into an entirely different character that I have a problem with it.
I’m being to think that Daphne is actually a scaredy-cat. 😉
(Maybe if someone gives her some catnip tea, it may calm her down.)
Doesn’t catnip EXCITE cats? But I think Daphne is generally acknowledged by readers to be more dog-like than cat-like. Is there such a thing as dognip?
Yeah, it’s called Milk-Bones
Phoebe: “…One size smaller!”
Daphne: “NOOOO!”
Phoebe: “Really, you want to go TWO sizes smaller? Why Daphne you saucy sex-puppy you! Go easy, you’re still in high-school! (I kid of course! Let’s try one on right now!”)
Daphne: “…”
I cannot imagine Phoebe using that descriptor. Though if Tracee were here, that would be a definite possible exchange.
@EG
TRACEEE !!!!!!
(Tail in major motion with joy !)
I can see Phoebe doing a more…I wouldn’t say innocent version, but that’s the closest descriptor…of the retort. Something like “Wow, that confident in yourself? Great! Let’s go with two sizes smaller!”
The reasons you can’t imagine it, are the exact same reasons why picturing her saying have me giggling like mad. ^_^
If I’d have known girls were going to dress like that, I’d have considered going to my school’s prom.
Then again, maybe not. I’d have been the guy who went stag, and we all know you aren’t looked at favorably by your peers or teachers if you go stag; you’re showing your lack of popularity to your peers, and you’re a potential trouble maker if you go alone to your teachers.
Prom these days in high school (at least in the school where I teach) is far less judgmental. There are still couples and there are still dudes who ask girls to prom (as clearly shown by the proliferation of ‘promposals’, which are a sometimes heinous thing that didn’t exist in our day), but there’s a sizable subsection of the population that just goes with a group of friends. The need to go with a partner, especially if you’re not actually dating someone, is lessened. Not eliminated, but lessened.
And I’ve NEVER looked upon dudes going stag as trouble makers. No, the dudes going stag are usually gentle nerds who don’t have dates but are daring enough to head out with some friends. The trouble makers are always ‘cool’ guys who show up with their mean-looking girlfriends who always come from other schools. They cause a ruckus but thankfully leave early because they’re WAY too cool for any lame prom.
Proms are like that. Why do you think it takes us so long to pick out a dress? Those who have good legs show them. Those who have good skin show it. Pretty butts, pretty hair, pretty faces, pretty shoulders are all on display, saying, “Okay, world, this is what I’ve got. What do you think?” Oh, and to giggle at other girls’ dresses. of course.
Of course, NOW there’s the added complication of coordinating your dress choice with every other girl at the prom to make sure the unthinkable doesn’t happen: two girls wearing THE SAME DRESS. This feat is now achieved through Facebook groups, or Instagram, where girls post pics of their dresses, which effectively ‘claims’ the dress. That said, I know of at least one case where one of my students claimed a dress on the school prom dress Facebook page, then another girl did the same with the same dress after her. She was fuming. “You know what this is?” I told her. “This is a dress duel! She’s challenged you, so now the question is not who will wear the dress, but who will wear it better.” I am not sure this was exactly the standard teacherly wisdom I’m supposed to impart, but it made her feel better. And for the record, I think she won.
That’s why all my friends on the cheer squad went to Neiman’s all together. together on four separate occasions. Neiman’s doesn’t have duplicate dresses. except in size, so we could fight over who got the size 2.
Not often you a fight over size 2 dresses. Usually there’s LOTS of size 2 dresses on the rack due to the dearth of size two women. Lots of fights over size 12, though.
I sometimes have a hard time gauging dress size, but I actually think Daphne would take a size two. Which means the ‘go down one size’ idea doesn’t really have much room to go down. I guess there’s always size 0. Puck would be size four. Phoebe would be size six? Maybe? That’s my guess.
You have to remember that you are talking about a bunch of physically fit teenagers. We had three size twos on my squad.
Agree. Tracee would be size eight.
@Susan
You peebles need to understand every mention of my beloved TRACEEE makes me happy.
((keep it up)
And wow, I have a most unexpected dream and revelation concerning her this morning (I sleep a lot).
I will reveal it tomorrow, if I am begged to.
(or not)
Ok, I discovered TRACEEE has a very unexpected talent – she restores old cars ! And she is pretty good at it, too.
Sigmund tells me her current passion is a 1919 Rauch & Lang.
Baldie wants me to ask if she will work on his AMC Gremlin.
But I won’t.
Oh JEEZ.
My human pets Baldie and Janet adopted a new free loader – a KITTEN (juck).
She is six months old, and today went missing.
I was like, so wat, you still have good ole luvable ME.
But no dice – Janet was inconsolable. Baldie was counting the beer-bucks he’d save on cat food.
At long last I buckled, and began yowling at the Bureau Drawer I had shoved her in and then closed.
So now I’m a HERO CAT.
Damn it.
Good cat. You deserve some of that high grade canned cat food. Is Fancy Feast still around?
@EG
Thanx. Fancy Feast is my favorite !
But Baldie and I are going to be subsiding on generic tuna and supermarket beer for a while; Janet has gone and ordered a $160 Cat GPS collar for the runt !!
(shutting her up in the bureau drawer was spontaneous but ultimately a backfire)
Cinderella didn’t have this problem.
It might have been a better story if she had!
If the fairy godmother had been just a little bit trashy in her tastes, that story would have gone in very different directions.