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Comic

#137 - How Dare You!

Tuesday, April 8th, 2008

Happy Birthday to a sweet Girly who’s 5!

74 Responses to “#137 - How Dare You!”

  1. Nick Says:

    I like boobies. And pipes…man I loves me a good pipe…

  2. Shannon M. Says:

    That’s hot

  3. Bromeliads Says:

    Excellent.

  4. Corey Says:

    Ohmygosh I just want to know what happens. WhY WON’T YOU LET US KNOW WHAT HAPPENS.

    Okay I’m sorry. Please though.

  5. Ashley Kromarek Says:

    OH MY GOD YESSSSSSS

  6. Willias Says:

    ahahaha

    Hey, is that the town drunk?

  7. Jamie Says:

    heehee… oh man i am so thankful there isnt another bork scene.

  8. Rene Engström Says:

    Yes, that is the town drunk. :)

  9. Mike Says:

    Is this, perhaps, the town drunk, with his right sexy hunchback? If so, he certainly has good timing. And by good, I mean potentially very bad; after all, in the land of ALM at the moment, there is only bad timing and worse timing.

    Either that, or there is only Zuul, but I’m pretty sure they may amount to the same thing.

  10. Britt Says:

    HAHAHA YES. Tina’s true nature is OUT. All passive-aggressive and spineless seeming until something doesn’t go her way, then the manipulative bitch comes out to play. I agree that the wonderful thing about this comic is that it definitely goes by the premise “we’re all from heaven, we’re all from hell” in that all of the characters are flawed in very realistic, human ways. Bravo Rene, for painting your characters successfully with so many shades of grey!!

    And while I do feel bad for Tina to some degree (perhaps she has tried to overcome using her looks to get her way, hence the shyness), I think this also explains A. Why in a town she’s grown up in her whole life, she has NO friends and B. Is especially loathed by Johan and Maria, who were probably exposed to this side of her as foster children.

    I still love Maria better though…despite her foolish, childish temper outbursts, at least she is honest with her in-your-face bitchiness, instead of putting on a sweet facade and waiting till someone’s back is turned.

  11. JennyB Says:

    Wunnnderful!

  12. Ashley Kromarek Says:

    Tina’s boobs look droopy in the fifth panel along with the rest of her body and it cracks me up.

  13. Kat Says:

    Ohhhh BURRRRRRRNNNNNNNNN!

    I gotta say, I feel like everyone in the strip has been making pretty bad choices, but somehow it’s satisfying to see her *not* get her way.

    Also, I really need to *not* check this at work. Yikes!

  14. dario Says:

    pinpoint pupils… not a good sign!

  15. Angelique Says:

    WHOO HOO GO JOHAN!

    …I really can’t think of anything else to say. XD

  16. Hec Says:

    I am still giving her the benefit of the doubt. After all of the hurt that happened to her as a reward for being so nice, who could blame her for being at the blink of frustration tot hen be turned down once again and loose it. Say what you want about Tina, but she is still one of the very least douche bag characters in the comic.

  17. Caroline Says:

    I agree with Ashley- those boobs are funny in panel five :D The whole of her is drooping!

    I’m glad I was right *nods*

    I am really, really curious - what exactly is she going to do with that pipe…?

  18. Holly Says:

    So uh…was she planning to do this when she first left the house, or is it typical in Sweden for people to not wear shirts or bras under their coats?

  19. Mary Says:

    wooh character development!
    could it be that tina is growing a backbone?
    or just building on the reputation of a slut we have heard she has?
    hmmm
    only time will tell~

  20. Mary Says:

    yay to Mike for the ghostbuster’s reference :D
    my family tends to break out into THERE IS ONLY ZUUL! when the context of the conversation in progress allows it

  21. Taeshi Says:

    Yikes, being tossed out in the snow when you’re.. pretty much exposed from the waist up.

    I think Johan is my hero~~ He ain’t gonna take this crap “>:O”

  22. Mr. Peh Says:

    That’s gotta be very brisk.

  23. Xtine Says:

    I just purchased a UK mini thing! Hope they’re not all gone. :O

  24. irrational_moon Says:

    I gain more and more respect for Johan every time I see him. He is the least complicated person in the whole ALM world.

  25. Marissa Says:

    I am totally creeped out by panel 6.

  26. Sarah Says:

    Rene, it seems to me you’ve said that you never intended for Anders to cheat on Maria–how much of all the complicated stuff going on here was originally planned? I can’t imagine that Bjorn wouldn’t have become part of the picture at some point, but was the crazy foster sibling dynamic always going to be this big a factor?

  27. Rene Engström Says:

    Anders wasn’t going to cheat on Maria but Tina was going to cause them to break-up, and eventually Anders would have ended up in the same place he is now. Basically Anders would have ended up fighting with Maria and spending the night at Tina’s. At most they might have kissed for awhile until Anders came to his senses.

  28. Mandiiv Says:

    Aaawwwww. Poor crazy Tina. All crazy and stuff. XD So far, she’s been the most expressive character visually… now not only does her perky nose droop when she’s sad, but so do her perky boobs!

    I love the last panel — you can tell exactly what is going through her mind. Ander’s words about the town drunk are echoing behind her immense bushbaby eyes.

    I’m also amazed at the stifling Tina hate in the comments, just as I have been by the Anders hate. Makes me think there are alot of ALM fans carrying baggage from bad relationships.

  29. christina Says:

    You’re a good man, Johan Holm!

  30. Indigno Says:

    I thought Maria’s dad was the town drunk, and the “he has a right sexy hunchback” comment was referring to Johan (despite the fact that he doesn’t have one).

    Johan has become my favorite character in the series.

  31. AMC Says:

    Seems to me like Tina was always treated “special” and different because she was pretty and well-off–so she was used to getting what she wanted and never had to grow a spine to fight for it. This is why she lets Anders walk all over her and why she uses her body to try and manipulate others into helping her. I should feel sorry for her…but I don’t :P

    As someone already said, my respect for Johan grows and grows

  32. Julia Says:

    Hahahahaha. Loooove. Rene, if you weren’t already married and straight, I would propose to you right now.

  33. Rene Engström Says:

    You don’t know me very well Julia! I’m not married or straight. But I think we should go out for at least coffee first.

  34. Julia Says:

    Oh, sorry, I should at least know that you aren’t married. On a more serious note, if Tina was naked under her coat, she was planning this well before she heard those hurtful things Anders was saying about her on the phone. Interesting.

  35. rhesuspieces00 Says:

    shark. jumped.

  36. PHDrillSergeant Says:

    Rolf: NOT CREEPY AT ALL.

    Also, hooray for advertising Girly’s 5th! My advertising has paid off!

  37. Rene Engström Says:

    rhesus; what do you mean?

  38. Mike Says:

    Rene, isn’t it the case, though, that Anders isn’t precisely at the same point he would have been sans Tina-borking? I mean, coming back from the situation you describe as the original impetus for the breakup is a lot easier than the situation as it currently exists.

  39. Rene Engström Says:

    Mike, regardless if he cheated on Maria that first night, he would have ended up with Tina anyways. He just would have done it without cheating. The dynamics would be sllightly different than they are today, but the story would be the same and it would follow the same basic structure.

  40. Mike Says:

    Hmm, alright. I can’t say that’s entirely surprising, but it is worrisome.

    Ah, well. Hopefully things will still head in the direction I wish they would go rather than the direction I think they may well go. And not only because despite being a hypercritical person I am actually kind of a sap.

  41. Su Says:

    This is turning out to be so awesome.
    Also… boobs!

    I wish I could crawl in these characters heads and see what’s running in that hamster wheel up there.

  42. Joy Says:

    And this is why I wouldn’t feel sorry for her. I am not proud to say that I have known women like this– or that have been pushed to this point. I guess this leaves me wondering more about her character and her past with Johan & Maria.

  43. Clare Says:

    YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!

  44. Craig Says:

    the village drunks turn…

  45. Olga Says:

    I bet they had a relationship and she cried rape or something and got maria and johan kicked out.

    I can see why you changed it.. i bet tina seemed more diabolical earlier the other way. She probably would have to have more actively tried to make it known that her and anders did anything.

  46. katie Says:

    bwahahahahha

  47. Chris Says:

    Yeah, I’m with everyone who agrees with me. Tina is trying to play hardcore, but she’s still just a sugar mouse.

    I’m thinking her reference doesn’t refer to her and Johan actually having had sex, but more along the lines of the two of them having played a little doctor back in time. Tina wrongly (desperately?) assumes that she can flash the goods like they were kids, but things have changed.

    I don’t think she would’ve gone through with it anyways. She’s trying to win Anders back by simply obtaining the media blackmail photos and being a misguided hero. Like me…trying to save the day, every damn day, whether it needs it or not.

  48. Elizabeth L. Says:

    No shark was jumped.

    Hell, I hear enough real life drama to know that all this stuff could happen!

    Besides, sometimes shark jumping gets done in order to lead to better things!

  49. KevN Says:

    :-0

    Ha! Johan rocks.

  50. Dain Says:

    Good work Johan! And Rene :)

  51. Diana Says:

    It’s all downhill from here. In more ways than one.

  52. Angelf Says:

    BRAVO JOHAN!!!!

  53. Phenix Says:

    Hey, Rene, in case you’re wondering about the whole “shark jumping” comments, it is a reference to an old school “Happy Days” episode, where Fonzie jumps over a shark on water skis. This is widely regarded as the point where the show went downhill and tried too many gimmicks rather than coming up with fresh ideas.

    Generally speaking, it’s when a show, comic or other continuous content throws excessive amounts of crazy plots into the works to try to boost ratings, but lose sight of the original audience and go into a slump.

    Seeing as how you’ve said repeatedly that you’ve scripted most of this stuff out way in advance, i’d say there’s little chance that this would count as jumping the shark. I’d say it’s probably an important part of the character development of Tina than a grab for a larger audience. I’ve got to say that I’m certainly entruiged about what exactly has caused the rift between Johan and Tina and definately looking forward to seeing if Tina’s attempt at payback would actually make Anders like her more (you never know!).

    Also, I think there’s a decided lack of calls for a spindash on Tina.

  54. Alex F. Says:

    i usually don’t directly address people in the comments, but rhesuspieces, if you think ALM has jumped the shark, sod off and go read questionable content. maybe its turtle-assed, navel-gazing pace will better suit your wecomicking needs. myself, i like a story that has a plot, thanks.

  55. James Says:

    Aww. I like both ALM and QC! :^(

    Renee, keep knocking them out of the park. Every day I check this comic with baited breath, just wondering what could possibly happen next.

    Loving it!

  56. Alex F. Says:

    i like QC just fine, for the record. but plotwise, where QC is a meandering, years-long course of psychotherapy analysing the death of your goldfish, ALM is drinking a litre of espresso and riding a mechanical bull at a metal show until your arse falls off.

  57. Jamie Says:

    This is great, and I love it! But, are all the women in Sweden so skinny? The ones I’ve met are more pleasantly curvaceous.

  58. Rene Engström Says:

    jamie. that’s just my drawing style for this comic.

  59. Rebecca Says:

    Heehee, awesome. Love those last two panels.

    Rene, don’t tell me you’re not straight. I will think all my public holidays have come at once!

  60. Chuck Says:

    I woke up today in the morning and heard a gigantic SNAP!

    Now I know what it was…

    CRAZY TINA BOOBS ARE CRAZY!!!

  61. Rene Engström Says:

    Rebecca: Happy Holidays!

  62. Genevieve Says:

    WHAAAAM! SOMEBODY BETTER CALL THE WHAAAAAAAAAMBULANCE!!

    I have known and am related to people like Tina, so, no sympathy. You gotta just… walk around those people on the street, you know? It’s hysterically, hysterically funny, though!

    Tina: “I DRINK YOUR MILKSHAKE!!”

  63. BG Says:

    LOL!!!!!!!!!

    Anyone else love that scene from There Will Be Blood? God!

    Also, Rene, yes, I am in the ranks of developing a same-sex crush on you as well!

  64. Madonna Says:

    Ahahahahaha

    This is so much funnier if you hear the Mortal Kombat guy going, “FINISH HER,” when she hits the snow.

    HOORAY FOR JOHAN.

    (Also, thank you Rene.)

  65. Damian Says:

  66. elfkat Says:

    Hey Rene,

    So, I’ve been wondering: There’s been a lot of speculation about the relationship between the foster siblings… are we ever going to get all the details? (Like, via a flashback or something?)

    Cheers!

  67. Antsan Says:

    Poor Tina. Her life has to be totally messed up.

  68. Victoria Says:

    Dear Rene,
    I am not very good at drawing, but I made you a fnart anyway, because you are awesome, and I got bored. So… here it is. http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g130/oh-noes-its-tori/kittylovesjohan.jpg
    Love, Victoria

  69. Antsan Says:

    Hehe, I think this fanart is one of the most awesome fanarts seen until now. :D

  70. megslegseggs Says:

    There’s only one kind of milkshake I associate Tina with.. and that’s the kind that brings all the boys to the yard.

  71. Duke-Thane Says:

    Really? because I associate Tina with the kind of Milkshake that the vindictive shallow bitch flavoured Milkshake.

  72. Matthias Says:

    At last we see Tina with a backbone. Pity it turns out to be a twisted one.

  73. Kat Says:

    I love you, Johan.

  74. Wind-Up Monkey Says:

    I really shouldn’t check this at school anymore, or else I’m gonna end up getting banned from the network. ;P

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