[14 May 12] Something more complex than "alkie"

[Alice Macher]

Oh, Hank. Stop pretending you don't care.

[NobodySpecial]

Actually, it's a pretty genius move on Marie's part. A guy who publicly announces that he's more worried about brain challenges than just sex is gonna be hooked by this puzzle, and HARD. (ahem.)

[Captain LeBubbles]

Hank, when you say "any time", people are going to assume they can come to you "at any time", y'doy.

[SomeCanadianWeirdo]

Again, Hank doesn't seem like he's really into the whole RA thing. People randomly showing up asking for help is part of the job description.

[Doc Harleen]

Hank, when you say "any time", people are going to assume they can come to you "at any time", y'doy.

Yup! The phrase "my door is always open" means just that. I'm starting to wonder if Hank really has the temperament to be an RA. Not that I actually have any idea what being one actually entails, but dude seems cranky.

[Alice Macher]

Again, Hank doesn't seem like he's really into the whole RA thing.

See, I read it as "Hank tries so hard to convince himself he's not really into the whole RA thing." Because despite his "Don't bother me" front, his advice to Sara, Lisa and Michael has actually been common-sensical and helpful.

I think Hank is what we call a "jerk with a heart of gold." Although we don't know much yet about the tragedy he alluded to in his hometown, my guess is that the murder, and the locals' reaction to it, led Hank to think that most people are no damn good, so why bother, etc., etc. And yet we've seen hints that, deep down, he doesn't really believe that.

[Pink Freud]

Well he could have meant "My door is always open but I may not necessarily be in there."

[Captain LeBubbles]

Hank, when you say "any time", people are going to assume they can come to you "at any time", y'doy.

Yup! The phrase "my door is always open" means just that. I'm starting to wonder if Hank really has the temperament to be an RA. Not that I actually have any idea what being one actually entails, but dude seems cranky.

He strikes me as Jerk With a Heart of Gold*, but it's really hard to find that Heart of Gold without a bit of digging. I'm definitely looking forward to learning more about him.

*I swear I was already typing this when Alice posted.

[brasca]

Hank, when you say "any time", people are going to assume they can come to you "at any time", y'doy.

Yup! The phrase "my door is always open" means just that. I'm starting to wonder if Hank really has the temperament to be an RA. Not that I actually have any idea what being one actually entails, but dude seems cranky.

I know that's what frustrates me about people who say that then get cranky when people take their word for it unless he communicates with words that one must read between the lines.

[LookingIn]

Hank, when you say "any time", people are going to assume they can come to you "at any time", y'doy.

Yup! The phrase "my door is always open" means just that. I'm starting to wonder if Hank really has the temperament to be an RA. Not that I actually have any idea what being one actually entails, but dude seems cranky.

He strikes me as Jerk With a Heart of Gold*, but it's really hard to find that Heart of Gold without a bit of digging. I'm definitely looking forward to learning more about him.

*I swear I was already typing this when Alice posted.

Is it digging or more like when he isn't fighting his inner deamons around the same time?

[Arky]

He's not really being a jerk, though. He's making the extra effort to actually listen to these kids and give them good advice. If he complains is annoyed by them sometimes, so what? I don't think Jerk With A Heart of Gold is the right trope.

I think a lot of us called that the "alcoholic" thing was a jump to conclusions, but Hank seems to have cut that off at the pass before we could even have a comedy of errors. Damn that jerk Hank, doesn't he know that comedic misunderstanding is an important part of college romances?

[Artemisia]

Hank---that's because you're their RA!

[Alice Macher]

He's not really being a jerk, though. He's making the extra effort to actually listen to these kids and give them good advice. If he complains is annoyed by them sometimes, so what? I don't think Jerk With A Heart of Gold is the right trope.

I see what you're saying, but there's no denying that Hank's advice, sensible and helpful as it is, comes with a good deal of irritation and snark. Maybe "jerk" is indeed too strong a word, but he's definitely not a smiling, "hey buddy, good to see you" sort. So perhaps "Good Is Not Nice" is a more accurate trope to describe Hank. Think Sherlock Holmes, who devotes his life to doing good by solving crimes, but is acerbic, sarcastic, and unaffectionate as a person. Or, to take a more extreme example, Severus Snape, who's severe (as his punny name suggests), strict and grudge-bearing, even cruel, towards Harry and his friends, but ultimately on the side of good.

[brasca]

He's not really being a jerk, though. He's making the extra effort to actually listen to these kids and give them good advice. If he complains is annoyed by them sometimes, so what? I don't think Jerk With A Heart of Gold is the right trope.

I see what you're saying, but there's no denying that Hank's advice, sensible and helpful as it is, comes with a good deal of irritation and snark. Maybe "jerk" is indeed too strong a word, but he's definitely not a smiling, "hey buddy, good to see you" sort. So perhaps "Good Is Not Nice" is a more accurate trope to describe Hank. Think Sherlock Holmes, who devotes his life to doing good by solving crimes, but is acerbic, sarcastic, and unaffectionate as a person. Or, to take a more extreme example, Severus Snape, who's severe (as his punny name suggests), strict and grudge-bearing, even cruel, towards Harry and his friends, but ultimately on the side of good.

In other words he's Davan MacIntire if he stayed in college.

[Otaking]

I like this strip, it's like our forum profiling activities and the strip are becoming one.


Which could end up being art by committee and the highest of crimes.