May Not Have Tried - Webcomics

Fanworks

Therapist R. J. Hill by panic-volkushka

First page of webcomic. Panel one: a door with a sign stating R.J. Hill Families and Couples Therapy. Panel two: An adult Bart Simonson, one arm thrown up on a couch, facing to his right, in the middle of speaking '... My dad was an abusive alcoholic, or whatever. He'd go to the bar come home drunk, find out I'd fucked up at school, and he'd choke me out'. Panel three: Bart looks down sadly. Panel four: 'He never hit mom or my sisteres. He tried to be a good dad. We had some great times, man. He only got physical with me...'. Panel five: Bart looks up at the ceiling. 'I guess I was always thinking one day he'd hurt mom or L or M. If I pissed him off, he'd only hurt me and that was okay'.'Panel six: An adult Chris Griffin sitting on the couch, facing to his left, saying 'My family was a lot like B's... but different... My dad...'. Panel seven: Chris looks downwards sadly. Panel eight: Looking up at the ceiling, he says 'My parents beat the shit out of my sister. Dad would make a joke about how worthless she was, and push her down the stairs and just... laugh.' Panel nine: Looking straight ahead, he says, 'And I did it too.' Panel ten: 'I didn't even know it was bad. It's just want my family DID. When I did realise it was wrong, I got scared.' Panel eleven: Squishing his face in his hands so his eyes are hidden, he says, 'If I didn't hurt M too, maybe they'd start hurting me. M left him at 18 and I've never heard from her. I wish I could say I'm sorry.' End of first page.

My summary:

A comic about a therapy session between Bart Simpson and Chris Griffin (Family Guy) where they discuss their relationship problems, shining a light on their traumatic upbringings. Content warning for descriptions of abuse and trauma.

My comments:

A surprisingly emotional and touching look at what some of the relationships in the Simpsons and Family Guy would have looked like in real life. I think of this comic often and always give it a re-read when it appears on my dash. To read the full comic, click the link at the top.