1048: "Emotion"

[Euler]

Title Text: Fortunately, the internet has a virtually inexhaustible supply of code that doesn't work and people who are wrong, which bodes well for a return to normalcy. [Note: Click to read context for the cancer comics. She's doing well]

Am I the only one who is measurably moved by his strength in the face of adversity?
I feel bad for the guy whenever he puts out something like this.

[longnameislonger]

Imma share this.

Also, I think I see a little of the tan "people being wrong on the internet" poking through above the cancer mountain.

[prairiewest]

I've been feeling the same way - worried about cancer more than I should lately. Not because I have it, nor my wife - just worried.

Sigh.

[rhomboidal]

My own map would probably be a wall of yellow.

A growing, towering tsunami of yellow...

[WontonSoup]

Wow, I had no idea. I wish both Randall and his fiancee the best.

As for me, "Earthquakes" has been on a steady rise since 2009 when I moved to the west coast...

[Zanmanoodle]

And with a simple "She's doing well" we all exhale slightly. Caring about xkcd -> caring about the creator -> the creator's surroundings/happiness.

Also, I recommend learning a musical instrument or something similar. To fill the white ?? space, that is.

[glasnt]

I would have been sure there was a Joss Whedon spike around

Code: Select all

Series(Doctor Horrible).Year

and

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MoviesBy(JossWhedon).Year.

[jianmin]

Wow, I had no idea. I wish both Randall and his fiancee the best.

According to a later post on the blog, they're married now.

Glad to see that gray mass on the graph is declining!

[Sir_Read-a-Lot]

I don't know why, but I find the ??? section especially moving.

[ducksan]

This one is just sobering.

I have no remark other than that.

[XyKam]

Stopped lurking for this. I hope everything turns out for the better in the end.

Good luck with everything.

[kskjon]

I'm really glad to hear it's going better with her. Just wanted to wish them both the best of luck.

[Mloren]

love the Joss Whedon reference and I wonder about the question marked section on the right hand side.

[Quicksilver]

I clicked on the RSS feed expecting a cold hearted comic about not feeling emotion, but this was much more effective. I'd breathe a sigh of relief, but "paths" reminds me just how horrible this graph could be.

[CuBr]

I wonder about the question marked section on the right hand side.

This is total speculation on my part, but maybe it represents baby anxiety? It does occur after a bump in romance...

[cogthecat]

I know that the most-trying time here is already past, but I really feel strongly that Randall should be aware of this if he isn't already. John Green, a prominent youth novelist and extraordinary vlogger, has just this year published the book The Fault In Our Stars. It is prominently about cancer and the incredible trials that go with it both from the patient and their loved ones... and deeply profound.

Also, yes, the ??? segment is surprisingly interesting. I am intrigued by it.


...And I did indeed only make an account on this forum to share that.

[BlitzGirl]

I'm glad she's still doing well. I was a little disappointed that the link was to the blog post from summer 2011, but with cancer, no news is usually good news. Hopefully that ugly gray blob continues to shrink for Randall and his wife.

[StClair]

"She's doing well."
Glad to hear it.
I wonder what my own graph would look like...

(My mother's never far from my thoughts. She died a month ago, seven after the diagnosis.)

[Eternal Density]

I think this means I better go see The Avengers.

[Frost]

I honestly had no idea that, when I got home tonight, I was going to be seeing a comic that hit so close to home. I've been reading xkcd for about 3 years and I never knew that any of this was happening with your wife or you, Randall. I sincerely hope she does well and that this concern regarding cancer subsides. I was diagnosed with stage IV ovarian cancer two months ago so I can feel where you're coming from. At 21 with no family history, it sure as hell was a shock for me and my family. I created a profile on here just so I could say I understand and support you and that I shall read your comic until I cannot any longer.

[mercutio_stencil]

I have never wanted to give Randall a hug quite so much as I do right now.

[delro92]

Freaking ninjas cutting onions... this one made me shed a tear.
R.I.P. Grandma, we all miss you

PS: I fucking hate cancer.

[OutComesTheEvil]

To borrow from the 'Lanes' comic (which enabled me to explain my Dads prognosis to people, Thanks Randall )

F**k Cancer!

[keithl]

On October 10, 2010, my friend Julie Martin died of breast cancer. She started her Pity The Cancer! blog a month after her diagnosis on July 30, 2007, to be continued by her husband Brian after August 2010. Perhaps in 10 or 20 or 50 years, uncured malignancies will be a thing of the past, and blogs like Julie's and cartoons like Randall's, captured forever on the internet, will be how the world remembers our challenges and our brave responses.

Perhaps these words and images will help motivate the scientists who develop the cures, and those who fund them. That may bring about cures a little faster, and save millions from pain and death. I like to think that every poignant cartoon Randall draws may help save many lives -- including his wife -- while saving an important part of our culture and times into the far future.

Randall, thank you for sharing this with us, now and forever.

[The Moomin]

I assume "???" is the unknown, as H.P. Lovecraft says "THE OLDEST and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown".

However, we also know "we have nothing to fear but fear itself . . . and spiders" (I have no idea where that comes from).

And you have to admit, scary as it is to see a spider, it is scarier to have a spider of unknown location as it will eventually end up in your hair.

[Covane]

she's doing well

<3 Yay.

[dark12222000]

This comic is not a comic. It's an inconvenient, sobering truth. Our hearts, and our minds, are with you.

[RVVill]

My mother was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 27, eleven years before I was born. When she was diagnosed she slipped into depression and had no clue what to do, but had a successful treatment. Her second and worst occurrence was in 1992, when she was nearing the end of her pregnancy with me. Due to multiple unrelated complications having to do with the pregnancy, there was a chance I could have been born severely mentally and physically retarded, assuming both of us made it to the end. Because of faith, love and support from her family and friends, and expert medically treatment, she recovered and I was born via caesarian section January of the following year, a month premature, but a very healthy and happy baby. The most recent occurrence happened while I was in first grade and was quickly and effectively treated. Since then my mother has been doing everything in her power not only to eliminate the risk of cancer, but maintain her health in anyway possible. She is a healthy, beautiful, loving, and inspiring 56 year old with no signs of reoccurance.

Had it not been for her strength, her love, and the love of those around her, neither of us would be alive today. I am forever thankful for all she has done.

The reason I am saying this is because I want you to know that even when times are dark, and you are in such a terrible situation as a loved one having cancer, you will always have the love and support of those around you- your family, your friends, and your fans. I honestly hope for the best for you and your fiancé and will keep you both in my thoughts and prayers.

[Mortomes]

Man. Fuck cancer.

[RyanfaeScotland]

Why is there an 'Other' section on the left of the cancer but a '??' on the right, surely they are the same?

[Andromeda321]

My thoughts are with you and yours, Randall.

A good reminder to the rest of us about what really matters instead of all the stupid stuff people usually quibble about I think.

[LittleMikey]

Such a sad comic I wish Randall and his family the best. I hope they get through this.

[Dave]

I know he doesn't read the forums, but I'm glad to hear she's doing well. Stay strong!

[rara_bb]

I know he doesn't read the forums

Is that an established fact? I'm pretty sure he'd peak in every once in a while.

[AvatarIII]

Why is there an 'Other' section on the left of the cancer but a '??' on the right, surely they are the same?

I thought that at first, but I figure "other" is known but too many little things to plot each separate thing, whereas "??" is actually unknown

However, we also know "we have nothing to fear but fear itself . . . and spiders" (I have no idea where that comes from).

I was pretty convinced it was a Whedon quote, sounds like something Whedon would write, but on googling, I don't think anyone knows where it comes from.

[Beldin]

1. cancer, eek. Sympathies, man.
2. This so much recalls Profanity Usage: http://xkcd.com/290/

[oliphaunt]

I'm surprised how much the timing and intensity of the cancer part mirrors my own experience. Unfortunately, my mum passed away two months ago. Still very glad for Randall that things seem to be looking up now and I have some idea of how it must have been.

[Tim Harrod]

If it'll help you feel a little more like the old days, Randall:

I wish George Lucas would make some more Star Track movies.

[What]

The ?? makes me think baby.

[SirMustapha]

I'm always astounded when comics like these show up. They always balance between exploitative and sympathy-whoring, and I suppose that kind of attitude only manages to resonate with the truly sycophantic. So the cancer case took up virtually all of Randall's emotions during half a year, and he still kept on making comics? And, heck, why didn't xkcd itself ever take up any of his emotions? Even when he did those desperate moves to keep up with his schedule unchanged? With this we could imply that Randall in fact never got invested into his own comic, which is very telling.

I would sympathise with Randall if he wasn't so exploitative. There are not "trying to cope with it" comics. He frankly seems to be cashing in on his wife's illness, making profit out of it -- otherwise he should have removed the link to the store on this comic, you know, out of respect. Really, what's the purpose of his comic? Is the graph supposed to be taken on the same "Oh, so clever" level of other xkcd graph comics? Or is this really the best way Randall can find to express his feelings? Why is he still churning out comics in spite of the turmoil? You could say that it's a form of therapy for him, but then "xkcd" or "making comics" would appear on the graph. But everything leads me to believe that this comic is the equivalent of Randall appearing on TV saying "My wife has cancer! Buy my shit!".