Better Days is a webcomic written and illustrated by Jay Naylor. It follows the lives of Fisk and Lucy Black, anthropomorphic cats, growing up in Georgia, and their families. It was started on April 18, 2003 and so far has 15 chapters, with one more in progress. In the beginning, Fisk was about 9 years old, and currently he is around 18. The timeline of the story is depicted to have taken place in the late-1970s and the 1980s.

Storyline

Better Days deals with the hardships of living in a family and the relationships in and out of the family. Most of the events in the comic involve Fisk, such as his behavior in school, his introduction to sex at a young age, an incestuous relationship with his sister, his questions about his late father, and his relationship with Elizabeth. It also focuses on his sister, Lucy. Throughout the comic, Lucy has been treated poorly by the boys in her school. In one instance, a guy went out with her only to get a chance at her mother. Fisk and Lucy's mother, Sheila, has also appeared regularly in the comic. For example, she went out with Fisk's former principal, Harvey Longfellow, who lied about knowing her husband. When Sheila found out the truth, Longfellow raped her. Fisk intervened, hitting him with a baseball bat. Longfellow later died in the hospital of complications after reconstructive surgery. Suspicious circumstances suggested that Longfellow was visited by a few men who had known Fisk's father.

Later, Sheila began seeing her neighbor, Sam Tobs, and started an affair with him. Sam's wife hired a private investigator to find out if anything was going on. The Tobs' marriage broke up after she learned the truth. In another chapter, the family visits their grandfather, who is dying. After the funeral, Fisk goes to visit the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, which lists his father's name, and decides to join the military.

In the latest chapters, Lucy and Fisk have graduated from high school. Lucy is attending college at the University of Georgia, and Fisk is in the military where he reunited with Nikki, a childhood friend, after Fisk is brought in for medical attention for cutting himself during a parachuting session.

Characters

Fisk Black — the main character.

Lucy Black — Fisk's sister, a character created by Mat Sherer, the creator of Badly Drawn Kitties.

Sheila Black — Fisk's mother. Her husband, Jim, was killed in the Vietnam War.

Elizabeth Wachsman — Lucy's best friend, with whom Fisk had a brief relationship.

Sam Tobs — The Blacks' next door neighbor. Sheila and Sam have an ongoing relationship which resulted in his wife leaving him. He later proposes.

Mrs. Bedbutter — Fisk's former teacher, a staunch Democrat.

Harvey Longfellow — Fisk's former principal. In Chapter 5 ("Predators"), he raped Sheila Black, was hit by Fisk protecting his mother, and soon after died in hospital from surgical complications (it is implied that he was, in fact, killed by Jim Black's acquaintance and present friend of Sheila).

Jessica — One of Lucy's college dormmates and her friend. Although she knew Lucy and Fisk in high school, she doesn't appear until Chapter 14 ("All The Wrong Places").

Bethany — Another dormmate, Bethany (or Beth) fails to solve Lucy's loneliness in the beginning of Chapter 14. Later in that chapter, she warns Fisk

Rachel — Yet another dormmate, Rachel is disliked by all the other characters, mostly because of her whorish tendances.

Amy — The last dormmate, but never plays a larger role.

Tommy — When first introduced, Tommy was Rachel's boyfriend. Not too long after, he leaves her for Lucy. He states that he's Catholic.

Structure

The comic takes the form of ten or more monochrome four-panel pages per chapter. Unlike many comics, the main characters seem to age between chapters. Better Days also relies on no punch lines and usually focus on drama rather than comedy.

Politics

Better Days has been criticised and praised for the strong pro-conservative, patriotic, pro-military, pro-life attitudes as espoused by characters in the comic. In spite of its focus on family life, the comic has significant political content.

Fisk is the only member of his class shown to argue against the indoctrination by Mrs. Bedbutter, a hard-line liberal. His essays against her views eventually get him in trouble, but a subsequent parent-teacher conference shows that Mrs. Black and Mrs. Bedbutter's views are just as irreconcilable.

Throughout the comic the Vietnam War was portrayed as a necessary defense of American freedom, and Fisk's late father is eulogised by the characters for his participation.

Fisk's mother starts Lucy on contraception early, insistent that there will be no abortion in the family - which she refers to as "killing unborn kittens".

Fisk's mother strongly dislikes the feminist movement.

A few characters in the comic are gun enthusiasts.

In contrast, it is worth noting that the comic does display extremely liberal attitudes towards relationships and sexuality.

Criticism has also been levelled at Naylor for racist attitudes, but most of these are confined to subtext - for example, the hyenas in the comic occasionally conform to African American stereotypes, and the mice appear to represent the Jews. The author has stated that the various species are intended to be direct equivalents of real ethnic and cultural groups, but has also maintained that the specific species chosen were not selected for any perceived negative connotations.

External links

Better Days web comic

Enter The Dream collection of reviews about Better Days

Author's discussion of this Wikipedia article

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Jay Naylor's "Better Days" a satirical 'review' from the website Crush Yiff Destroy.-----> <!--- Add it again if you like, but it is not a review. Eban --->