Atomic Laundromat

As any of my older readers can attest, one of my pet peeves is when a story refuses to advance a potential romantic situation out of fear of what many call “Moonlighting Syndrome,” where readers lose interest when the romantic tension between two characters ends when the characters finally get together. When you consider how tense relationships can be in the best of circumstances, Moonlighting Syndrome seems due more to poor writing than to a loss of romantic tension, especially as that tension can be switched to that of actually having a relationship. (Though as the saying goes, you write what you know. Which says something about Hollywood writers.)

So I have to applaud Armando Valenzuela for actually daring to let his primary protagonist in Atomic Laundromat have his chance without backing out. Mind you, he did toy with his readers by having Angela appear initially to reject David’s declaration of affections… and it would have made sense for her to do so (what with her attraction to superheroes and deep-seated need to be one herself). In fact, I almost think that it wasn’t until the fourth panel of today’s comic until she actually decided to take that leap of faith.

As I said above, just because a couple has started dating doesn’t mean that the tension between them will end. Given David’s opinions about superheroes and his thoughts as to why Angela wants to be one, and her own strong opinions on many topics, things aren’t going to go smoothly. I’d almost be willing to bet either David or Angela will end up empowered at some point, just to intensify the tension between them. But it’s better to see them take that chance, even with all that could go wrong. It’s more interesting this way. What’s more, it’s good storytelling.