Tag Archives: Semi-autobiographical comics

One thing I enjoy about Jennie Breeden’s semi-autobiographical webcomic The Devil’s Panties is how she’s not afraid to share the bad as well as the good… while finding a way to find humor in that moment (even if after the fact). Her latest storyline where she came home to find her home robbed yet again with both of her air conditioning units stolen while she and her husband were away is a perfect example of this, especially with Jennie contemplating how she could protect her home. Personally, I suspect a company that developed a line of home-defense units that looked (and sounded) like the turrets in the computer game Portal would be a big hit. The only problem is I could see a homeowner coming back and finding that their Portal Turrets had been stolen! Sadly, with the economy stuttering along some people are forced to do whatever they can to survive. What they don’t realize (or want to think about) is how it affects their victims; Jennie has given us a glimpse of just that, while leavening it with a touch of humor. That she can laugh (even ruefully) at this situation shows us just how strong she is… and is one of the reasons why I enjoy her comic so much.

At times I almost feel like a voyeur when reading Jennie Breedan’s autobiographical webcomic The Devil’s Panties, despite the fact we’re only glimpsing those aspects of her life she wants us to see. Still, I have to admit some amusement at today’s comic as she and her fiance are waiting to get a marriage license… and watching the reactions of other young lovers to the cries of a young baby. To be honest, I can understand both the initial sense of amused affection at the newborn’s crying and the sudden horrific pulling away from their future partner as they realize this may be their future as well. For that matter, it may be in Breeden’s future as well, which will undoubtedly make for some interesting stories of her juggling conventions with a baby in tow. In any event, it’s nice to see The Devil’s Panties growing once more; for a long while things had remained far too static and unchanging. In this case at least, change is good.

Comedian Bob Monkhouse once said that growing old is compulsory while growing up is optional. While this could be taken several ways (including suggestions that even the oldest of people can be quite immature), I like to think of it as a suggestion that we can retain our inner child no matter how old we grow. Today’s Devil’s Panties is just such an example, with cartoonist Jennie Breeden taking a little time out to play on a sturdy swing set she noticed while biking. Amusingly enough, it’s not Breeden’s inner devil who suggests taking a break on the swings (no, she’s in agreement with Jennie’s shoulder angel that she doesn’t have time for such antics). No. It’s Breeden’s “Pretty Princess” (that part of her that still has a girlish sense of glee toward sparkly things, and is in many ways Jennie’s inner child) that puts her foot down and insists. Given that even though I’ve passed 40 years I still enjoy going on the swings, I can’t blame Breeden’s inner child in the least.

It seemed for a while that The Devil’s Panties, Jennie Breeden’s semi-autobiographical webcomic, was stuck spinning its wheels. While it was good for the occasional chuckle, often it seemed to be rehashing the same material over and over. Perhaps that’s to be expected, seeing that Breeden’s life seems to revolve around convention antics and then defragging at home. But of late, the comic has gotten enjoyable again. I’m not sure if Breeden has found her stride once more, or if I’ve overcome some malaise that kept me from enjoying the comic. But I do know that it’s scenes like this one, with Breeden eyeing her favorite ice cream and then telling her fiancé that the ice cream will survive the long trip home just fine (so long as they eat it on the way home), that I enjoy the most.