Clown Corps

by Joe Chouinard
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McBell knew it was a metal whistle
‹‹ First ‹ Prev Comments(18) Random Next › Last ››

chapter 5 page 20

by clowncorps on November 8, 2021 at 12:00 am
Chapter: Chapter 5
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Discussion (18) ¬

  1. ws
    November 8, 2021, 1:20 am | # | Reply

    …I’m not really digging the “fat incompetent comic relief”. my one issue of the comic . Its somewhat tempered by knowing its linked more to the “gym teacher” archetype and people’s real life expereince with gym teachers who hypocritically force unrealistic standards on kids for things they themselves can’t do. but yeah…

    • charlie
      November 8, 2021, 11:20 am | # | Reply

      i think you’re reading into this a little much. where did it say he was incompetent anywhere? where has he fucked something up? he goes off of mustard’s lesson plan but thats not him being incapable, its him choosing to do something he prefers. The students talk back to him but that still doesn’t mean anything other than he’s more friendly and less intimidating than Mustard. hate to say it but you’re the only one making this a weight related stereotype.

      • Gyrre
        November 8, 2021, 2:43 pm | # | Reply

        He literally just got his tongue stuck inside and to the whistle.

        • Charizard
          November 8, 2021, 4:33 pm | # | Reply

          It’s also a clown comic where goofy things happen to everyone

        • charlie
          November 9, 2021, 3:43 am | # | Reply

          sure. has nothing to do with his weight.

    • Frick
      November 8, 2021, 4:36 pm | # | Reply

      He’s not the only comic relief in this comic. Everyone is

    • ws
      November 9, 2021, 12:29 am | # | Reply

      Perhaps “incompetent” isn’t the right word so much as “selfish’, which isn’t as funny when these kids are in potential danger
      and I suppose the “fat asshole gym teacher” is more a literary trope than in visual media, saw it often in books meant to evoke cynical or “realistic” look of childhood experiences.

      • charlie
        November 9, 2021, 3:48 am | # | Reply

        selfish?
        first of all, that has nothing to do with any fat stereotypes. so maybe you’re just wishing the larger characters were all very positive, but it’s weird to write stories with that kind of mindset; your characters evolve with you every day, and with visual media, more often than not, the personality exists before design. she likely came up with his character, and maybe the design was based off the overweight gym teacher trope, but then again, i went to nine different schools and every gym teacher was significantly round. it’s not a bad thing to be fat, and it’s also not a bad thing to be typecast. if you take issue with coach’s character, you are also pretty much taking issue with real people to some degree.
        also, coach would without hesitation risk his life for his students, i believe that. he’s not negligent, he just doesnt care much for academics, and you know what? neither do i.

        • charlie
          November 9, 2021, 3:49 am | # | Reply

          i accidentally called joe a she, very cringe of me, my apologies.

          • Fru Fru Brigade
            May 18, 2023, 3:23 am | #

            Eh, I’m a fan of this comic, it’s only a matter of time ’til you turn out to be right. (Sorry, have a personal joke about how I turn creators I like trans, because I have a frankly *eerie* track record with folks whose work I’m a fan of coming out as trans at some point)

        • ws
          November 9, 2021, 10:18 am | # | Reply

          He seems framed as selfish to me. The kids are of the opinion the tournaments were for his own entertainment without any care for themselves and I figured we were supposed to agree with them at least this far in the story (prior to any possible subversions).

          my main issue is the other goofy characters in authority are shown as putting in effort to do a good job, even if misguided. There’s a difference between Goofy and Pete and there’s fatphobic reason the latter is visually large.

          You seem much angrier on this topic than I am , but I never accused this of being conscious bigotry.

          “fatness” is generally used to visually code poor moral charact and so far that’s been the case from what I see, I hope the author plans a subversion like you think he will.

          • jeane
            November 9, 2021, 6:20 pm | #

            I don’t disagree that the coach here falls back on some tropes that are maybe a bit questionable. But I feel like it’s worth pointing out that Director Snowqueen is also a fat character, and she’s portrayed as being a competent leader and a good person. That to me makes it feel like this is less an issue of bias, and more just a trope that was reused a little carelessly.

          • charlie
            November 9, 2021, 6:28 pm | #

            well that’s down to personal interpretation at this point, which isn’t wrong per se, but isn’t a strong enough pillar to lobby an accusation from.
            in most fantasy-school-settings, (harry potter, early naruto, jujustu kaisen, my hero academia, little witch academia, the list goes on) there’s almost always a teacher who nearly never listens to the school board and instead plans stuff that is more fun for them or the students. the fat gym teacher trope is a separate entity than that trope.
            i’m not entirely sure where you’re getting this idea that he’s not putting in effort to be a good teacher though. preferring a different method of learning (hands-on versus conceptual) is a very common thing, i’ve had science teachers who always pushed experiments and labs and i’ve had ones that focused on rote memorization and testing. that’s just human psychology, and considering these clowns’ job is probably more than 70% combat, fighting each other is far from a useless activity.

            i’m not angry at all, moreso confused. i apologize if i came off as rude.
            i guess you could argue that weight-immorality link, but while it may be employed in some media, it’s certainly not a foregone conclusion in any circumstances. more often than not i see a leaning into the big-guy, big-wholesome trope, ala hagrid, fatgum, or even fuckin santa claus.

    • Orson Zedd
      December 21, 2021, 10:21 pm | # | Reply

      I don’t think Coach is comic relief. I think he’s the realest.

  2. Gash
    November 8, 2021, 1:49 am | # | Reply

    of COURSE that was gonna happen, it’s a real-life based, fantasy action clown comic after all.

  3. Xel Unknown
    November 8, 2021, 4:18 am | # | Reply

    Ah yes the metal whistle gag, classic. :3

  4. Anon44
    November 8, 2021, 10:07 am | # | Reply

    And McBell didn’t even have to double dog dare him.

  5. Obsessionist
    March 25, 2024, 10:28 pm | # | Reply

    good bit

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