Originally Posted by
J. D. Guy
Woah, some heavy stuff. And this from only the preview?
(I just finished my 1st 4-year-level semester, and have been ultra out of it since. I'm behind on literally everything comics not muttered in the occasional thread visit.)
From these panels alone, it looks like Hill is going for the idea that Duke's more assertive personality moments comes out mostly when Duke is internally flustered and/or wracked with anxiety. Of course, this is more a part of Duke's nature to speak his truth when he feels he has to, as opposed to any strict, generic trauma-fueled acting out session. Not to say he's immune to being affected by his own anxiety, mind. Although in this case it was also kinda played off like Duke was "talking back to his elders" and so was inherently in the wrong by default, irrespective of context. I mostly got this vibe because neither he or nor Jeff were backing down on their stance, with the latter not giving much indication he was willing to except anything less than remorse and obedience from the former, and then Duke acquiesces and even apologies all of a sudden. Now, it could be that Duke is exhausted -- mentally and physically -- and so backed down to keep the peace. But I dunno...
I'll eventually get to the entire issue itself, but which side do you guys think these panels implicitly (or explicitly) leaned?