Come on!

What is it, Vera? What?! WHAT??

One Hot Date

This date is off to a great start. First Vera shows up in a parka and tries to make out with Drew. He resists but thinks excited thoughts in his thought bubble. Now Vera has taken off her parka to reveal a matching blazer/skirt set. Drew in his houndstooth is digging the cafe's craptastic sound system and eagerly trying to make Vera reminisce about their romance, even though all they did was go on a miserable failure of a date involving horses and infidelity, yet here they are on a date again, and if he's really so psyched for this "second chance" why is he bring up their checkered past? Vera, so demonstrative a moment ago, is gazing sulkily into her water glass. Drew is of course oblivious, and so ready to make it work this time that he is doing like a gentleman does: also ordering just water.

Really, any dude with the cajones to drive around in a pink car deserves a second chance.

Also curious: it's been months since the "incident" with Dawn and Vera? In real life it has - that took place in the fall - but in Mary Worth Time that happened about a week and a half ago. Unless we are to believe that MW Time follows real actual time, which would mean that Mary's bike ride lasted for two and a half weeks, her teatime with Toby spanned three days, and Dr. Drew Corey's fabled courtship of Vera consisted of two dates.

What's that, Drew?

I'm so curious just what Drew thinks is going on. After all, this is a man who despite his alleged intelligence (the man is a doctor, after all) has misjudged every social situation he's ever been showcased in. A pool party, dating Dawn, dating Vera, horeback riding, and even talking on the phone have proved too much for our Dr. Drew to navigate. The rest of us might view such a situation and think something like:
1. Vera wants some closure.
2. Vera's giving him a booty call.
3. Vera is knocked up.
4. Dr. Drew Corey has something of Vera's, like a figurine or a piece of lingerie (or the Mary Worth universe equivalent, which would probably be riding boots or a down parka) that she wants back but doesn't want it sent through the mail.

Dr. Drew is thinking:
1. Vera wants me back!!!
2. If we go on another date, I can wear my marlinspike shirt!!!
3. Vera loves me, she love love loves me!!!!!
4. I'll take her out for a drink at the Bum Boat!!!!
5. Awesome!!!!!!!!

It's a bit startling that that first panel is so crowded with people, none of whose actions are very clear. I'm digging this whole sequence in the dog park, though. Apparently it is a place where you can weave in and out of wooded areas from second to second, and it's normal to walk next to, rather than on, the paved path. Large buildings suddenly loom up in the background, and strangers get really close to you and make odd excited gestures. Just the kind of place where Drew would go jogging in jeans and hope for some Vera action!

yes!!!

the hemingway complex is so psyched!! back in 2007, the hemingway complex confessed that, in desperation, the hemingway complex would turn to the insane female characters of mary worth as models to navigate the dating world. vera and dawn were so hardcore in their dumping of dr. marlin! they really told him what's what. plus, they were crazily awesome while they were dating him, acting like total maniacs, being in love with a dunce, and coming up with gems like this one:

then, for being so hardcore, they just all of a sudden want to talk to him again? this is helpful to the hemingway complex, as it adds a lot of leeway - basically, one can exhibit any behavior one wants, and still be following the guidelines. it's great. like say a suitor wants to meet up with you again late at night after some too-long amount of time. one could be outraged, cause a scene, and say stuff like "healer of hearts, breaker of mine" and make "talk-to-the-hand" hand gestures, or one could call up that suitor and be sorry for the way one left things, like it was one's fault! amazingly liberating. can't wait til dawn gets wind of this. will they suddenly, independently have the urge to go horseback riding again? or will it be the early bird special at the bum boat?maybe vera will be all, dr. marlin, you are a successful dr. or professional, why don't you have a top sheet/working bathroom light?

also, if vera is pregnant, moy and giella gots to learn how to draw kids, not just mini sized adults in baseball caps like this creepy fellow:

also, do they think there is some type of baseball cap minimum to adhere to in terms of

background characters? like, what?

wish the hemingway complex luck, we have a date tonight!!

the next plot twist

"Drew, I'm pregnant."

shut up mary/drew tries to get high

you'll note that as mary waxes poetic about past events, toby is desperately trying to cover her ears, while communicating silently with her eyes to that squirrel - pounce, now! sersly mary! you've been talking about animals loving with simplicity and purity since 10/31/2007! and, for as much as you heart animals, you can give em up on a dime to sadistic strangers who name their pets lame names! you just reminded us yesterday about how giving you are. i hope you disposed of your magical coffee cup in the proper receptacle. anyhoo, new year, new topic!











we here at the hemingway complex were thinking we might see mr. marlin shirt this year. hope that dawn weston will also be back soon to inspire us all with her spunky, no-nonsense approach to dating and romance. memo to dr. drew: you might get more high if you didn't run in jeans.

An Apology

Dearest Readers,

We, the Hemingway Complex, owe you, our readership, a big apology for our absence from the blog. Do not think that we have gone anywhere, or decided to forego sharing our insights, or that our fascination with Mary Worth has somehow ended (especially do not think that, because such a thing is not even possible). No, we have been in such a state of shock from Mary's recent actions that we have been unable to even pry our fingers from our keyboard and type these urgent messages.

Here's a quick rundown of what has transpired of late (the Hemingway Complex has a bottle of smelling salts next to our computer, should we be overcome while looking at these astonishing strips):

On Christmas, when the rest of the comics world gathered their characters together with jaunty scarves and mugs of cocoa to wish us the warmest of holidays, here's what Moy and Giella came up with:

Holidays greetings, indeed. Then Mary challenges the guy on the phone to prove that Chester is really his. Instead of coming up with vet records or his microchip papers, this is his response:

A normal person might be like "Whatever, prank caller," especially at Charterstone, because in this world there is no such thing as a gun. Not Mary!

MARY KILLED CHESTER!

Then she decides to give him back. Before she does, she spends a lot of time talking to her sudden BFF Toby about her feelings.

I guess they're having scones for tea, but why's Toby eating it with a spoon? Mary's like, "That's all you're allowed to have, since you put these terrible events into motion." Notice that in the second panel we're viewing them from the other side, as though we are standing in the corner. So why are we facing a wall several feet away? Also, that was a real quick shirt switcharoo from Mary.

Next, we have returned the dog at Hudson Dog Park:

Off goes Chester. On goes Mary about the virtues of animals in people's lives. And out comes a coffee cup from Mary's empty hand.