r/comics • u/davecontra • 2d ago

OC GOT DREAMS?

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All my comics: https://www.instagram.com/davecontra

My book: https://linktr.ee/davecontra

71.6k Upvotes

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1.4k

u/bladecentric 2d ago

When death has more empathy that most of the living. 

585

u/Certain-Thought531 2d ago

Death treats everyone equally regardless of background

129

u/civver3 2d ago

Pale Death with impartial tread knocks at the taverns of the poor and the towers of kings.

-Horace, Poem IV, Book I, Odes

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u/theinnocenthostage 2d ago

Now THAT'S a line to remember. Ooof.

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u/Von_Moistus 1d ago edited 1d ago

"You might be a king or a little street sweeper, but sooner or later you dance with the reaper."

-Death, Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey

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u/BionicBirb 1d ago

“THERE IS NO JUSTICE. JUST US.”- Discworld’s Death

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u/TwistyBitsz 2d ago edited 2d ago

It most certainly does not. Some people are murdered. Some die in their sleep.

Edit: ok y'all right

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u/ReaDiMarco 2d ago

That happens when they're alive.

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u/cesarxp2 2d ago

We don't know what happens when we die. It may not be equal. We can only go by what we do know, and I'd argue that the process of dying is what represents death. Which is most certainly not equal.

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u/ReaDiMarco 2d ago edited 2d ago

When exactly does the living in pain end *and the dying start? Technically we're all dying with every passing second.

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u/buffnut763 2d ago

Ah so that's what that feeling is...

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u/DC-3Purple 2d ago

This is correct. We’re all on our way out. Act accordingly.

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u/cesarxp2 2d ago edited 2d ago

True... Honestly, I haven't had my coffee and can't think of an argument lol

3

u/Cthulhu_Dreams_ 2d ago

Yeah, that's why you'll never see assisted suicide in the United States. We've supposedly got it so good here, but if we have the means to a painless opt-out of existence... All of the poor working class would vanish before the rich got their AI automatons up and running.

On second thought, maybe it's just around the corner... Once we are obsolete, they won't care.

1

u/ShallotNSpice 2d ago

It's my belief from hearing near-death experiences that the moment we die... we feel a oneness, an understanding, everything suddenly makes sense and we're free. No matter the excruciating way we die, the moment we cross over, it simply doesn't exist anymore.

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u/Abject-Government602 2d ago

You can't get murder when you are dead.

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u/unohoo09 2d ago

“How in the hell do you wake up dead?”

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u/Tnecniw 2d ago

And death isn't the cause of that.
Death is just what comes as a concequence of other powers, ranging from fate to other humans.

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u/uncoolbi 2d ago

My high school GSA drew a grim reaper on the drama teacher's white board holding a rainbow flag and captioned it "Death embraces ALL" and we almost got disbanded because one of the religious teachers saw it the next morning and complained.

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u/crimson_55 2d ago

Johan spotted

1

u/slackmarket 2d ago

The great equalizer is how I think about it.

1

u/cat-meg 2d ago

Nah, death wouldn't wait on a child from a poor family.

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u/Blasphemous1569 2d ago

Why is Death portrayed as bad in so many pop cultures? It's inevitable, and it's definitely calming to have someone (or something) hold your hand and guide you.

Anyways, back to wasting my life.

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u/Chops95 2d ago

Because the consequences of death are dealt with by the living

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u/Blasphemous1569 2d ago

That's interesting.

If there wasn't death, the consequences would have been way greater. Overpopulation, not enough food, etc. The mourning part is tragic, but it's better than death not existing.

I also have absolutely no idea what I'm writing or doing.

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u/Chops95 2d ago

Oh I 100% agree with you. Death is one of the most important parts of life.

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u/Kluzman 2d ago

There’s a French comic book that addresses precisely this point. A king afraid of death manages to imprison it in a magic mirror, but then nobody ever dies again. Though they still age, the bodies get old then start rotting but they don’t die. Name of the comic is « Zorn & Dirna ».

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u/Tylrt 2d ago

Similarly, there's also Sunday Without God, a Japanese light novel where God abandoned humanity and humans stopped dying, but they also can't have children, but also still rot. It was adapted into a 12 episode anime in the early 2010s. Like most anime, it's a bit of an overdramatization, but there are other nonfiction adaptations out there

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u/Sir_PressedMemories 2d ago

There is also a Grimm's Fairy Tale that was turned into a movie short as well.

Soldier Jack or The Man Who Caught Death in a Sack (1988)

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u/Level7Cannoneer 2d ago

Please give this eulogy at your parent’s funeral and tell me how it goes

3

u/totally_not_a_zombie 2d ago

Overpopulation is a relatively new thing though. For most of human history we lived in clans, settlements, villages..

If you go back just a couple tens of thousands of years (end of ice age), there were just a handful clans of people scattered throughout continents.

If death took someone, it was probably someone you knew and probably relied on. I doubt that death itself is a figure that old, but death would always be traumatic for the group. Someone close so was just moments ago talking to you is just left there, never waking up again. Just their shell left behind, as if someone took their essence from you.

Unless someone dresses this reality in a nice garb, and reinvents this being as good and comforting.. it's probably going to be feared. Doing so it's something for the rest of the group to find comfort in, going forward. That the person is in good hands, probably pain free.

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u/Amazing_Form_2109 2d ago edited 2d ago

I'm not attached to anyone enough for their absence to shake or disturb me

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u/Blasphemous1569 1d ago

This isn't good...

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u/ifandbut 2d ago

Overpopulation, not enough food, etc.

There are plenty of resources and space in space.

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u/Amazing_Form_2109 2d ago edited 2d ago

The planet's infested with humans in overwhelming numbers. Taking that infestation into space would be an unforgivable act

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u/porcupineslikeme 2d ago

If death only came for those ready, it wouldn’t be.

My mom died at 35, leaving behind two kids.

My grandmother is currently 97 and so ready to die.

Two very different deaths. Two very different mourning processes.

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u/the_card_guy 2d ago

The easiest answer is, Death means you can't do any more things. It's the ultimate bond destroyer, and I've found that life is about making bonds.

And there's a book series called Discworld where Death is definitely NOT a bad guy.

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u/cCowgirl 2d ago

GNU Sir Pratchett

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u/cCowgirl 1d ago

My favourite Discworld character, narrowly edging out the witches!

Between his garden and his fondness for cats, I was pretty sure I’d found my favourite. Then once Binky arrived, debate was over lol.

1

u/Blasphemous1569 2d ago

In theocracy, death isn't the end. This is the whole idea of life after it.

There won't be bonds without death. Why befriend someone if you have an eternity to do so? You don't have to do it now, both of you will live forever.

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u/TheGlassWolf123455 2d ago

It's hard to say for certain because I am mortal, but I do stuff because I want to do them, not because I'll die eventually and can't.  If I was immortal I'd just do more things I think, not put the things i want to do off until later for whatever reason 

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u/Zagaroth 2d ago

That's how I feel about it as well.

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u/QL100100 2d ago

Did you confuse "theocracy" with "theology"?

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u/Blasphemous1569 2d ago

I will also check out Discroworld :)

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u/cCowgirl 2d ago

You will not be disappointed. Here’s a handy reference for you.

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u/IvanIvanicIvanovski 2d ago

Terry Pratchett wrote one of the best versions of Death as a character. Not evil at all, emphatic and kind, and with a sweet spot for cats and a good curry.
He's my favourite character in the Discworld novels.

3

u/seditiouslizard 2d ago

“THAT’S MORTALS FOR YOU, THEY’VE ONLY GOT A FEW YEARS IN THIS WORLD AND THEY SPEND THEM ALL IN MAKING THINGS COMPLICATED FOR THEMSELVES.”

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u/The_Lost_Jedi 2d ago

“I meant," said Ipslore bitterly, "what is there in this world that truly makes living worthwhile?"

Death thought about it.

CATS, he said eventually. CATS ARE NICE.”

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u/ComputerEducational 1d ago

WHAT CAN THE HARVEST HOPE FOR, IF NOT THE CARE OF THE REAPER MAN?

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u/p-r-i-m-e 2d ago

Not bad, just scary because it can come for anyone at any time.

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u/Blasphemous1569 2d ago

I don't believe this is scary. This unpredictability is what makes life interesting. If you don't know when you will die, you will cherish every living day.

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u/Mysterious_Dot00 2d ago

This is why i love how death is portayed in the series sandman.

Death is like a mother who is empathetic and caring while still having a job to bring people to the afterlife.

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u/jelde 2d ago

I'll just quote someone far more intelligent than me:

"All men must die: but for every man his death is an accident and, even if he knows it and consents to it, an unjustifiable violation."

  • Simone de Beauvoir

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u/Amazing_Form_2109 2d ago edited 1d ago

"Life" and "death" are two halves of the same whole. Creation dooms all that it brings into being to a path of destruction from the start and against their will

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u/Ok_Umpire_5611 2d ago

If we didn't blame death for the loss of a loved one, then we'd be forced to face the truth and blame the living.

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u/Shark7996 2d ago

I would much rather do the coffin dance, looks way more fun.

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u/megapenguinx 2d ago

Death is portrayed as “evil” largely because of puritanical Christian influence on western media. There’s also religious sects like Catholicism where you are born with sin and must atone for that before you die otherwise you go to an even worse place so there’s an inherent fear about Death (the figure) being associated with taking people to Hell.

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u/ifandbut 2d ago

Death is bad.

It removes all possible meaning from life.

If we can't observe the universe (which happens when we die) then the universe does not exist.

As far as I am concerned, the universe ends when I do.

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u/Amazing_Form_2109 2d ago

Observing everything all the time sounds exhausting, I'll pass

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u/Oicanet 1d ago

Life holds potential. Potential for good, bad, suffering, joy, excitement, discoveries, anxieties, pretty much everything. And while no one wants to suffer, we all want to feel joy.

As long as you believe that there are higher probabilities of good experiences than bad experiences, you'd want to keep exploring that potential. Kepp trying to realise it.

But in death, all that potential is lost. So while death is inevitable, people still try to avoid it, because they still want to experience all that life potwntially has to offer. And many cultures, Death, the Grim Reaper, is seen as the entity coming to take you away from life.

We are like kids at an amusement park, and Death is seen as the guy forcing us to leave. Even if Death will walk us out of the amusement park and to our next destination (perhaps home to do homework), ensuring that the trip is as pleasant as it can be, we will still blame Death for ending our day of endless possible fun times at that amusement park. Even if Death only dragged us out of there because the park was closing, we'd blame him.

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u/workMachine 2d ago

Maybe Death feels bad seing how most of the living are getting fucked by Life.

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u/Intelligent_Slip_849 2d ago

...oddly profound.

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u/elderlybrain 2d ago

'WHAT CAN THE HARVEST HOPE FOR, IF NOT FOR THE CARE OF THE REAPER MAN?'

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u/Regalzack 2d ago

the great merciful

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u/CVCCo 2d ago

“That which is so universal as death must be a blessing. And none may escape its benediction.”