Is that also why he and Rufus ran off without paying the bill, and then hid in the woods from their debtors and the authorities for weeks on end? Is there some convoluted reason why that’s not immoral either?
Given her relationship with Piro and the very probable possibility that she will end up harming him
Based on the fact that he now worships the ground she walks on despite her sneering disdain of him, I’d say she already has harmed him. She manipulated him into liking her and then ghosted him without a second thought. She made a big deal about how she helped him and then blew him off when he just wanted to talk. Piro’s perception of who is and isn’t his friend are probably set in stone now, due to the actions of one deranged stalker who can’t seem to decide what she wants. Bernice is a terrible person.
Remember when this storyline started, April 1st was “next week”? And now it’s still going on and presumably just the next day (since Tiffany finally changed out of her work uniform), but April 1st is now last month. And other than Luann deciding that her utter lack of personality was actually a good thing, there has been no character development or self-awareness whatsoever. Just more and more wheel-spinning.
I still doubt he is actually illiterate, although he may occasionally suggest something of that nature
It’s been stated in the strip itself (and by the character himself) that Joel can’t read. This isn’t some fan theory; it’s established fact.
There is no harm in a fellow enjoying a drink once in a while.
Once in a while? Joel carries a jug of alcohol with him everywhere he goes. You don’t think that’s evidence enough that he clearly has some sort of problem? Besides, how do you know he isn’t tipsy all the time? This isn’t a TV show where you can observe the subtle nuances of behavior that show inebriation.
His “shack” as you call it, is really pretty much a “tiny home” which is all the rage these days if watching television programs on HGTV is any indication.
He lives in the middle of a mud-filled garbage dump that emergency vehicles can’t even reach. Which HGTV shows have that kind of “tiny house” featured?
Joel needs Rufus though: Rufus’s own idiocy makes Joel seem smarter, despite the fact that Joel’s an illiterate alcoholic who shares a one-room shack with a donkey. But when seen next to Rufus he somehow comes off as more intelligent and competent than he is.
If this story brings major changes for Luann, Bets and Tiffany, it will have been worth it.
Bet you twenty bucks the arc ends with no major changes.