The Less Than Epic Adventures of TJ and Amal

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May 16, 2008 - In the span of a single day, Amal calls off his arranged marriage, comes out to his conservative parents, promptly gets disowned, goes on a bender... and wakes up the next morning to find TJ, a lanky, dreadlocked vagrant, frying eggs and singing Paul Simon in his kitchen.

TJ claims that the two have made a drunken pact to drive all the way from Berkeley to Providence. As it happens, Amal promised his sister he'd be there for her graduation from Brown University. And TJ, well... TJ has his own reasons.

The agreement is simple: Amal does the driving; TJ pays the way - but a 3500 mile journey leaves plenty of time for things to get complicated.

The Less Than Epic Adventures of TJ and Amal is a webcomic by E.K. Weaver that follows the form of a typical Road Movie. It features the budding romance of the title characters in the most nerdy, believable way possible, as well as some superb dialog, well-crafted characters, and great art that pays special attention to the little details of life.

Unlike many web comics, it is complete, and can be read from start to finish here.

Tropes used in The Less Than Epic Adventures of TJ and Amal include:

• Adorkable: Amal. So, so much. Also, TJ, when the mood is on him.
• All There in the Manual: There's lots of information on the website about side characters who don't appear in the author's sketches and notes.
• Arranged Marriage: Amal was in one of these. Subverted from the usual in that he really liked his fiancee Kavita...as a person. As a romantic partner, not so much. His parents were unhappy about this.
• Beat Panel: Done beautifully in the moment before they take the U out of UST and then some.
• Bollywood Nerd: Played with where Amal is concerned. Yes, he's a med student and a bit of a geek. He's also such a well-rounded character of so many parts that it takes a while to get around to the fact that he's in med school.
• Can't Hold His Liquor: Amal repeatedly calls himself a lightweight, though he may just be referring to pot.
• Closet Geek: Oh Amal.
• Cue the Rain: "We'll be fine as long as it doesn't sta--"
• Dark and Troubled Past: Blink and you'll miss it, because it's subtly done, but when you see E.K.'s notes, and the scars TJ's sporting... Not to mention this.
• Drinking Game: Done in-story, with the Back to The Future quote-a-long.
• Drowning My Sorrows: How TJ first encounters Amal. Amal has a good reason for getting wasted.
• Drugs Are Bad: Averted hard. TJ and Amal buy from a trucker and partake sparingly, and this doesn't lead to any kind of negative consequence.
• Fan Nickname: Both fans and the author refer to the comic as <Epic.
• Flat What: "The last bite of pie is yours if you want it." "What."[1]
• Friend to All Children: TJ shows signs of it here.
• Geeky Turn On: Mostly Geeky Bonding at this point, but, well... see below.
• Good People Have Good Sex: Or at least loud, frequent sex that leaves them smiling like fools afterward.
• Gym Bunny: It's implied that Amal used to be this after he first started exploring the gay scene. He's certainly jacked.
• Have a Gay Old Time: Played with in the bonus art.
• Hideous Hangover Cure: TJ's eggs, according to E.K.'s notes.
• Hidden Depths: Both of them, but TJ especially.
• I Have No Son: Amal's dad all but did this to him when he came out to his parents.
• The Illegible: Amal's future-doctor handwriting.
• The Immodest Orgasm: Amal, apparently. Who knew?
• In Vino Veritas: According to TJ, this is how he and Amal wound up agreeing to drive across America to Amal's sister's graduation.
• I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Rather than use his then-fiancee Kavita as The Beard (and it's implied she would be okay with this) Amal broke off their engagement so that she could be with someone who would fully love her. Or so he says.
• Love Epiphany: Chapter 29 has a powerful, almost entirely non-verbal version of this. If you still don't get how it applies, Google the chapter title along with "lyrics".
• Measuring the Marigolds: TJ accuses Amal of this.
• Non-Indicative Name: When TJ looks for rock on Amal's iPod.

TJ: Heyyy, Death Cab for Cutie! That sounds pretty badass! Amal: Actually, that's, um... [cue "Transatlanticism"] TJ: The hell, man. That is one dirty-ass bait and switch. [Amal laughs] Hey, there we go -- "Destroyer", that's gotta rock. [cue "Farrar, Straus and Giroux (Sea of Tears)"] TJ: Your iPod is filled with lies.

• Opposites Attract: A fairly minor version, but TJ and Amal seem to come from totally opposite backgrounds.
• Real Place Background: And how. Weaver spends an incredible amount of time not only illustrating real scenes from locations along the journey the boys are making, but also carefully plans out their route to make it plausible in real life.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni
• Road Trip Romance
• Sexy Discretion Shot: Chapter 17. Very much averted in the previous chapter.
• Scars Are Forever: TJ has several very prominent ones on his body.
• Scenery Porn: Some pages take a small reprieve to show off just how beautiful nature really is.
• Shout-Out: Each chapter title is a different song lyric.
• Shown Their Work: Taken to an extreme with the notes page.
• Silent Scenery Panel: The entirely of chapter 14 is done without dialog.
• Silence Is Golden: Two whole chapters of the comic are completely like this. It's a mark of the artist's skill set that you can tell exactly what's going on anyway in the content of the (non-existant) dialogue, including Chapter 17, which is one (long) page and arguably a Crowning Moment of Awesome.
• Skunk Stripe: Amal's got one.
• Invisible to Gaydar: Amal. TJ's case (according to Word of God) overlaps with Bi the Way.
• There Is Only One Bed: Neither of the boys seemed to be too bothered by it, even before they got stoned and hooked up.
• Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny: TJ and Amal play a variation in Chapter 12.
• Will They or Won't They?: More subtle and organic than in most cases where this trope is used, to the point where you could see them being good friends just as easily as lovers. But They Do.