VeeFriends Issue 03 Explained: Perspective, Choice, and What the Story Never Says Out Loud

Let’s rip the band-aid off early. VeeFriends Issue 03 is about suicide.

That word alone has become strangely forbidden. Using it online causes posts to get de-boosted or flagged, even when you’re contributing thoughtfully to the mental health conversation. People are forced to dance around the topic with euphemisms, warnings, or silence. Unalive has become a popular substitute, and I think that’s ridiculous. We are inventing new words to replace words we already have because censorship and algorithms have decided certain language comes with consequences. So we shift to unalive to express the same concept and then what? The algorithm catches on, that word gets flagged too, and we’re told to find yet another workaround?

No thank you.

I am going to use the word suicide in this article because that is what we are talking about. I don’t believe healing is about hiding from your triggers forever. For me, healing is when you can be exposed to past triggers without succumbing to past reactions. Censorship is about avoidance. My approach is about overcoming.

If someone needs to avoid the word suicide or the topic altogether, they should do what is best for them. That does not mean the rest of society must comply by making the subject stigmatized or unspeakable for those who need to vent, process, and express their trauma freely in order to heal.

I grew up dealing with depression and mental health issues. If you want a deeper understanding of my experience, check out my piece on self-mutilation and generational trauma, "To My Left Arm." But in short, growing up, I struggled with suicidal thoughts. I’m saying that not for shock value and not to evoke pity. I am sorry if you think it’s more painful for you to hear certain language about my pain than it was for me to live through it. This isn’t about being edgy or provocative. This is about the fact that honesty matters when you’re talking about something this heavy. Silence doesn’t protect people automatically. For many, it does the opposite.

At the same time, I want to be clear that I am not critiquing this issue for not verbally addressing suicide. In fact, it’s clear that this choice was intentional, and it works extremely well here. There are times when it is best to use the word, and times when it is best not to. That balance is exactly why it is appropriate for me to use the word in this article, and equally appropriate that Issue 03 does not. Really channeling my inner Balanced Beetle on this one.

So even though most adults can clearly see that Issue 03 is about suicide, what’s interesting is that, unlike later issues in the series (such as VeeFriends Issue 05) that carry clear content advisories, Issue 03 has no warning label. No “14+.” No disclaimer. Why? Because nothing in the comic explicitly depicts suicide. There is no dialogue stating intent. No narration spelling it out. Although, there is one panel where the word "F*CK" appears. Apparently this is censored enough not to justify a warning label? I saw fans commenting about this with different opinions but it doesn't bother me. 

If you don’t already understand suicide, this story could read as something else entirely. And in line with the themes of VeeFriends, it’s worth pausing to appreciate how wild that really is.

We’re all technically living in the same world, reading the same comic, yet Issue 03 can exist as two entirely different stories at the same time, based solely on perspective and lived experience. Adults may read a story about suicide. Children may read a story about decision-making, about being fired, about loss, and about picking oneself up after something falls apart. No dark imagery. Nothing graphic or traumatizing entering their minds or corrupting the experience.

What they’ve achieved here feels intentional, precise, and deeply aligned with the philosophy of VeeFriends. It works not just as a narrative device, but as a quiet commentary on life itself. We all encounter the same moments, the same events, the same environments, yet experience them entirely differently depending on who we are and what we carry with us.

In that way, this issue also feels like a commentary on VeeWorld and the VeeFriends universe as a whole. Every character who arrives in VeeWorld seems to land exactly where they need to be. Each one encounters a version of the world that resonates most deeply with them, tailored to their struggles, their strengths, and their state of mind.

Issue 03 does the same thing.

Just as VeeWorld offers different versions of itself to different characters, this comic offers different versions of itself to different readers.
The story doesn’t change. The reader does.

Anna on the Bridge

The issue opens on a young woman named Anna, sitting on the railing of a bridge, talking about how her life is over after her job was replaced by AI. 

Nothing is said. Nothing is explained. But if you’re an adult, or if you’ve lived with depression, or if you’ve ever recognized that particular quiet heaviness, you know exactly what this moment represents.

For a child, though? She’s just sitting on a railing, having a bad day.

That dual readability is critical. This story operates on two levels. One for kids. One for adults. Just like so many shows and movies we grew up with, where the deeper meaning only reveals itself years later when life fills in the gaps.

Persistent Penguin And Other Birds

At the bottom of the bridge, barely noticeable, stands Persistent Penguin. Why?

The last time we saw Persistent Penguin was back in VeeFriends Issue 01. Three comics in and this otherwise lesser known character has already made two appearances? I wager Persistent Penguin is going to be more important than the majority of the community is realizing right now. Not only is the second time has he appeared, but in both instances, he interjects at the junction of where a person's life splits into two drastically different potential realities, one positive, one negative. 

In VeeFriends Issue 01 Explained: How the Story Works and What It’s Building, I explained that, "Similar to quantum superposition, these alternate timelines exist simultaneously as unrealized possibilities. In standard quantum physics, particles in superposition cannot be observed. However, in the VeeFriends World, the Supercomputer-5000 allows the team to not only observe these potential timelines, but also change their outcomes before they collapse into reality."

Let me spell it out for you:

In VeeFriends Issue 01, Persistent Penguin observes an alternate future timeline where Mikey gets arrested for committing crypto crimes, and that is what inspired the VeeFriends team to intervene there. 

In VeeFriends Issue 03, Persistent Penguin observes an alternate future timeline where Anna kills herself, and that is what inspired the VeeFriends team to intervene there. 

This isn’t directly stated or explained. It's implied in "almost died." It’s a nod for readers who’ve been paying attention since the beginning. VeeFriends rewards memory. Or perhaps I should say artist, writer, and Executive Creative Director, D.J. Coffman rewards memory. He is the master connector behind the scenes of it all, to the point where Gary Vee occasionally reminds him that "everything" does not need to be connected. Ignore him DJC. We go wild for the connections in the lore core fan community.

The Other Birds

While Persistent Penguin acts as an allusion to VeeFriends Issue 01, it's two other birds that do the work of deterring Anna from the path of disaster; Persuasive Pigeon and Perspective Pigeon.

This reminds me of the beginning of VeeFriends Issue 01 where the Supercomputer-5000 runs an algorithmic selection software that perfectly identifies which VeeFriends and their traits will be best suited to the human they are tasked with helping. 

Can we safely imagine that means the same process occurred here, but off-panel this time? For me? It's a definite yes. While each story can be read individually, it's these types of connections between the issues that enhance the experience for lore passionate readers like me. The line "Guys what are you waiting for?" in the censored cursing panel we reference above also suggests a team as "guys" would imply more than one VeeFriend. This obviously leaves us to wonder, who the other "guys" are, given we only see Perspective Pigeon join the scene after Persuasive Pigeon says it. Who else helped drop all of those flyers that helped push Anna back off the railing? 

Once Persuasive Pigeon and Perspective Pigeon have ensured that Anna survives, they instruct her to scan one of the flyers they just dumped on her which magically teleports her into VeeWorld after logging all of her data. This is a funny but real reminder to be careful and aware of what you scan with your phone. 

Balanced Beetle Tours 

Before we embark with Anna into VeeWorld, let's take a brief look at the flyer. This immediately takes me back to the VeeFriends web comics where it all started before we entered "The Canon Age" of VeeFriends. 

If my memory and research skills are serving me correctly, we first saw Balanced Beetle Tours be referenced back in the webcomic from Sunday, February 04, 2024.

Low key, this is also "The Secret Origin of Considerate Cowboy" but that's a conversation for another article. Before we move on with VeeFriends Issue 03, here's one more blast from the past for you. 

Balanced Beetle Tours appear in the Sunday, April 07, 2024 VeeFriends webcomic. You can see the advertisement for them on a billboard in the background.

Let these hidden gems inspire you to take your own look through the VeeFriends Comic Archive to find hidden connections. If you're the first one to figure out a clue, let me know and I will credit you in an article! Plus, I wager it will make D.J. Coffman happy that larger audiences are finally checking out some of his phenomenal, earlier, lesser-known, VeeFriends material, so it's a double win. 

Arrival in VeeWorld

As I was saying, "Once Persuasive Pigeon and Perspective Pigeon have ensured that Anna survives, they instruct her to scan one of the flyers they just dumped on her which magically teleports her into VeeWorld..."

Unfortunately, or perhaps appropriately, Anna appears directly above Struggle Stream, falling in and nearly drowning.

Unfortunately, because she does not want to drown. Especially not after her life was just saved by a flock of birds. Appropriately, because as we continue to see throughout the series, VeeWorld presents itself in the way it is most needed, reflecting the energy, circumstances, and emotional state of the human entering it.

Anna arrives in VeeWorld while struggling with her life. So she falls into Struggle Stream, fighting to survive almost immediately. This is not a coincidence. It’s intentional. It's reflective. It's the algorithm. It's the simulation. 

That intention is reinforced by the thoughtful integration of Struggle Stream itself, another VeeFriends Series 2 NFT scene woven directly into the narrative. Once again, the comics aren’t just telling a story, they’re quietly connecting the broader VeeFriends universe in ways that reward attentive readers.

The theme is echoed again as Anna screams out, "I don't want to die!!!" as her head falls beneath the water. Luckily, she is saved by Fearless Fairy. 

Fearless Fairy 

Fearless Fairy appears in back-to-back issues between VeeFriends Issue 02 and Issue 03. It's early, but to me this is still a clear sign of how enormous and significant of a character Fearless Fairy is going to be in the overall VeeFriends franchise. 

As she makes her way on to dry land, Anna is questioning whether or not she actually survived or died and arrived in the afterlife, purgatory, or hell. I don't know if it's meant to be writer commentary but I certainly noted that she did not say "heaven" as a consideration among options. However, Fearless Fairy assures her that she is more alive than ever.

As Anna settles into VeeWorld, we see Green Bubble Lake, a Hot Air Balloon and Mystery Mountain in the background, all of which are VeeFriends Series 2 NFT scenes. We also see Faithful Pheasant soaring high in the skies. Again, these are the details first-time readers may not have the context to notice that the long-time OG fans will always appreciate. As there are layers to the dimensions of reality, there are layers to the reader experiences of VeeFriends Comics. 

The Road Sign 

As they walk, they pass a large road sign pointing in multiple directions:

This sign matters enough that it later became a standalone print, illustrated by Chris Fason. That alone tells you it’s meant to be noticed. Also, all of these are VeeFriends Series 2 NFT Scenes. If you looked closely at that Cowboy Comic I referenced earlier, you may have noticed Dangerous Desert is mentioned there as well. 

The sign represents possibility. Choice. Diverging paths. Returning to the idea that one's experience in VeeWorld is or can be reflective of their existing energy state, Anna has reached a crossroads in her life and thus she is also reaching or manifesting the experience of encountering a crossroads in VeeWorld. 

The Decision and The Duck

This is where we’re introduced to Decisive Duck, who also appears on the Chris Fason base cover for this issue. Because of that, I’ve heard it said that Decisive Duck is the starring character of Issue 03. I disagree. In fact, following VeeFriends Issue 02, this feels more like a second feature for Fearless Fairy, while Decisive Duck plays a comparatively minor role.

Notably, Decisive Duck doesn’t actually help Anna decide where to go.

We typically associate Decisive Duck with his signature coin flip, a tool he uses to move forward quickly. This is the first time the coin appears in the official Canon Age VeeFriends comics, though longtime readers may remember its first appearance in the webcomics on Friday, April 05, 2024.

In the webcomic, we’re reminded that the coin flip itself is not what makes the decision. Decisive Duck isn’t outsourcing agency to fate or surrendering choice to an inanimate object. He’s using the coin as a tool, a catalyst, a way to create an instant intuition, a gut-level feedback loop. The coin doesn’t choose. The reaction to the result does. The decision is made not by the flip, but by how the flipper feels about it.

That nuance, however, isn’t emphasized in VeeFriends Issue 03.

Here, Decisive Duck offers the coin flip, and Fearless Fairy intervenes, saying, “No, Decisive Duck… Let her choose. She can do it!” In this moment, Decisive Duck is framed as someone who might deprive Anna of her agency by offering the coin, while Fearless Fairy steps in to restore it.

I’m not a fan of this depiction.

Rather than having Fearless Fairy override him, this would have been a perfect moment for Decisive Duck to fully embody his trait. He could have been the one to help Anna recognize her own intuition, to explain that the coin is merely a tool, or to encourage her to decide for herself without relying on it at all. Instead, the scene implies that offering the coin flip somehow prevents Anna from being decisive, and that Fearless Fairy must correct this.

To me, that feels like a missed opportunity and an unfair implication. If anyone should have empowered Anna to make her own decision in this moment, it should have been Decisive Duck.

When the Training Wheels Come Off

The Sky Is The Limit 

 

Loose Ends

Wrong.

A final page reveals that Cynical Cat, Flex’n Fox, and Optimistic Otter were part of this mission as well. The flyer-shooting dome inside the VeeHicle makes it immediately clear that this is the rest of the crew Persuasive Pigeon was calling out to earlier when they said, “Guys, what are you waiting for?” These are the “guys” in question.

While this answers one lingering mystery, it opens several more.

Anna entered VeeWorld after being fired from her job in the real world, and she’s still there. So… what about the rest of her life? It was made very clear that Anna did not actually die. VeeWorld is not a metaphor or euphemism for the afterlife, according to Fearless Fairy. So when does Anna go back? And what real-world consequences might exist if she doesn’t?

Does time move differently in VeeWorld? Is there a mechanic where no matter how long someone stays there, only moments pass in the real world? Or does time advance normally, creating real stakes for staying too long?

And then there’s the final question: why is the rest of the crew still flying around, shooting flyers into the real world, when Anna is already in VeeWorld after scanning one at the beginning? Who are those flyers for? And will that be revealed in future issues?

Issue 03 closes not with answers, but with intentional uncertainty. And for a story so deeply concerned with choice, perspective, and timing, that feels exactly right.