The initial reaction was good, but through later interaction with the artist it became clear that it was a one off thing, unrelated to the canon of the series, and unrelated to anything happening in his life. His overall hostility to questions about it turned people to the idea that he did it to steal undeserved pathos from his audience. Thus, he became a clown.
All good! You were in the ballpark, certainly. I read CAD, but not Penny Arcade, and I was there when Loss was uploaded, so the distinction is clear to me.