Unlooked-for Opinions

@ao3tagoftheday + Girl Genius

These have been lurking in my files for a few days thanks to coursework and procrastination

On Transgender Day of Visibility, I got a message from Fran (@crazygnomenclature of Tiff and Eve) who was over the moon having just learned that a comic artist she’s a fan of was trans.  The artist’s name didn’t come up at first, but when Fran said it was Dana Simpson, I was like, “Oh, DC Simpson, I know her!  She made Ozy and Millie.”

I hadn’t kept up with her work in recent years, but back in high school (graduated HS in 2006 for a frame of reference), Dana was a god to me.  Ozy and Millie was one of the webcomics in my usuals and I absolutely loved everything about it. 

There was one storyline in particular that really stays with me today, when their school puts on a play… but not just any play, they put on… “The Story of Caulk”.

I mean, first off, that’s absolutely hilarious and I still giggle when I think about it.  As an adult, I’ve caulked three bathtubs.  I like to think that being introduced to caulk as a teenager prepared me for sealant based home maintenance later in life. 

But that plotline also had some poignant messaging regarding gender and how kids interact with each other, and has massive value beyond its comedy.

And that’s kind of what Dana Simpson was for me back in high school.  I’m not sure that I can find what she said at the time (or if it even is still online at all anymore), but I recall reading something she said about her comics being a way to create conversations about more serious issues that are otherwise difficult to get started.  I believe she said that comics were a way to open a dialogue by slipping these issues “under the radar”.

Now, it’s been twenty years since then so I miiiiiiight be misattributing that, but I’m almost certain it was Dana who said it.

She got me thinking about a lot of things.  It would still be about four or five years until I started my first comic strip, Corpse Run, but her work was a major part of the reason why I wanted to be a comic artist.

When she came out as transgender, she got me thinking more.

I knew I was queer, I knew I was questioning my gender, I knew that being transgender was a thing… but until she came out, there was no one in my sphere of life in any capacity that actually was trans. 

Her coming out made me realize that this was a kind of self acceptance and love that I could practice.  It took another decade and a half to eventually begin my transition, but without Dana, I’m not sure I ever get to where I’m at now.

She had that big an impact on me, and I’m forever grateful.

As a note on the second panel in this comic, there are many more folks that I’ve met and befriended in these last few months, and in the event you aren’t shown in that panel, I don’t want anyone to think that I don’t know, love, and appreciate you all.  These are drawings that I already had on hand, PLEASE FORGIVE ME!!

Folks in the second panel:

Dumedd Senior at the door to their perpetual nuclear wasteland of an apartment at 4 AM on a Tuesday: Sorry to wake you up but I think you’d want to take a look at this-

*Processing that Bill, Barry and Klaus are all already in the living room/ lab and show no evidence of having been woken up*

Dumedd Senior: Do any of you ever actually sleep?

Bill: No, not really.

*******

Bill: So we have a plan of action this time-

Klaus: Is it to run straight into the problem, violate every lab safety requirement ever written and hope for the best?

Bill: Pretty much but we have it on a blackboard now. Barry: With diagrams.

Klaus: That one’s just a fire labelled ‘Mongfish’s lab’.

Barry: I think it gets the point across.

*******

Klaus: I’m fine, I’ve had worse

Bill: Klaus you’ve died, that statement means less than nothing coming from you.

*********

Barry: I am begging you, would you please not seduce the villain this week. My eyes need a break after last time.

*Ten minutes later*

Barry: Do the words ‘time’ and ‘place’ mean nothing to you people! You’re doing it on purpose now, you have to be!

*********

Klaus: Oh come on, I’m right and you know it.

Bill: Barry, back me up here-

Barry: Don’t drag me into this.

********* Judy: If Bill and Barry were to jump off a cliff-

Klaus: You have to know that isn’t anything close to being hypothetical.

Klaus: Also yes.

*********

Bill: Barry, as your brother it falls to me to give you some valuable wisdom when it comes to dating.

Barry: I would really rather spend a day locked in a room with Sturmvoraus-

Bill: The most important thing to remember is that if you ever find yourself about to do something that you think Klaus or I would do it is safe to say it’s the wrong decision.

Barry: I know that, I’m not suicidal.

"Is it that you thought it would be fun?"

A NON-META REASON!

Desired spells

"Well, OBVIOUSLY I want a pony spell."

"To summon a pony, become a pony, or turn people into ponies?"

Meanwhile, in Ashley's Brain…

https://pandorastale.com/

Okay, this one got submitted to me, so lets take a look.

Okay, first things first. This is a pretty solid first page. It immediately establishes our protagonist, an external conflict (”broken rules”) and an internal conflict (”What am I if I’m not obedient”) in three panels and fifteen words. This is a page that makes me want to read more. Good job!

This leads into a scene that we later realize is a few minutes ago, and I like that the first page was “smoky” like that, which made it feel more like an “intro page” than the actual page 1 of the story. If there had been a detailed background this transition would’ve been more jarring but as is it works.

Your getting a lot of mileage out of this art. I like that our unnamed trans catgirl is sitting with her legs crossed in a feminine way, and the way the director is covering the P in the sign in the background. HERE TO HELL!

Anyway, our catgirl escapes in a smokey pod while she has a think, letting us know we’ve “caught up” to the intro. Cool.

She’s found by a group of normal people who awkwardly explain to the black person that slavery is bad, which is an unfortunate blocking decision. Also, I feel like the preceding 16 pages did such a good job explaining the helpers that this exposition is redundant, and it makes Isabelle (who we soon learn is in “the resistance”) look a little dumb, like she joined an anti-slavery network but is only learning about slavery just now. This is kind of nitpicking, I know, but the comic’s been really smooth up until here and this has been the first speed bump I’ve noticed.

Okay, so, our protagonist is technomagically compelled to fall in love with Isabelle, who is also the most anti-slavery member of the group. There’s a lot to unpack there, and me saying that isn’t a criticism. 

Isabelle reveals this is a t4t romance and I’m not sure how I feel about the trans flag being in grayscale there. Like, the whole comic’s in greyscale, so it fits, but also the only way to tell it’s a trans flag is from context because otherwise it’s just kind of stripes.

On the other hand, even ignoring my shit ten-seconds-in-MS-Paint recoloring skillz, busting out the Sin City splash colors makes it really fourth wall breaking, but it’s literally a giant trans flag magically appearing so that ship’s sailed….but also if you ever want to print this book it’d be pain….but also also you could keep the spot colors in the book maybe….I dunno. I’m bouncing back and forth on it.

Anyway, Isabelle names her pet slave Pandora.They go to a doctor and are all “Can catgirls get HRT” and the Doctor’s all “Fuck if I know, let’s ball” and I’m not sure if that’s handwaving away a detail in the service of the main story or setting up Pandora having an allergic reaction that causes anime shenanigans to happen. Either/or in this comic

Pandora offers to be a sex slave and Isabella is like :| and they sleep next to each other in an awkward but happy embrace that feels like this comic could end there and be a complete short story, one that I’d say is pretty good.

There’s another six chapters, and I kind of skimmed them and I’m still a little iffy on the resistance side of the story, but at the least this is a pretty solid opening.

I got to admit, though,…I’m not super fond of the handling of the cops. Not that it’s Objectively Wrong, but I feel like they’re not quite bumbling enough to be comedy foils but they’re too bumbling to be dramatic threats so they’re just kind of there.

My subjective suggestion is think about making the cops even dumber. Having them come in guns ablazing as a serious threat like in the Matrix or whatever doesn’t seem like it’s the tone you’re going for, and you can always have the rich people have Elite Private Security if you need a scary competent villain later.

Wait who?

Who's that EGS character?!

(Commercial break)

there will always be someone who finds fault in your work. there will be people who read the messages on it wrong. there will be people who will take every compelling aspect about your work off of it so they can put in their own.

you cannot make art for these people.

you will never write a story that is free from criticism. you will never draw a piece that everyone finds appealing. you will never compose a song that everyone enjoys hearing. you cannot, fundamentally, set out to create something and only think of how you can avoid someone not liking it.

because, and this is key, there will be someone who sees every angle of your story and feels its intent in their heart and gushes to their friends about it. you will draw someone's favorite art and they will make it their phone wallpaper because they want to see it every day. someone will fall in love with your song and loop it on their way to work because it gets them through the day. and THOSE are the people your work is for. THOSE are the people you have to care about, because they love what you make for what it is - because it's itself.

if you set out to create something and file off every sharp edge, prune every thorn, you will be left with something fragile and weak, and it will be fragile and weak for the sake of someone who does not exist but that you were scared of anyway.