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Will was such a dork here! I think his failures gradually narrowed his tastes. I’m just noticing that “See something, say something” poster in the background. What a crass joke – it feels like a bad approach. I was angry about the whole campaign, which had (has?) a dreadful racist undertone to it, and naturally I thought they should say what they meant. But it’s a heavy tone to drop on a very light comic about the adventures of white people. I cringe! |
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It's okay. People grow, perceptions and understandings grow. It is how we progress as people and as a culture. Acknowledging the past and analyzing it in non-toxic ways is the only way people can grow.
Question: we now know (or at least it's strongly implied) that Will and Hanna had a thing way, waaay before the series started. I'm wondering if Will's airy comment about "The sheer romance of it all!" was an attempt at some veiled flirtation with a past fling. If it was, it would explain Hanna's stony expression. Though she could just be channeling a business minded entrepreneurial side who cares little for the artsy fun of Renfaires. Regardless, it's interesting that her curt response to Will in the form of a command directly results in him meeting Aimee for the first time.
"Adventures of white people." Plus a Chinese American main character with a comically racist stereotype of a name. (A naming convention that applies to her whole family, who are the only characters so afflicted.) Kind of says it all. 🙁
It's a lovely strip, but stuff like this does kind of hurt.
I regret the naming convention for sure. It's something I really didn't consider at the time. I was trying to amplify the cruelty of Eve's world by making her a "joke" in a variety of ways. The price of committing to a strip for so long was also committing to all the foolish decisions I made.
Hey, thanks, Gran — thanks for posting my comment, thank you for making the time to reply so thoughtfully. I appreciate that. It means a lot.
Would you be OK with speaking a bit to the decision to portray Eve as progressively smaller and more baby-like throughout the series? None of the other characters seem to de-age in that way; they all stay more-or-less adults, except for Eve, especially. Why?
The other aspect of Eve's portrayal that struck me was how westernized her features become as the series progresses. Her hair becomes wavier, with more body/volume; her originally almond-shaped eyes become round balls; her lips and nose become more pronounced, and her originally lanky body goes all curvy. By the end of the series, she looks much less recognizably Asian American than she did at the beginning. Was this intentional?
Thanks again — this strip meant a lot to me. I'm on my 4th(?) re-read, now, enjoying the commentary as I go. I appreciate your work very much, despite my sometimes critical questions and comments.
"Adventures of white people." Plus a Chinese American main character with a comically racist stereotype of a name. (A naming convention that applies to her whole family, who are the only characters so afflicted.) Kind of says it all. 🙁