1049 Torch.

I made more than one version of this page because I couldn’t settle on a song. As someone who is not in touch with music it can be very difficult to make decisions in scenes that need refrences to it. I breifly toyed with the idea of writing original lyrics for this part, but I don’t think in ways that make songwriting work very well. Songwriting allows breaking language in ways that I can’t get my head around. I may be forced to change this if ever I get around to printing it because I don’t know the exact rules for quoting song lyrics. I assume they are similar to to the rules about everything else, which seem to be the one with the most money gets what they want. That person is almost certainly not going to be me in any dispute. As far as I know Shima Takeshi created the song in question. I suspect my work is so far below his radar he won’t give a shit one way or the other. In any event I should probably credit him in some way when it becomes an issue. I hate to stick it on the page, but in a book I’d probably put it in a list with the other stuff.

A long time ago someone told me they were composing some music inspired by the comic, but after the first email nothing ever happened. That is not uncommon. People are often filled with fire right after reading the comic, but it quickly subsides when more important matters pop up.

Remember the French translation? I suspect that’s dead in the water. I kind of knew it would turn out this way. Resetting type even on an existing work can be very time consuming. I’ve played with the idea of relettering the archive, but many of the typefaces aren’t included in windows now and the one I use doesn’t fit in the space originally allocated. You have to remake the entire text and bubble layers. It takes forever. After you remake the first page it begins to dawn on you just exactly what you’re committing to. Then the emails stop. I don’t blame the eager fans for walking away. It’s a comitment that, by any rational standard, would be insane to make with no guarantee of compensation. Shit, making a comic at all borders on insane. The proffit versus time spent is ridiculous. More so if you aren’t monetizing it with advertising.

The fact that this comic has been relatively successful is strange in that it requires a higher degree of dedication to keep up with than most. It rarely feeds you past information for the sake of clarity. A reader is required to remember things. That is as near to the antithesis of modern thinking as you can get. that said, it’s not impossible for someone to just wander in at some point and understand what’s happening. It’s more or less the same as going to a new job and slowly learning about the new people in your life. It just takes a little time and attention.

22 Comments

Ah, but while this is a comic that requires a reader to remember things, it’s not a comic in which it’s absolutely necessary to go back and read every single page to enjoy it. I still have yet to find the time to go back and do an entire archive binge and have just been reading as you update as of one, maybe two years ago? And I’ve yet to encounter a problem.

I’d say one of the factors that’s definitely in your favor is how relatable and easy to understand the subject matter is. Interpersonal and romantic relationships in retail. But still very much its own entity without being too terrible trope-ish or generic.

Woah. Those purple… is he wearing a thong? They make a cute couple, and I gotta say, he’s really just one big teddy bear ^_^

I don’t know if Thomas being a briefs kind of guy strikes me as odd or not. The sense of control and all does fit him, but he does seem to have a bit more of the “nonconformity” that perhaps made me lean more towards either boxer-briefs or potentially freeballin’? Maybe I just don’t see him as the type to SLEEP in underwear? *shrug* Though purple DOES strike me as unusual, though I’m not sure why. Maybe there’s a side of him I didn’t know, but colored underwear doesn’t strike me as a thing for him? *shrug again*

normally don’t comment, but I heard the Big O credits song and had to say something. Is that where you got it from, or did you hear it somewhere else?

From the outside it is obvious to us all that Carol gives Thomas a reason for living and a purpose in life – to be with her and make her happy. If he latches onto that, there is no telling what great heights he could be inspired to achieve. It is not clear, however, whether Thomas has fully realized that yet. I wonder how often the same is true for the rest of us – that we have it really good and have the essential foundation to make something of ourselves but fail to seize that opportunity and reach for the stars…

Common wisdom has it that making a relationship your purpose in life does *not* work out well. You need to have a purpose in life *before* you can engage in a healthy relationship…

Moar fan service pictures of Thomas! ;) I love this comic, by the way. It’s always nice to see someone depict, accurately, the weird dynamics that occur in a retail store with a small staff.

First time posting.
I discovered this comic a few months ago and I’m so into it! I love all the different types of characters and all the different situations. I love your art style too! But the main thing that I love is that your heroin isn’t the typical kind of girl that you find everywhere nowadays. I’m a girl that has struggled with weight problems all my life and I’m so happy to find a popular comic that doesn’t have the society standard of what is “beautiful”. I love Carol! She has to be my favorite comic character of all time! So I want to say “THANK YOU” from the bottom of my heart for giving me (and other girls out there) a character we can relate to as well as show that gorgeous doesn’t always mean the same thing to every guy. And keep up the good work! I’m looking forward to seeing where this comic is going! ^_^ <3

Thanks for giving the comic a try, and thanks for making me feel like doing this makes a difference.

You’re welcome! And it totally makes a big difference. I can never wait until the next update. I only keep up with 5 online comics and yours is at the top!

Yes, sir. It is hard to keep track of them all and remember what the hell is going on. That’s why yours is the only one I read now. Which is kind of sad because I remember when I used to read, like, 20. It got to be a pain, though.

I duno about the rest of you, but I heard Carol singing ala Janice Joplin. A little deep, a little husky, a little fuzzy. And 100% sexy. Carol is a I-need-to-find-her-IRL-sexy girl.

I’ve been thinking up a comic, trying very hard to design the entire comic’s world so I don’t need to portray stuff I’m not in touch with. ^.^’

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