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Depth of Character(s) | |
Posted July 21, 2010 - 9:15:29
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 In Thursday's UnCONventional I have a character mention something about Lynn which I realized has never actually been mentioned in the strip. Now some of you are already aware of this, whether because I've mentioned it casually in conversation or if you were one of the five people who read Full Circle (which as I've mentioned before was where Lynn first appeared), but there's a large chunk of the comic's audience that may be unaware of this simple trait.
I won't spoil the surprise.
When your characters only appear in three panels twice a week, there's a lot that doesn't get mentioned from their backgrounds. Like, Tara has a younger brother named Steve. Max, Phil and Lynn all have real jobs, and I actually know what they are. Heck, Phil's wife Patty has only been mentioned once. All of these characters actually have last names. Lynn's backstory is a little more developed than the other three just because she came from a previous creative project, but I've always been determined to know my characters inside and out. They are fully developed people in my head.
But you don't always get to see that. You just get to see six panels a week, and that's why such major things get missed.
For example, Lynn is currently trying to apologize to Tara for the events that happened during Unagi Con. Now, whether or not Lynn's opinion is justified, it's clear she overreacted. There are a myriad of reasons for her overreaction, all of which go back to a past we've never discussed in the strip. If you look at that set of strips, Max and Phil, who have known her for years, aren't reacting to Lynn's tirade at all though. They're ignoring her, and waiting for her to calm down. Both are aware her rational brain hasn't kicked in yet and that she's reacting from a purely emotional place.
They're waiting it out.
But does any of this come across within the context? I have no idea. I'm a little too much on the inside, so I sometimes don't know if anything I don't directly spell out is coming across. I hope it is, but only time really can tell I guess.
- Traegorn
What are Phil, Max, and Lynn's job?
Lynn works for a local software company, Max works what I call "A generic office job," and Phil teaches high school math.
I recall you mentioning phil's professions before, but I'm not sure where.
I never read (past tense, &*#$@% English) Full Circle, but I recall room 825. I don't remember anything about it except for perhaps the style, which has evolved a lot since then. I definitely don't remember any characters. I love unCONventional, however. It's like three years (plus a few later cameos) of my life in cartoon form. I'm sure many NBC/Geek.kon folks feel the same.
I remember that the reason Full Circle didn't go anywhere is because my boyfriend was a stupid. Stupid boy.
Not knowing anyone this is based on or any of the previous works I'm just rolling with it so far and hoping the rest gets filled in as we go. Which in a way...works pretty good, essentially I'm reading it like it's an origin story.
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