Pointless Arguments 101

Just because you won't stop, doesn't mean I can't try and make you.
For the five of you who will appreciate this, BOY, are you going to be jolly.

For the five of you who will appreciate this, BOY, are you going to be jolly.

If Will Eisner released this story online today, he would be mocked for his “obvious self insert” and his “strawmen characters”, not to mention how he’s obviously looking for “ass pats.” Oh, sure, he’s basically the godfather of golden age comics, but what a lolcow, amirite?

If Will Eisner released this story online today, he would be mocked for his “obvious self insert” and his “strawmen characters”, not to mention how he’s obviously looking for “ass pats.”

Oh, sure, he’s basically the godfather of golden age comics, but what a lolcow, amirite?

I remember when Doug, Brent, and Lindsay were working on this.  Unfortunately I was at work so I missed most of the filming fun.  The drinking that came later was a rad time, though.  Insofar as I can be objective, I think this is pretty darn watchable, especially considering it’s 45 minutes long.

I sure don’t enjoy the hate Andy gets on tumblr but, I have to admit, the Tom Pretzel meme even makes me giggle sometimes.  It’s just so… random.

I sure don’t enjoy the hate Andy gets on tumblr but, I have to admit, the Tom Pretzel meme even makes me giggle sometimes.  It’s just so… random.

(Source: tompretzel)

To contrast tooting my own horn, I want to also touch base on a strip I have conflicted feelings for, one that I’ve heard a number of people complain about. So this comic was written by Brent because I’m not terribly familiar with the character of Keith Apicary.  When he submitted the first draft to me, I felt some apprehension at what I felt was a punchline that could be read as transphobic. I brought my concerns up with Brent and his position was that the comic was about crossplayers, not trans folk.  Moreover, he felt that the joke wasn’t making fun of the crossplayers (he made a point of having them look like women and not men dressed as women) but, instead, taking a jab at idiots like the character of Keith who would be squicked out when they realized what was going on. If I have to put my hand on my heart, even though I believed that was Brent’s interpretation, I knew that some trans people would not see it that way. Trans issues are a difficult subject matter for me.  As someone with gender dysphoria who ultimately decided not to transition, there is little to no place for me in the trans community. When trans folk and trans allies were upset by this strip, it really broke my heart.  The last thing I want to do is add to the existing trans misogyny inherent to western culture. The challenge of creating a comic with multiple people is that sometimes you get outvoted on something and, when there are deadlines to meet, strips will go out that you’re not sure of.  There are many times when I’m wrong and the comic I’m concerned about is really well-received, but sometimes my worst fears are realized. My collaborators and I are not transphobic, but that doesn’t mean we don’t make mistakes.  I won’t speak for anyone else, but I sincerely apologize to the trans people and trans allies who were offended by this strip. Armed to the Keith by *TomPreston

To contrast tooting my own horn, I want to also touch base on a strip I have conflicted feelings for, one that I’ve heard a number of people complain about.

So this comic was written by Brent because I’m not terribly familiar with the character of Keith Apicary.  When he submitted the first draft to me, I felt some apprehension at what I felt was a punchline that could be read as transphobic.

I brought my concerns up with Brent and his position was that the comic was about crossplayers, not trans folk.  Moreover, he felt that the joke wasn’t making fun of the crossplayers (he made a point of having them look like women and not men dressed as women) but, instead, taking a jab at idiots like the character of Keith who would be squicked out when they realized what was going on.

If I have to put my hand on my heart, even though I believed that was Brent’s interpretation, I knew that some trans people would not see it that way.

Trans issues are a difficult subject matter for me.  As someone with gender dysphoria who ultimately decided not to transition, there is little to no place for me in the trans community.

When trans folk and trans allies were upset by this strip, it really broke my heart.  The last thing I want to do is add to the existing trans misogyny inherent to western culture.

The challenge of creating a comic with multiple people is that sometimes you get outvoted on something and, when there are deadlines to meet, strips will go out that you’re not sure of.  There are many times when I’m wrong and the comic I’m concerned about is really well-received, but sometimes my worst fears are realized.

My collaborators and I are not transphobic, but that doesn’t mean we don’t make mistakes.  I won’t speak for anyone else, but I sincerely apologize to the trans people and trans allies who were offended by this strip.

Armed to the Keith by *TomPreston

So hey.  I know how you tumblr folks aren’t strictly what you’d call “fans” of the brentalfloss comic, but this latest strip (from a writing standpoint at least) is one I’m kind of proud of.  While I wish I’d found a better way to visually tell the story, I feel like we did pull back the curtain on who Cass is a little bit which is something I’ve wanted to do for a while. Yes, she’s still a bit of the stereotypical, angry, webcomic female archetype but, right from her inception, I felt like she had the right to be frustrated, both with the industry she works in and with Brent himself.  With this strip, I wanted to deal with how, because of systemic sexism, Cass feels that she has to be a consummate professional almost at all times and, even when she works her ass off, she will still sometimes be reduced to her gender.  Her major beef with Brent isn’t that he makes sexist jokes (although she doesn’t love that either) it’s that he represents the ability of men to make a joke out of something and not only get away with it, but get paid and respected for doing so. In this strip, we let Cass react in a less than perfect way because, if the roles were reversed, I think I’d bash my head into my piano every now and again, too.  I think it’s also worth noting that anyone who has ever been commissioned to create a piece of art has dealt with something like this - where they’ve poured their whole self into the work and gotten a really curt and unhelpful response in return. Cass is the character in the strip that feels the most human to me and she is the one who comes closest to my own voice.  I’m looking forward to writing more strips focusing on her story and figuring out how she fits with everyone else in the comic.

So hey.  I know how you tumblr folks aren’t strictly what you’d call “fans” of the brentalfloss comic, but this latest strip (from a writing standpoint at least) is one I’m kind of proud of.  While I wish I’d found a better way to visually tell the story, I feel like we did pull back the curtain on who Cass is a little bit which is something I’ve wanted to do for a while.

Yes, she’s still a bit of the stereotypical, angry, webcomic female archetype but, right from her inception, I felt like she had the right to be frustrated, both with the industry she works in and with Brent himself.  With this strip, I wanted to deal with how, because of systemic sexism, Cass feels that she has to be a consummate professional almost at all times and, even when she works her ass off, she will still sometimes be reduced to her gender.  Her major beef with Brent isn’t that he makes sexist jokes (although she doesn’t love that either) it’s that he represents the ability of men to make a joke out of something and not only get away with it, but get paid and respected for doing so.

In this strip, we let Cass react in a less than perfect way because, if the roles were reversed, I think I’d bash my head into my piano every now and again, too.  I think it’s also worth noting that anyone who has ever been commissioned to create a piece of art has dealt with something like this - where they’ve poured their whole self into the work and gotten a really curt and unhelpful response in return.

Cass is the character in the strip that feels the most human to me and she is the one who comes closest to my own voice.  I’m looking forward to writing more strips focusing on her story and figuring out how she fits with everyone else in the comic.

NYCC TGWTG and brentalfloss Saturday Night Event!

The Channel Awesome East Coast contingency missed the boat for a booth or panel at this year’s New York Comic Con- but we can offer one better- PARTY ROCK!

Come mingle, drink and be merry with (a small number of) your favorite TGWTG producers, including Team NChick, Todd, Paw, Kyle “Oancitizen” Kallgren, Nash, JesuOtaku and special guest Brentalfloss and friends on Saturday night after the Convention’s Masquerade at the Tenth Rail, right near the Javitts center- featuring piano stylings by Mr. Todd in the Shadows (taking your requests!), Team NChick, and anyone who wants to jam! From the cerebral mastery of Bowie to the shallow depths of LMFAO.

Be sure to come early, as The Tenth Rail has a max capacity of 150 people. We’ll also be raffling off some fun stuff at the door; best of all, NO COVER, and happy hour specials for Party Rock guests until 11 PM. Must be 21 or over to attend, but if you are, all are welcome. Tell your friends to come down and PARTY!

Angel and Faith: Live Through This Part Two is due out next Wednesday, 28 September.  This is a mostly spoiler free review I wrote up yesterday.  Click on the cover to read the review.

Angel and Faith: Live Through This Part Two is due out next Wednesday, 28 September.  This is a mostly spoiler free review I wrote up yesterday.  Click on the cover to read the review.

Crisis Pregnancy Centers are evil, full stop.

The story I linked to fills me with such intense rage.  How dare someone who is not a doctor masquerade as one and also pretend their offices are Planned Parenthood.  How does a person like that not know within every fiber of their being that what they are doing is vile?  Manipulating the emotions of women (and men) like this should be considered a crime.

rule one, you have a challenger

I mentioned a little while ago how important it is not to badmouth other people within the comic book industry.  I think I left out how challenging that can be a times.  Just because I am on the bottom rung and need to keep my mouth shut, doesn’t mean that people who have more clout can’t run their mouths. That fact can make remaining silent very difficult.

I recently found out that one such person had something very negative to say about me regarding a phone conversation we’d had over a year ago.  I won’t give the details but let’s just say that this person and I remember what happened very differently.

Now, of course, human instinct is to fight back.  I’m of the opinion that it’s best to resist that urge, though.  I believe that, with almost anyone who might come after you personally, it’s best to privately reflect, maybe seek out someone you really trust to hash things out but, ultimately, you have to just let it drop.  You’re much more likely to learn from the experience that way even if the only lesson is that the person you’ve come into conflict with is not terribly friendly and should be avoided.  In the meantime, by not giving the situation any more fuel, it can die out on its own.