In On It
I came up with this idea based on the image of an elderly man waiting on the steps of a museum while his granddaughters (it would later be edited down to just one granddaughter) ran amok inside, seeing all the sights, and experiencing the culture on display. And then another elderly gentleman appears and something about the man waiting patiently draws him in to chat. Maybe it was loneliness, but maybe not. Have you ever met someone or seen someone and thought there was no way you didn’t already know them? I have and it is great. It’s unforgettable. It changes you.
The main theme here was always going to be about male friendship. I think there aren’t enough stories out there about guys just being friends and I wanted to do my part to change that. I’ve personally had my life affected in many amazing ways thanks to my friends, so I guess I’m always on a kind of mission to make sure people know how important friends are. But also, the whole “bromance” thing gets old to me.
Let’s just read about two men being friends without having to shy away or to sarcastically present the relationship as silly. And it’s not because I’m averse to romance, I am all for romance and want more romance comics, damn it! But not every story has to be about that, either. Humans need friends, and a story that features two older gentlemen who enjoy each other’s company so much that their day changes was something I couldn’t get out of my head.
There’s a long history of stories about guy friends that end up making fun of them for being so close, of showcasing how the relationship becomes entangled in sexual politics, or a sort of wink at the idea that they’re just like ladies and isn’t that so funny, with all of those emotions? What lurks beneath the surface of those stories is sexism, maybe even misogyny, and definitely a strain of homophobia. Those things aren’t always overt, but the straight male fear of being seen as "gay” for showing emotion is nothing new and not hard to find in basically every form of media out there. My goal was to forget all of that and showcase two people who recognize each other despite never having met. I think we accomplished that goal.
I got to know Olencio and Maurice as I wrote them, but even more so when Alessandro Saiu drew them. I fell in love with them, with who they were and who they will be. And I got obsessed with thinking about that trip to the bookstore. What section would they head toward first? What would they buy?!
And as always, DC Hopkins showed up and delivered these characters’ voices expertly. I really cannot stress enough how much collaboration plays into my comic writing process. Alessandro and I reworked dialogue, he took my script and improved upon it with pacing and more panels than I was brave enough to ask for, and then DC Hopkins and I refined the dialogue even further and made the comic into a finished story.
I’m incredibly proud of it. If you enjoyed reading it please give a thought to donating. Alessandro and DC Hopkins have both already been paid because that is very important to me. I struggle with the idea of how to price a single one-page comic, so here it is, free. But if you can donate that would be great too. The button is at the bottom of the page. If not, hey, I get it and that’s cool. If it was a big deal I wouldn’t put the stories up for free.
Let’s keep making art and keep trying to understand each other. See ya’ for the next one!
-austin