For the kid
on May 5, 2013 at 12:01 am
Hey, it’s Jason!
Back when Jason was a New Creation during high school, his characterization was, crudely, “stereotypically gay,” with the caveat that I didn’t recognize this behavior as being stereotypically gay because I didn’t know what being gay was. Â He just acted amazingly effeminate and overly-concerned about his appearance, for laughs. Â I am not sure if having the bow tie really fits into that wheelhouse or not, but I will say that it was amazing that he could get it to work with a noncollared shirt, and for this he should be commended.
Anyway, sometime between then and this strip, I’d decided that what he really was is British, which I viewed as a recontextualization instead of an actual characterization change.
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MY FAVOURITE EXTRADIMENSIONAL BRIT =D
Technically, he’s not – which is his fundamental problem.
He’s dimensional, which makes him extra.
From CONCEPTION, he is, if not moment-of-birth.
Sooooo, not gay, just European?
So many shades of gray.
Jason is like Antonio Cesaro; he’s VERY European.
*yodels*
Yay! It is Jason! He is the unsung hero of It’s Walky, both in-universe and out. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves.
On another note: Look how totally white Sal and Walky are in that old picture. When exactly did you decide they were… well, not white?
Wait a tick, is that Walky or Danny? The Doritos thing made me think it was him, but maybe it’s actually Danny. Hell, I don’t know. Point still applies to Sal.
He’s wearing a hoodie, I think that means it’s Walky.
Um… Danny wears a hoodie too.
Yeah, but blue-and-gray with the stripe? I’m pretty sure that’s Walky’s. Then again, I guess Danny could’ve originally been an agent, then it might make sense.
Yeah, that was my thinking, but based on what I know, I should’ve realized that Walky came first. I mean, I guess I thought it was probably him but wasn’t sure.
It’s Walky.
…to coin a phrase.
Best I can tell from the creation dates of some files on my hard drive, some time in 1996, about a year before Roomies!.
What made you decide that?
Probably just wanted greater variety in skin tones. It’s possible I first made them Tan and then decided what that meant regarding their parentage later.
Well, that isn’t exactly the most noble reason, but it’s still pretty cool you even considered it. A lot of people would’ve just been like “Nah, everyone’s gonna be white.”
http://itswalky.tumblr.com/post/49655471174/for-a-discussion-on-bringbackroomies-this-is-the
I love how Jason’s the only one in that picture not thinking “what a moron”, when thinking Walky’s a moron in the proper webcomics is a massive chunk of his characterization.
Yeah, in my earlier stuff, Alan had the role of Guy Who’s Exasperated With Walky, but with Alan kind of relegated to a supporting role in It’s Walky!, the British dude easily filled in. It seemed amazingly natural.
Alan as anything but a minor character? Perish the thought.
He kinda ended up being “unassuming guy” in Walky. Until he became “unassuming guy who is actually an alien”, which… didn’t really make him much more interesting, actually.
Yeah, his actual personality trait when I was a kid was “really boring.” Like, his stock pose was holding a book titled “Boring Stories.” A running gag was covering up his head with a word balloon because who the hell cared about him.
He was, uh, easily sidelined for Jason.
… Wow. That’s some serious irrelevance.
So was Alan always supposed to be an alien, or did that one come later?
That was something that came later.
Sadly I’ve never managed to like either of them.
Well, maybe DOA Sal, but she hasn’t appeared enough to judge her yet.
Does their shirt say “SEMY” instead of “SEMME”?
semy, feedmore
SEMY. The original spelling of SEMME.
Pronounced pretty much the same. Probably meaning exactly the same, too.
Really? Huh. I always thought the last “E” was silent.
As in “cherchez la semme”….
I remember thinking that was Danny for a few minutes when I initially binged through the archives. Then again, it was three in the morning at that time.
Ah yes, before Jason had his semi-buzzcut-thing. He looks like fancy Mike. …Without the middle stripe in the hair.
Jason!
On another note, I’m surprised that the old picture there is shaded, and just with crayon, too.
Apparently the concept of shading was lost on me as a child. >_>
Hey. Bow Ties are cool. Someone had to say it and will most likely keep saying it as we transition into It’s Walky.
It’s made even better by the fact he’s Brittish.
As a hardcore whovian I know I will saying that
Yay this for me has always felt like the point where things really start to happen and it stops being just slice of live/ college life. Yay for Jason!
And no one noted on how this was the first time Sal’s hair didn’t look like a loaf of bread… or something else
He was going to be stereotypically gay but later you just made him stereotypically British… sounds a bit C3PO-ish to me
It’s cool to see your earlier art and how your ideas and characterizations developed – and from where, thanks for sharing this with us!
Huh, wouldn’t have guess he was British or stereotype gay if I hadn’t read the description. I would’ve thought “Creep preying on younger lady.” The more you kno-, Oh, he’s the dude In the banner with the bowtie!
….
That was one helluva haircut.
…it mirror that scene in DoA. Well played, sir.
Y’know, It’s Walky makes a lot more sense realizing stuff like this was introduced this far back in Roomies rather than the setting just being dumped on us in a massive case of In Medias Res, like I thought for literally years. … I wasn’t very observant when I was younger.
Originally posted:
November 2, 1998