Jackie… I am sorry.
on January 4, 2018 at 12:01 amChapter: The Seventh Power
Characters: Alisin Oberf, Jackie Thomas, Meighan McDowell, Rikk Oberf, Rumiko Tanaka, Shanna Cochran, Will Erixon
Location: Utah somewhere
From T Campbell:
The first four panels here establish a couple of character dynamics while putting one subplot to bed (Rumy’s short-lived “new look”) and trying to put another one to bed, only to have it rise up like a recalcitrant kindergartner who insists she isn’t tired: Jackie and Will are trying to be “just friends” but have a sexual tension between them, unhealthy as it is persistent. If using that little-kid simile to talk about sex stuff squicked you out a little, that’s kind of the point: Jackie is 18 and acts younger, Will is 22 and acts older.
The “I hate Fridays” bit was a meta acknowledgment of Fans‘ usual MTWTF schedule, with cliffhangers generally reserved for Fridays… but this installment came out on Monday, because we were going seven days a week, so anything could happen anytime now. (David is right that this schedule was unsustainable for Jason: the Fans story before this one had no art at all and the one after it was by two guest artists. I’m glad we put our resources here, though.)
I love that Alisin’s first instinct is to cover Rumy up, it’s pretty indicative of their relationship at this point in the story. Gotta protect her innocence!
As a long-time purveyor of webcomics, the Friday joke hits so well.
Originally Posted:
April 22, 2003
Also a Tuesday.
I’m kinda wondering why this thing that transported them across dimensions or whatever brought most of them without their clothes.
Yeah, I can’t figure out the clothing selection process at all.
Patience, this will be explained (sort of) in time…
And Jason is also a print comic artist (not that I know what his overall schedule was at the time, but yikes!).
I haven’t commented on here in some time, but I feel the need to just mention that reading this interlude in IW! the first time I read through it was what got me to actually read Fans!
Same here. Though I haven’t archive-binged Fans since… well, it was definitely closer to this strip’s original airing than today. So I’m going to be discovering these characters for the first time all over again.
So… how old’s Rumy?
Alisin is 18, Rumy is 19, Rikk is 20, Meighan is 21, and Shanna, wrecking the curve a little, is 27.
Okay good I wasn’t the only one slightly creeped out by that
Interdimensional cross-rips: First step to the most psychedelic of comic-strip experiences (c.f. Crisis on Infinite Earths).
Enjoying the extra commentary from T Campbell! I think I read a ton of Fans! back after one of the College Roomies from Hell!!! crossovers? Or maybe it was Narbonic. Hm, he did a lot of them, didn’t he?
trying to get to know all these characters with no prior knowledge is actually pretty fun
It was this Fans! crossover that brought Willis’ comics to my attention. I very much appreciate it. 😀