No
Click here to go to the beginning of this storyline.
This was a hard page to make. I had to make a lot of difficult storytelling choices, and I’m not sure if I made the right ones. The biggest problem I have is this: In early 2005, I would never have had the guts to look someone in the eyes when telling them no.
I say this because when something like this happens, part of you blames yourself. You think that maybe you weren’t clear enough or loud enough because its obvious your message didn’t get through. Sometimes I look at this page and see a kind of wish fulfillment, an image of myself being more confident and assertive than I was. Other times I think I’m telling a visual story, and I don’t want the main character’s feelings to be ambiguous to the audience.
So again, this is a fictional story. Similar events may have happened in my life, but they never happened like this. Don’t ever take the events in these pages as historical fact.
August 31st, 2008 at 7:44 pm
I was a little puzzled….in panel five, did Carl read Ryan’s reaction as him giving in? I wasn’t sure. I’m referring to characters separately, since it’s been stated that this IS a fictional story. I do have top empathize, though. I hate it when people won’t listen to “no” as an answer.
August 31st, 2008 at 8:30 pm
There’s a possible explanation for Carl’s behavior later in the story. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to get to it until several pages later. It should clear up any confusion. Sorry to be so cryptic, but I don’t want to give anything away.
August 31st, 2008 at 9:10 pm
So, you’re saying that a different part of you was rubbed in real life?
August 31st, 2008 at 9:45 pm
Now that I can confirm. No other body part was rubbed in real life.
August 31st, 2008 at 10:07 pm
No worries…as it’s said in the martial arts….you don’t want to reveal all of your strategies to your opponent right away…..anticipation is something that needs to be built on. Glad no other body parts were harmed in the making of this comic.:)
September 1st, 2008 at 11:49 pm
Damnit Ryan, every week this story gets better and better. It’s almost like you lived through these experiences. : ) Are you going to have another mini together for FallCon?
September 2nd, 2008 at 6:27 am
Should have enough material for a full-sized mini of Weekends With Carl Chapter 3, but I’m not sure how clean the cutoff point will be at 24 pages. I may have to make it a little bit longer.
September 2nd, 2008 at 1:10 pm
I like that you keep things just ambiguous enough to make us talk. There are always multiple ways to interpret the story, and I think it works in your favor.
p.s. Are you vegan now, or do you eat dairy, eggs, fish?
September 2nd, 2008 at 1:20 pm
[...] No from Introspective Comics [...]
September 2nd, 2008 at 1:31 pm
I do drink milk regularly (I was into soy milk for a time, gave it up because of the expense, but now that milk has gone up in price, I’ll check it again). Haven’t been eating as much cheese lately. As for eggs, I’ll eat them, but not regularly. I never ate fish all that much before becoming a vegetarian, so I don’t really miss it.