It’s about time.
I like this one a lot for a couple of reasons. First off, I feel like I’m finally settling into the style I want for this comic: minimalistic black line work. I’m also pleased with my character design for Chanaya, the African-American friend of Simone, our perpetually outraged leading lady. She is my first attempt at working with a character who is a person of size, as I (unfortunately) have regularly stuck to drawing characters only with “ideal” proportions. Did I mention already that they finally all have names? ;) “Chanaya” is a Swahili word meaning “wealthy.” “Simone” has French origins and means “she whose voice is heard.” I try my best to pick names with relevant symbolism for my characters; I believe that symbolism will become clearer for everyone as the story progresses. Below the surface of the punch-line here is a bit of racial irony: being over the top tellers of tall tales is a stereotype that is commonly applied to both African-Americans and Hispanic peoples in the US. To have an African-American woman stereotype a Latina in such a way is really what makes the humor for me.
-Joamette Gil