Annotated 9-5
There’s a fine balance in HR’s first on-panel interaction with Carol. He thanks her for keeping him mindful of his schedule, which is a pretty basic job for an AA. That’s a lot friendlier than his interactions with his first unnamed employee and Donovan, where he uses no more words than necessary. And yet… he also can’t help but emphasize to Carol that he already knows about the 2:30, that he has known everything that’s on his schedule up to now, and she’s just there as insurance. Even at this early stage, his Walter White-ish arrogance is visible if you look.
The open glass of the backgrounds here was a compromise between my original idea (a sea of cubicles a la Office Space and early Dilbert) and the open plans that’d be more realistic for game design firms of the era. My concept of office work needed some updating. I think this works, as this is clearly the more corporate floor and a company this size should have some offices.
In the original pencils, there was no background in the last frame and HR was in the center of the composition, pushing Carol off to the left. Phil lobbied for the change to what you see here. This turned out to be a very good call because Carol immediately surprised all of us with how important she was to the story. This will be the HR and Carol Show, not a solo act with extras.
Man, I can’t remember the last time I actually turned off a monitor rather than just let it go to sleep.
It’s weird that he feels the need to switch it off instantly and hide the new alpha build or whatever he’s passing it off as.
I mean, if it’s that confidential, maybe run it behind closed doors? And don’t have your monitor facing the door while you’re sitting there facing the window?
I wish I could turn mine off…it takes about 10 minutes to turn back on again when I do. v_v
I miss G4 tv.
Yeah, like, it’s hard to miss. In media, you’ve got this awareness of Chekhov’s gun stuff. If someone’s introduced as an asshole, you know the creator intends you to see them as an asshole. Especially with this kind of interaction. He’s picking on someone he literally hired to do that job, for doing that job. It’s just bullying.
I don’t recall how I saw the line you’re referring to when I first read it (being ‘These things will start slipping my mind eventually’ as picking on Carol.
Now however I do think that’s rather foresight on his behalf. He’s expecting things to change, for himself to look deeper into the other world and all of that good stuff; so having his attache remind him of his obligations is good.
I could be mistaken though. His general demeanor is very clipped and professional, if a bit brusque.
I, on the other hand, originally read his comment as: he *had* forgotten, but was quick enough on his feet to try to save face by denying it, with a hint of “who’s he trying to convince?”
Reading the annotated version of the comic, and being aware of the reactions to the original, I find it endlessly amusing that there was so much you hadn’t figured out (including the main characters’ personalities!) when the first pages were published, and yet the one thing that was set in stone from the very beginning – this plot twist – was the one thing that readers accused you of pulling out of your collective ass. ^_^
And I never got that. I didn’t think I would like the way the story was going, but I never thought you didn’t know what you were doing.
That’s the thing about the creative process, though. You have to let things surprise you; if you nail everything down before you begin, then the creative part of the process is already over. And what fun would that be?
Re-reading this, I love how detailed and well thought-out it is already. For instance, HR’s tie is purple, which is the only color detail in this otherwise sepia world. We now know that each of the main five was assigned a color in SW to symbolize them based on their appearance in Arkerra. When HR’s soul/conscience is transferred to Arkerra, he becomes this giant purple man… cloud… thing. Love that the consistency was here from the very beginning!
:-)
“Early” Dilbert? Did I quit reading Dilbert that long ago? Or did I just so thoroughly internalize the sea of cubicles that I mentally filled it into all the backgrounds….
Well, I haven’t read it regularly in quite a few years.