Poor, poor sheltered Caleb. Since I was trying to sum up Unlike Minerva in fourteen comics, if I had it to do over again I would've spent more time on Brisbane and Kimberly, instead of Caleb's no-outdoors. It was meant to be an ensemble comic, but that conflict just took everyting over. If nothing else, it comes across more clearly that Caleb is wrong. I have no idea how I did the background on the third panel; I think it involved the stained glass filter somewhere in the process.

Why does Caleb call Brisbane "Spike"? Charlie Brown. Back then, I was thinking a lot about names. He was "Chuck" to Peppermint Patty, "Charles", to Marcie, and "That Round-headed Kid" to Snoopy, and it all meant something. That's why Caleb calls him Spike. I was careful to have someone call him Brisbane in the same comic, so that people wouldn't think that Spike and Brisbane were separate characters (especially with the art shift).

First draft:

See! It's not just me!
You keep out of this
Is everyone here like that?
You'd be surprised

. Brisbane's line has echoes of Jack Benny regardless.

Yes, Peter can go from singing to speaking in one panel. When I got the art for this, there was something I wished I had given better instructions on, and I think that was it. "Sunday, Monday, or Always" is another song from the 1940s. You can hear snippets of it in a few old Warner Bros. cartoons, as I recall. Why is he singing by Kimberly's booth? Because it's funnier that way. I had a button made of that last panel, the "please laugh".

I love Brisbane's reaction in the first panel. Anyhow, that neatly sums up Caleb and Kimberly's interactions. Braggadocio and annoyance.

I think that the fourth panel was manipulated in Photoshop, but I don't recall the details. Anyhow, is Caleb afraid of the outside? Frightened by the unknown? I think he's just scared that he might be wrong.

This comic wound up being cut from the edited run, since it had Sofia as another species. This was the only time she did it in the revised run. I find it a bit ironic that I abandoned that idea right after the restart instead of right before. The first panel originally went:

This is a nice hobby you have.
It's more than a hobby. I've got professional quality

. I'm glad I changed it.

    

So long, it's been good to know you Where we are and how we got there Unlike Minerva: Under Siege When Peter met Nina A Talk No Sleep Blues A journey Unlike Minerva presents a Fairy Tale Meanwhile... Love Nina Again Meanwhile at the Theatre (Art Week) Something Else Vaudeville Clearance You Must Learn All Night Long Emily Partnership Peter's House Guest week Prince Belac Mercury Ghost Hunt Sorcery Hodges Nina Haunted Library Videogenesis One Page jealousy Tripwire 2000 Actless You Get Brighter Ryan in Disguise (with glasses) Kiranga Spycraft As transitive as a verb Sofia's Descendants Sofia vs. Caleb Kimberly vs Brisbane The Impressive Trap The Tell-tale Watch True Love Cheap Laughs Meanwhile in France Prelude