Author notes

Chapter 6 Page 14

Abt_Nihil

on July 2, 2010

Continuing our daily updates.

The comment I initially wrote for this page turned into a little philosophical essay (or a not-so-little rant) which, looking back on it, I don't deem too relevant for this page. But it comments on a central point of the comic, and anyone interested can find it in this forum thread (the second post from the top).

So, here's my second attempt at commenting, and I'll try to get straight to the point this time.

The 2nd and 3rd panel attempt to make a few connections which have been there all the time, but have probably been far from obvious. My concern is that they might still not be illuminating much. On several occasions, I have been promising the big reveal about how the prologues and the main story connect, and while the next pages will still add a few bits, I might have promised too much.

When people read my stories, the one reaction I get the most is "Yeah… it seems to make sense somehow… but I don't get it." People feel dumb, and that's not what I want. But I might provoke this reaction all the time. That's my big dilemma. On the other hand, some people seem to like the details in these complex constructs, even if they don't "get" the whole of it. Either way, I just hope that for anyone reading this, it's somehow worth it.

Also, if someone does think he got it, or has a theory, let's hear it! I do like stories which encourage the reader to come up with their own theories.

Thanks for reading and commenting!


(For my suggestions concerning the dd awards, please go to the previous page.)


REPLIES:

Fitz: First off, it's not like I meant you anyway - you're one of my most favorable commenters! (THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! :P) Second, every comic gets the readers it deserves, especially on the internet, where personal bonds aren't *that* strong. I do think of some dd'ers as friends, but they were readers FIRST. It might be more of a real-life problem, where I don't get as much exposure and have to be thankful for every reader I get, no matter if they get my stuff or not. So, speaking of my readers on dd, I have been extremely fortunate that they have found this comic. The greatest thing is knowing that (parts of) it resonates with people, that they can relate and somehow recognize beauty in it. Being "understood" is one of the best experiences in life.
As for a "holistic theory of what signifikat is about" - well, it's about a holistic theory! ;-) Kidding aside, right now I am wondering just how much info I should put into an appendix. There will be additional info, I'm just not sure whether I should include my own picture of this "holistic theory" or not. Personally, I have a very simple theory of why everything happens. Some things are just not important to me, so I don't bother looking for an explanation (for instance, I am not a big fan of psychological explanations - I do appreciate some psychologisms, like those underlying the classic Batman villains, but personally, I think we are who we are, and that's that. Most personalities can't be reduced to their upbringing, their traumas, etc. The most fruitful of these psychological explanations might involve relationships, so basically I'm skipping the whole psychology and just concentrate on relationships). But I feel that if I said to much, I might destroy people's own interpretations, and a bit of the "sense of wonder" you mentioned.
Your theory about Ed's being eaten sure is interesting. Let's wait and find out whether you'll change it after the next few pages! :P
Regarding Metropolis - I did think of that scene, but I wasn't sure. The scary part, I think, is that her programming overrides her humanity. And of course, that can be taken as a metaphor for our own human inclinations, or our deeply rooted dispositions, to interfere with either our rationality, or the bonds we've formed. Like a deep-seated psychosis that ruins carefully developed bonds we've formed. Of course I did use the sort of "inhuman" appearance which Sunhra showed on the previous page as a sort of "shocker", and a reminder that we don't know what she really is at all, despite her appearance. But another part of the story is that you judge a person by what she normally does, not by the ugly face she shows in a moment in which she might forget herself. In real life, it might be hard to accept that even our most trusted and loved persons have that ugly side to them, but the right thing would be to just accept that, I think. In that sense, Sunhra is very much human.

DAJB: Hey, and here I thought y'all wanted to see more boobies and hair-raising action and less philosophizing! If only I'd known! ;-) And yes, you're spot-on regarding that last caption. But it's really just a straight-forward sentence with a lot of adjectives and some inserts to disguise the fact that it's a simple sentence! The alternative would be to break up the sentence and start the next one with a substitutive pronoun, and that might be even more confusing, because you would have to figure out just what the pronoun substitutes! So, I chose this approach and hope there are more dedicated readers like yourself! :D
Let's see, just for fun, what a broken up rephrasing might sound like:
"Over time, these Gods diffused into language, art, science, and diverse social practices. The latter constantly give birth to locally and temporally restricted communitites. And despite these restrictions, these communities are absolute and all-encompassing in (relation to) their own frame of reference." I guess one might still criticize pompous philosophisms like "frame of reference" (or "philosophism") :P

Oriru: That's not gonna work! …I think ^^;

Nepath, loulouloulou, Zephyrion, mmm bacon0: Thanks!