2000 Connie

Convict Connie

2000

For the first time I can remember I began to think seriously about getting my characters out there into the world. It had always been dream of mine, but I had lacked the confidence to pursue it (mostly do to my father's insiting it couldn't be done). Now I had to piece it all together. Who did I love most? Who was the funniest, the cleverest? Who had the broadest appeal? Honestly I was trying to fit as many of my favorites into the series as possible, and Connie, of course, was first on the list�well, second, Demmy was first. I had always known that if I published a comic series it would be about her, her or Charlie, but that�s another series entirely.
I knew right from the start that I wanted to use Connie, but in what form? As a bad guy? As a good guy? As one of those abrasive anti-heroes you like so much? Should I use her at fourteen? At sixteen? Or should I revert back to when she was a child? Should I make her human? Should I make everyone human? Do I change her personality? Change her looks? Make her less violent? Make her more violent? How do I work her first story into a comic? Can I work her first story into the comic? How long do I let people think she�s a boy? Will they buy it?

Three years. In three years an infant learns to walk and talk. In three years most childhood romances have gone sour. Three years is more then enough time to earn an associate�s degree in college. Using today�s technology, three years is about how long it would take to get from Earth to Mars and back again. What happens to milk left on the counter for three years?
Yes, a lot can happen in three years time. More specifically most of my characters have seen their prime and are, in three years, buried, forgotten, and probably growing some sort of undefined fungus, deep in the recesses of one of my art binders holding up the short leg of the coffee table. In three years my ideas and aspirations had changed�a lot. When Connie was created back in �98 she was meant for my personal use as a fan character, as a way to represent the parts of me I seldom showed, and she was a way to make my friends laugh. But now someone had said to me �You�re really good. You could publish.� And I had stars in my eyes.

I was excited, but there was a lot to think about, I didn�t, at the time, know it would be so easy. The first thing I did was revert to my old model of Connie, back when she was about nine or ten. That put her at about the right age to interact with Demmy and her friends. Then I tried her out as a human. No go. I was rather attached to the semi-anime style I was drawing her in, and it was that style that later influenced the style of the rest of the strip. I drew her over and over again, tried her out against the other characters, and in the end, left her pretty much the way she always had been. Connie was Connie. She�s a great character, and you know what? The reason she lasted three whole years was because I did her right the first time (for once).

2001

On to 2001 and the last piece of the puzzle. . .