No Matter What pg.2
Added 2019-01-16 05:21:18 +0000 UTCThis is a weird piece for me. The pacing is all off because I didn't want to dwell and make this seem like a pity party... so I rushed through a lot of it and didn't allow for slow takes... and as a result it doesn't really convey the feeling I want to get across. It might benefit from switching the words of the last 2 panels, I'm not sure.
I'm uncomfortable with the panels on page 1 showing relationships with family and friends... far more personal than I have ever written down but essential to illustrate the lack of an accepting family and lovers and friends. The best I had seemed to attain was someone who said they accepted me but kept me at arms length and ruled out intimacy. So yeah, I didn't like these being here and condensed them down to 2 panels in the end from many more in the original script. But they were a necessary contrast to the closeness and unconditional... and enduring... love one gets living alone with an energetic, happy dog for a decade.
What I say here is true. If I didn't have this dog I wouldn't be here right now. Recent years have been a struggle and this companion was the only respite for long, long stretches. His sudden demise has been such a shock... this shock is really what this comic is about. Writing/drawing has helped cope with it, as I expected it to. I still cry every day but I haven't had a really bad day since I got about halfway through this... it dragged a lot of the pain out of me and got me to a better place.
Fortunately now I have a boyfriend who accepts me and wants to be as close as I want to and need. He's shared this pain with me and helped immensely. Nothing can really compare to the bond I had with Sammy though, and he knows that.
