The Liz Lemons
Added 2015-10-21 20:43:30 +0000 UTC(The illustration is a panel I just finished for next week's comic, going up October 27th)
Matt and I were chatting over Skype this morning. I generally get the feeling that especially you patrons here are way more likely to understand there is a difference between Cartoon Erika and Human Erika, so the following transcription probably isn't going to be groundbreaking for you. But, y'know, here's a conversation Matt and I had, if you're curious to see us talking about that kinda stuff /:)
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Matthew: It always surprises me that people see the comic and take that as 100% US. Like: they see the comic and they go that is the WHOLE of E and M. There can't be any more to them.
Erika: Ah, yeah
Matthew: It's like... well we are humans.... and we don't post EVERYTHING
Erika: It's like watching a TV show with characters. When we watch 30Rock, we don't ask ourselves "What's going on in Liz's life that we're not seeing on screen? This is just a fragment of who she is." We're not humans, we're characters.
Matthew: I suppose. Does that make me lazy?
Erika: Lazy?
Matthew: Yeah, for NOT thinking that when I see Liz lemon?
Erika: hahahahahah yes
Matthew: ok =)
Erika: No! Not at all! She's a character there to entertain us for half an hour. Just like our comic has our characters that are there just to entertain our readers for a minute or two. There IS value in that, we just have to remember that when people comment about "us" it's not us the humans, it's us the Liz Lemons.
Matthew: brb coffee poops kicking in.
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PS: My book release party is THIS SUNDAY!
6-8pm, October 25th
GladRags
215 SE Morrison St.
PORTLAND!
Proceeds will be donated to Planned Parenthood :)
Comments
I hear this so much. It's the weirdest part of doing a autobioish comic, I keep so much of myself out of rooster tails at times, just because - privacy is important sometimes - and it's a weird position because there is so much of me on the internet people assume that's all there is, but jeepers do I ever have much more nuances and neuroses going on.
Sam Orchard
2015-10-22 08:13:51 +0000 UTCI totally get that, as a comic artist who also draws herself+husband in her comics. Those are characters, meant to work within their own world. But they are (modeled on) real people, and this can be confusing. I have a few autobiographical comics-colleagues that I read more about in their comics than that I converse with them in real life - and even though I KNOW that they are not their characters, I build my image of them and what's going on in their lives on what they reveal in their work. Makes for awkward conversation at parties when I jokingly call them out on a certain position/opinion they had in their comic, and they mumble something about their comic character not representing their real selves. Sigh.
Margreet de Heer
2015-10-21 23:44:19 +0000 UTC
