{"id":23534,"date":"2017-11-02T05:58:31","date_gmt":"2017-11-02T12:58:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/amptoons.com\/blog\/?p=23534"},"modified":"2017-11-01T17:13:57","modified_gmt":"2017-11-02T00:13:57","slug":"cartoon-questions-you-probably-shouldnt-ask-a-stranger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/amptoons.com\/blog\/?p=23534","title":{"rendered":"Cartoon: Questions You Probably Shouldn’t Ask A Stranger"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

If you enjoy these cartoons, please support them on Patreon<\/a>. Even a $1 pledge makes a big difference to me.<\/p>\n

\n

So Mandolin handed me this script for a four-panel comic strip, written in marker on a sheet of typing paper. <\/p>\n

Several days later I had created a sketch, which I submitted to The Nib, not necessarily expecting them to accept it, and then forgot about it. Then a Nib editor emailed to ask me if I could get the strip done by the end of they day. Which I did, if by “end of the day” one means 2am. But it got done! And when I was finally done, my back felt like someone had stabbed it with a shoe horn. A day later, my drawing shoulder is still a bit sore. But it’s still sort of exhilarating to get a rush job done every now and then.<\/p>\n

I’m pleased with the art for this, despite the circumstances under which it was produced. If I had more time, I would have done a real background in panel 4, and perhaps more supermarket shelves in panel 2. But I like how the colors came out, the figure drawing looks decent, and I actually took the time to measure out perspective in three of the four panels.<\/p>\n

The sketch is 90% as Rachel’s script described it, although I did suggest a couple of changes (like making the stranger in the supermarket dress as a cliched spy). <\/p>\n

Rachel’s script didn’t specify race or sex for any of the characters, so that was something I had to put thought into, to avoid accidentally using any ugly cliches. So, for example, in the original sketch the photographer in panel 3 was male; but then Rachel asked for over-the-top limp-swinging enthusiasm, and I didn’t want the character to look like a flaming gay man bothering someone in a public restroom, so that character became female. Then the other character in the panel had to become female, too, since I didn’t want to have a panel that could be misinterpreted as “wrong sex intrudes into bathroom” in a trans rights cartoon. Thoughts like this go into almost every “casting” decision; that’s just part of the job of being a progressive cartoonist, I think.<\/p>\n

\n

Transcript of cartoon.<\/p>\n

A BIG CAPTION AT TOP OF CARTOON says “Questions You Probably Shouldn’t Ask a Stranger.”<\/p>\n

Panel 1
\nA man turns back from an ATM machine, surprised at a woman putting her hand on his shoulder.
\nWOMAN: How much money do you <\/em>make?<\/p>\n

Panel 2
\nA grocery store. A woman in the foreground examines a can of food, her back to her little son in the cart. Another woman, dressed like a movie spy (trenchcoat, dark glasses, cig dangling from lips) leans towards the toddler and whispers to him.
\nWOMAN: How can you know for sure <\/em>your mommy loves you?<\/p>\n

Panel 3
\nA public bathroom with several stalls. A woman is just emerging from a stall, and stumbles back in surprise as another woman, who bears a camera and has extremely energetic body language, approaches her, talking very cheerfully.
\nWOMAN: Can I take a picture of your poop?<\/p>\n

Panel 4
\nA woman sits behind a table. The table has a big sign that says “Trans Student Union.” Another woman cheerfully asks her a question.
\nWOMAN: So, do you have a penis?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you enjoy these cartoons, please support them on Patreon. Even a $1 pledge makes a big difference to me. So Mandolin handed me this script for a four-panel comic strip, written in marker on a sheet of typing paper. … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,90],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23534","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cartooning-comics","category-transsexual-and-transgender-related-issues"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/amptoons.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23534","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/amptoons.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/amptoons.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amptoons.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amptoons.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=23534"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/amptoons.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23534\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23536,"href":"https:\/\/amptoons.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23534\/revisions\/23536"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/amptoons.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=23534"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amptoons.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=23534"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amptoons.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=23534"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}