Hi guys-pages 5 & 6 are here! No, this isn’t Lora. It’s Mike- Lora has been sick ALL week long with some sort of sinus infection. I’ve been with Lora ten years now, and I can count the number of times on one hand she’s been sick (must be all those “fruits and vegetables” she eats that people talk about). So needless to say, when it hits her, it must be a pretty mean little bugger. And it has been. So that means you’re stuck with me this week to deliver the update. So lets see, what’s going on here:
Hmmm, looks like Ben and Bea are in a bit of a dilemma. Will they work it out? Read on, friends. We hope you like this weeks update. I don’t think there will be an update to the voting incentive unless Lora miraculously feels better overnight, but we would still love your votes anyway! Also, if you feel inclined, I’m sure Lora would appreciate some well wishes. It hasn’t been easy on her this week. Thanks guys!
I LOVE the idea of a black George Washington! Lol, that’s pretty epic, Cato!
aww poor Laura, feel better! a lot of my prof’s have been sick lately so apparently there is something going around everywhere at the moment…anyway I hope Ben gets to be a black Washington that would be fun :)
ahh sorry spelled your name wrong *LORA* I knew it was wrong when I typed it but clicked enter too fast before I could fix it ^_^
You did a wonderful job with the update! Poor Lora. Give her my well wishes. I hope she feels better soon! It’s no fun being sick.
Still, LOVE the update. Ben makes me laugh so much. :D I kinda feel bad for him and ol’ Herc, though – Bea’s so moody and unfun. I mean, I know why she’s not lovin’ this, but still.
By the way, I LOVE the musical 1776! “Campy” might be a good word for it, but it is so… ridiculous. You can’t help but love it! xD
Ben made me lol literally!! I know so many people who would make a joke like that, so I could totally hear the awesome humor in the tone of the fonts you chose XD And I like how Bea’s totally clueless about history :D
Aww, I hope you feel better soon!! ^^ And stay warm! I’m hearing about all the cold/snow from my friends who live up north!
Okay, I think Ben is rockin’ the wig and coat for real.
Hee to Ben. V. glad that we’re seeing more of him! And I hope that you feel better, Lora! For us sick-every-winter types, it’s bad enough, but something that fells a normally super-healthy person is particularly tough to handle.
My only regret is that I don’t think Black George Washington will fit on a facebook flair. Or are those totally 2009, and I’m out of the loop.
I think I might really know what they are going to go as, but that of course means my guess, as always, is wrong :)
Feel better, Lora!
lol awesome pages. Aww Lora, feel better! *HUGS*
How about Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen? How many people will go out dressing like them? Well, knowing Bea, that probably won’t be the first thing that crosses her mind, but I can still picture it myself :p
Also, you’re an awesome guy to help your wife in sickness and health, Mike. *thumbs up*
These two are such a cute couple…I mean seriously.
That they can disagree and then make it a joke is awesome, something most couples I know do!
Great couple of pages, and BTW So sorry to hear you’re sick Lora…that sucks…
Take care of yourself and don’t worry if you have to scale back production…we’ll still be here when you return!!
Dear Lora, get well soon!
I think it’s adorable how they can still be their usual selves with one another even though Bea’s obviously had a crush on him for so long. The fact that they’re having a dilemma on who to be also cracks me up. I’m not a Ben/Bea shipper but I think they have such great chemistry here. :)
GET WELL SOON LORA! I totally understand what you’re going through. People who don’t normally get sick just have it bad when they do fall sick. *hugs*
I hope you recover very soon, Lora!! Also, you’re fabulous. :)
Black George Washington would be cool. Mind you, if they’d ask me, I’d have reccomended pirates; expected, I know, but then, well…
Get better soon, Lora!
Yeah. I admit it – I squeed. Loudly. Ben in wig and coat = epic hotness. or is it hot epicness? =) I love this guy.
Great great GREAT update; I’m so glad to see Bea and Ben having fun together; I was kind of afaid, they would quarrel over The Dress, and it’s implications.
Anyway: get well soon, Lora!
And thank you for the wonderful update.
I like how Bea suses the present tense is, not was, in reference to George Washington being taller. Even though she’s back in the present, it’s clear a part of her is still in the past with Alan.
Thanks for all the -get well soon- wishes everyone! I hope they work!
@Angie: There’s bound to be a way to get that to fit on a button! XD
@Deb: These days Bea has a lot more on her mind than worrying about a crush at school. The positive effect of it is she’s shedding her shyness and awkwardness around Ben without realizing it.
@Dave: You caught that? sweet!
So I’m really interested in who you all think they’ll wind up going as! The answer is revealed next Friday, so leave your best guess here! If anyone gets it right you win! The prize? Bragging rights!
Nicely done, Mike! You handled that like a pro.
Guesses to what they’ll go as? Anakin and Padme? XD But Ben should totally keep the wig. Blasphemy, yes, but it’s okay because it’d be funny. Or not. Okay, I have no idea.
Get betta soon!
Hi Mike! I hope Lora feels better soon! (that’s a comment on her well-being, not your mad update skillz)
I’m so sorry you’re sick, Lora! But the pages look great. Ben as Black George Washington is HOT. He looks fab in a wig.
No pirates, no revolutionary war, no Bonnie and Clyde, or Marc Antony and Cleopatra. But you can’t just NOT use that dress…. Romeo and Juliet would be stealing the play’s thunder… but would Othello and Desdemona be too obvious? (This reminds me of Never Been Kissed, when everyone shows up as Barbie and Ken, but Drew Barrymore and her date are Rosalind and Orlando…)
I look forward to finding out what the pairing actually is!
Get better soon!
I gotta admit I wasn’t a huge fan of Ben (I tend to be very loyal to the lead characters. In this case Alan) until just then. I mean I likede him well enough but didn’t really see how he compared to Alan. that is until: “But there will only be one BLACK GEORGE WASHINGTON!” It made me laugh and showed exactly how awesome Ben really is. So I’m sorry for not believing until just now.
Feel better Lora! Many well-wishes to you from this reader! 8D I laughed when I saw Ben’s “BLACK GEORGE WASHINGTON” moment; just the pose and the bold lettering was great. XD Wallpaper perhaps?
Really great dialogue, it was funny and realistic and flowed really well.
Ben could go as Crispus Attucks, and Bea could be… a lady… a redcoat (now that would be original.)
Get well soon!
Oh, Ben, you make me giggle. Far too much for my own good.
And I hope you trounce that Nasty Ickiness, Lora! Feel better soon! *sends you homemade soup to help*
AngelVixen :-)
Good job covering, Mike. I hope Lora feels better soon. I know what it’s like to not get sick for a long time and then get hit with the worst bug in the world. Here’s hoping for a swift recovery.
The ‘Black George Washington’ panel has now made Ben really cool in my eyes. I second the idea to make that a wallpaper. xD
Also, ha! ‘I sleep through all of my history.’ I didn’t catch that at first, but that’s very funny. :P
My guess is Mercutio and Juliet. It could be a semi-advertisment for the show. “Come see Romeo and Juliet so you can make up subtext between Romeo’s girlfriend and his best friend!” ><
I hope you get better soon, Lora! (:
I almost went to a costume dance as Bonnie and Clyde… until I wiki’d them and read how they died. It was super creepy, like people came and took scraps of her blood soaked dress as souvenirs.
@Savivi – I was totally just thinking Othello and Desdemona, too! lol We’re going through Shakespeare in my literature class right now =P
@Redd – Lol! I didn’t even catch that reference about her sleeping XD
Get well soon!!
Feel better Lora!
And Mike, thanks for posting for all us fans!=)
Britney and Justin in those matching denim outfits?
: D
Feel better soon, Lora!
Aw I hope you get well soon Lora.
I’ve stumbled across the comic at drunkduck, and since then I started to read the pages obsessively.
I love the art and the expressions.
You should eat a fruits basket. ;)
aww…poor you Lora, if it makes you feel anybetter I am sick too, and it’s my birthday!!!! But I hope you gets better! And I LOVE your comic!! :) <3
Get well soon, Lora!
Ben looks fantastic in that coat and wig.
I hope you feel better soon! <33
Aww, get well soon!
feel better!
HOLA lORA!!!! Hope you get well soon! I’ new here :) and love your comic!!! Looks like Ben is a real competition now! hahahaha read you soon!
feel better!! :D
Oh, I hope you make a speedy recovery. I, myself, despise sinus infections. I’ve been getting them constantly this year.
It’s looking great, Lora! And the frock and wig really are a sight for sore eyes!! : )
Oh, I have no clue what they’ll show up as. I’m terrible at guessing games! : ) I can’t wait to find out! ^^
Hi Lora,
I appreciate that The Dreamer has a black male lead character who’s not Flanderized, even if he’s (I suspect) not the character who’ll ultimately get the girl. However, I was a bit surprised that you’d indicate that there was something apparently silly and ridiculous about a black person going to a costume affair as a famous historical white person.
Bonnie and Clyde were also white — and criminals — it’s okay for a black person to dress as a white criminal, but not as America’s first president? Why is that? The subtext here may have been inadvertent, but even so I thought you might appreciate having it pointed out so that you could be more aware of it in the future in your writing. There’s similarly never any question or shock or “ridiculousness” involved when a white woman opts to dress in costume as Cleopatra or as Pocahontas — consider, for example, how ‘Night at the Smithsonian 2′ featured an appalling number of historical non-white people being played by white actors, even though there are certainly plenty of non-white actors available and quite talented who could’ve been cast. Too often we send the message that cultural appropriation is fine and dandy when it’s privileged white people playing at some aspect of an Othered or Oppressed group, but that it’s unthinkable and preposterous to imagine a member of an Othered group playing at some aspect of privileged, white ‘culture.’ Very uncool.
If the idea is that Ben WANTS to dress up as a famous black man, historical or fictional, and that’s why he doesn’t want to be Washington, that’s one thing and there’s no reason he shouldn’t — but in that case I’d have expected him to indicate as much to Bea. However, if — as it seems — the idea is simply that a black George Washington (or a black Santa Claus) is some kind of cosmic joke, then I would encourage you next time to please try to think about the messages you’re sending.
Thanks very much, and best of luck with your recovery.
Hi, Rella! I’m sorry for offending you (or anyone!) with the update. That wasn’t my intention at all. My friends who are different colors often make jokes about our cultural differences, as a part of what makes us special and different, not in a derogatory way. I don’t think mentioning someone’s color should be taboo, especially when we bring it up ourselves. The joke was merely meant to reflect on the fact that George Washington is such an icon. I think there would be an equal oddity to a white woman dressing up like Oprah. It just… wouldn’t be Oprah. I doubt many high school boys, whatever their color, would really get excited about dressing up like George Washington! So when I wrote this scene, there was no chance in my mind that Ben would want to dress up as George Washington in front of all of his friends. So the joke was, in my mind, his silly way of making a joke and saying ‘no way’ at the same time.
I know what you’re saying about actors in movies, and that issue was brought largely to our attention when the cast list for the Last Airbender film came out and all our favorite characters were suddenly different colors. I think fans across the board were disappointed by that decision. I’ve often said, when people ask me about a Dreamer movie, that I would be really afraid of doing such a thing because I think some producer out there would arbitrarily cast Ben as a white kid. My intent with the update was to create a silly moment between Ben and Bea that shows they’re growing comfortable in who they are around each other, and that there was an easiness and lightheartedness to their conversation.
^ Yay someone else who’s against the whitewashing of the Last Airbender.
People of color and historical reenacting has interesting issues, usually every one is fine when someone of color reenacts as a soldier or civilian. I do know of one core that only allows white men to portray soldiers, all women MUST be camp followers, all African Americans or Native Americans MUST portray servants. There’s another core from Massachusetts who has a white guy that dresses up like a Native American, his entire costume is very cringe worthy.
Funny, I didn’t get that subtext (Ben’s comments RE his possible costume) at all.
I’m beginning to wonder if I’m just not that observant, or whether our society as a whole has become overly sensitized to perceived “issues.”
I guess it goes down to interpretation, and I’ll let it go at that.
Discussions over controversial topics like race in the comment area can be a very good thing if we’re all considerate (which everyone was in this discussion) or a very bad one if people are rude and overly polemical. We should all keep this in mind to make sure that we maintain a safe, considerate discussion space where we can actually discuss our opinions. Relia, I think it’s great that you let Lora know that these pages bothered you, although I can’t say I feel that she’s sending a negative message. I really think it’s important that we state our opinions honestly and forthrightly rather than feeling offended in silence.
This was my first reading of the new issue, and I’m soooooo excited! Starting off with a quote from Alexander Pope (and is that who I think it is on the cover?) and finally, Uncle Hercules! He looks pretty well just as I’d imagined him. With only a few pages down he’s well on his way to becoming my favorite character.
After seeing the teaser panel with Bea saying “GW is taller” I was waiting to see the boys in the next panel asking her how she knew Washington’s height. Totally went over my head that there might be other, more obvious differences that would be pointed out. Great, as always, and I will be waiting (impatiently, I might add) for the next awesome pages. :)
I love the idea of a black George Washington!
*gets an idea*
Hey, maybe there could be a two-week long poll type thing with all the different ideas and the winner is shown in the comic! How about it, Lora? My vote would be for a Vietnam soldier Ben and his hippie girlfriend, Bea. :)
OMG, Brent, I love your idea! Bea as a hippy would be so cute XD Friday’s update reveals their costumes, but a poll would’ve been fun. :)
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