422: Return of the Revenge of the Hands, Part Two!

It is a very strange feeling to put yourself in your own webcomic!

Transcript:

Thing 1: Do we step on it?

Thing 2: That might make it angry

A scraggly haired human comes out of the hole in the ground.

Human: Hi

Thing 2: It talks!

Thing 1: What are you?

Human: I draw you!

145: Hug Tanks (Tankin Bear part 3 of 3)

With love to folks who are exhausted or in the fray right now.

It’s good to have a support crew. It’s good to have comrades at arms. Even/especially beartanks need hugs.

144: The Long Tanking Road (Tankin Bear Part 2 of 3)

It can feel like this sometimes.

This is the first drawing I did with my new iPad. Here’s a larger version with the many layers of chalk more visible (click to embiggen).

2013-06-27 20.19.09

143: Tanking Mumma Bear (part 1)

Tanking is a gaming term. It means the sort of character or player that draws attacks onto themselves, allowing the other characters to fit the baddies without taking as much damage. Tanks are warrior characters, heavy on armor and hit points, who rely on others to heal them and keep them alive… because once you’re stuck in the fray it’s hard to get out.

Some people, including myself, can have a tendency to tank in real life. It’s often combined with the protective mumma/momma bear instinct. Willingness to take risks and be exposed helps get stuff done and tanks can help others come forward. Elise Matthesen wrote a great report about a productive experience she had reporting harassment – it’s telling that part of what made her braver to advocate for herself was that she’d be protecting others. Many of us have the strong urge to protect and it’s often when we are at our finest.

One of the tricky bits about tanking is that sometimes you can draw fire and create conflict (increase the aggro of an area) when the party needs to heal, or possibly with the people you are trying to protect would really rather go back to the village and have a pint. Tanking has value, but you need your healers, it can be too lonely and mad making alone… and sometimes creates habits that generate bone-headed self-sacrifice. Bone-headed self-sacrifice is a theme I often return to in my fiction. I think I did my best exploration of that theme in The Rugged Track (a roller derby fairytale).

Anyhow, this is part one of three, inspired by several social media conversations, but most especially by Minerva Zimmerman ‏(@grumpymartian) saying “even bear tanks need healers. Don’t forget your support crew :)”

It feels a bit vulnerable to do this series, and I don’t know if it will work/entertain, but that’s what making art is for. Lots of love and hugs to all the bear tanks (momma bears, papa bears and baby bears).

edited to add Elise Mathesen stuff 🙂

142: Summer Day

Ah glorious summer day, when all you want to do is go outside and snooze in the sun… you hear me Seattle? Glorious summer day!

I drew it on a sunny day, but clearly it must be overcast when I post it. On the plus side my garden won’t need watering. I have the second crop of rocket coming up and tender leafed lettuce at the awkward teenager stage. We live in an apartment, but have a large enough balcony that we haven’t bought salad for a month!

141: Lifestyle Advice from a Small Pink Bunny – Batman

Inspired by the fabulous way Shortpacked interprets Batman and this popular meme.

137: Tasty?

Don’t you hate it when you have a cunning plan and then you forget what it was?

Previous hand things.

135: Hats

I like hats.

I don’t think I’ve ever had a tutu, but I think I would like it too.

I did own ballet slippers when I was small. I had practice scuffs, but I loved the pretty ones like in the books and that some special kids got. When my parents gave me fancy ones with peach ribbons I could tie around my legs I was so happy. They were the most beautiful objects in the world.

134: Juggling

133: Begin

This was inspired by a number of recent events where I’ve encountered folks not wanting to do stuff because they might get it wrong/not get things right the first time. Fear is the mind killer. It’s easy to be scared, but sometimes you just have to take risks and remember it’s a first draft. A first draft is essential if you want to have a second draft.

Transcript

Thing 1: If you don’t write a first draft, you’ll never have a novel.

Thing 2: I said I don’t know if I should juggle!

Thing 1: Same thing

Thing 2: Yeah