Original Commentary
Brisbane had a distant relationship with his parents. Sofia has a distant relationship with pretty much everyone.

Modern Commentary
I don't think we ever said who told Brisbane and Sofia's parents about the theatre closing, but I don't recall anybody asking after this. By process of elimination, I'd say Goliath. Caleb almost certainly doesn't know how to use a telephone. Peter wouldn't forget Brisbane. Kimberly seems a bit surprised by this. So, I'm going to say that Sofia actually filled out the "Emergency contacts" form. And no, their parents didn't ask any follow-up questions regarding their son who also lives at the same theatre. - Terrence

Modern Commentary
I had envisioned the theatre as just having boxes and boxes of communal props. I don't know if that's a real thing. But in this comic strip, they're there so a guy can go from "Let's do a skit where we're pirates" to being onstage with an eyepatch and Jolly Roger within a few minutes.
But yeah, Brisbane's parents are absent. He expects them to be absent. - Terrence

Original Commentary
During most of Unlike Minerva, Brisbane kept thinking Kimberly was trying to swindle him. Truth is, he didn't have that much to be swindled out of.

Modern Commentary
Five years? I mean, Unlike Minerva started in 1999 and it's 2004 now. On the other hand, Sofia was 17 in the last comic and I'm pretty sure she wasn't 12 when she arrived; Caleb kept hitting on her and someone would've said something.
Isabel's comic, Namir Deiter, was in real-time. Here in You Say it First, time passes when we tell it to.
We're not terribly interested in building a strict chronology and figure our readers don't expect it from us. I had kinda envisioned Brisbane's time in the Minerva Theatre as being about a year, and I don't think I've been at all consistent about it. - Terrence

Original Commentary
They know each other too well to think they can fool each other like this. Doesn't stop them, though.

Modern Commentary
If she really wanted to make sure he had a plan, she would've checked up on him a week ago...
If they could talk openly and honestly to each other, this series would have been shorter and need a different title.- Terrence

Modern Commentary
The "I have no idea what I'm doing but am embarassed to ask for help, could you please offer it to me so I can grudgingly accept. Everything I know has been destroyed and if you turn me down, I'd be entirely hopeless. I don't want to lose that too. I don't feel comfortable showing weakness." is silent but implied.
So is the "I'm almost certain you have no idea what you're doing and need help, but I don't want to project vulnerability by inviting to stay with me. You might turn me down, either out of pride or because you genuinely have resources I'm unaware of and I'd be hurt if you said no". = Terrence