Original Commentary
*Whipsnap* Work that man, Kimberly. But, in all seriousness, sometimes Brisbane needs to be led, not followed.

Modern Commentary
I like this one. Did Brisbane set this whole thing up to make Kimberly formally define their relationship? No. I'm not even sure that was on the to-do list when we wrote this. It just kinda developed.
And I have to-do lists when I write. Things to set up. Things to pay off. Otherwise, I worry that I'm forgetting things. It's less of a thing now in the beginning, but when things really get complex in a few years, they become indispensible.- Terrence

Original Commentary
I always thought Kimberly was a bit mean to poor Robert in this comic, then I realized something bout Kimberly: she can smell fear. It was probably how she was able to con Brisbane back in the days of the Minerva Theatre... it's one of the traits she got from her mom.

Modern Commentary
Brisbane is, justifiably, proud of getting a cheap desk. He's looking for an excuse to tell Robert about it. Robert is not impressed by flat-pack furniture.
But the power outlet thing, I've done that. At least once, I ended up just running a power strip across the whole room. Fortunately, it's just a desk. Not like they got a whole roomful of furniture set up and put all their stuff on it.
Some of the more complicated computer desks, with trays and drawers and such, aren't designed to be lifted or moved - there's nothing liftable that's meant to support the weight of the thing. Fortunately, this one is a pretty simple model and you can just pick it up.
But if You Say it First were running three days a week instead of six, this one definitely would've been cut. - Terrence

Original Commentary
Yes, Brisbane's computer is powered by Spare Parts. XD

Modern Commentary
"Spare Parts" is, as mentioned, the comic that Robert's human counterpart is from. And, y'know, my way of letting you know that Robert didn't just buy a thousand dollar computer for his new friends; this is stuff that would've just gone on The Pile otherwise.
"Robert is nervous around women" is one of the things on my list for this story. He ends up being nervous around everybody except Brisbane.

The thing about Robert's personality is, you learn as you go. Carl was the viewpoint character in Spare Parts. He was a hapless guy that Todd and Jeff and Sonia and David happened to. Because you need someone normal caught in the middle of all the chaos to provide a place for the audience to see themselves and to react to the madness that has become normalized. And you need someone that the other characters can explain The Whole Situation to.
The problem with viewpoint characters is that they are, by definition, a little dull. They're meant to be a blank slate that the reader can project themselves on to. If you keep giving them interesting situations to react to, then it's less of an issue, but they are the straight man in the comedy relationship.
The problem with moving a viewpoint character to another strip is that if they're no longer the center of the chaos, then you need to find something else for them to do. They can either become part of the madness that the real straight man reacts to or they can gradually fade into the background. This is something that I had to learn as I went along, which is why it takes a little while to really find Robert's character.
When Avery showed up in Nicole and Derek, she was markedly different than she was in 100% Cat and this is why it had to be that way. Nicole had that viewpoint character slot locked down. - Terrence

Original Commentary
The difference between Robert and Brisbane? Brisbane has been around Kimberly long enough to know that you should never compare her to her mother.

Modern Commentary
This was also on our checklist: Kimberly hates being compared to her mother. Kimberly's relationship with her mother is complicated and will be explored further in the fullness of time. This is the first time we've directly mentioned it.
It comes up a few more times, mainly because they're more similar than either cares to admit, which is one of the reasons why they don't get along.
Upon reflection, Robert is saying that Kimberly isn't like her mother. Doesn't matter. The comparison is still there.- Terrence

Original Commentary
Kimberly's mother is actually 25 years older than her daughter- she just didn't age well.

Modern Commentary
That's good advice. It's not complete. You should be the best version of yourself when meeting new people, because we all have facets and you choose which sides to show. You should actively listen to other people and pay attention to them. Make them feel important. Remember their name. Be a good listener.
But most importantly, do not compare Kimberly to her mother.- Terrence

Modern Commentary
If you haven't read Unlike Minerva, this is a callback to how Kimberly treated Brisbane throughout most of the series. Except you were never sure whether or not she was sincere about Brisbane, where she's decidedly not sincere about any of this.
The summary for this was "Brisbane later has him put on an ascot. After a while, they pick up on the similarities between how Kimberly treats him and how she used to treat Brisbane."
I'd imagine that in the initial pitch, that would've been a weeklong thing. I think that we got as much mileage out of the concept in one Sunday comic as we could justify, though. - Terrence