Original Commentary

Yes, it's the first comic of an arc and I've got a comic that gives you no clue whatsoever to the what's going to happen next. Sorry, folks. I realize I do that a lot. It's partly trying to establish location, set a dramatic hook, and buy time to develop future comics. Admittedly, "Hello?" isn't the most gripping dramatic hook. If Sofia's line were "Did you say the building is going to explode?" or "I left the negatives under the bench in the park. I expect the remaining $50,000 to be delivered in the usual manner", then it'd be gripping action drama. But that's not where this arc is going, trust me - Terrence

Modern Commentary
There are a lot of manga that start with a large panel showing the scene. You see a school exterior or a quiet cafe or a crowded beach. Then the story actually begins now that you know where everybody is.

The advantage those manga have is that you get 20-40 pages at once instead of having to come back tomorrow now that you've learned that we're at Sofia's apartment and she's just got home from work - Terrence

Original Commentary

And the plot is revealed, a little. Is it a lot of recap? Well, yes, but these two haven't seen each other since Unlike Minerva, and they weren't very close then. But Emily gets a kick out of being referred to as "Kimberly's friend" and Sofia gets a kick out of free food. And the friend-of-a-friend? Brisbane mentioned it to David a few weeks back - Terrence

Modern Commentary
Yeah, David could have been the connection that Emily had to the main cast but Sofia and Emily wound up being so much more interesting - Terrence

Original Commentary

When Emily and Sofia sit down, the conversation starts with polite nothings. In the first draft I wrote, it the polite nothings continued throughout the entire comic and on into the next one. I mean, it'd be very true for them to sit and talk pleasantly for a week, but it wouldn't be very interesting. As is, this arc is more tone than action. Am I going to clarify Sofia's line in the second panel at all? No. If Emily doesn't get clarity, neither do you. Only that that line gave me so much trouble and that the first few drafts were about how the had shiny decorations superficially hiding a plain and badly designed structure- Terrence

Modern Commentary
I kinda like this one, but it could've used more less - Terrence

Original Commentary

And they've moved from drinks to appetizers. And, of course, I give the food a very generic name. It's better that way. Less distracting. In the last panel, Emily isn't so much making a statement as seeing if Sofia contradicts her. And she doesn't, at least not right now. And it's quite one thing for Sofia to live in squalor, but to admit it is entirely unacceptable to her.

Emily's line in the second panel, "That's enough about me. Let's talk about you" is lifted direct from Robyn Hitchcock's song "Feels like 1974" and is used in a similarly facetious way - They weren't talking about Emily and they're not going to start talking about Sofia - Terrence

Modern Commentary
Yes, Emily has also pumped David for information. If she's trying to confirm that Brisbane and Kimberly are still together, she either wants better information or more current information - Terrence

Original Commentary

Yes, one course per comic. Since this is a six-comic arc, that means tomorrow is dessert. I hope I didn't give too much away there. I'm aiming for the same kind of buildup. We had the beginning and the pre-emptive questioning earlier and now we have, well, as direct as things are going to get. Let's face it, neither of these girls are going to ask directly.

I was originally planning on building a bit more dramatic tension and end each comic with a line indicating that Emily was just about to turn on Sofia. But when I tried to actually write that, I realized that Emily doesn't have any hold over Sofia, like that. I would've liked to do that, but it wouldn't work.

But to answer the pressing question: Are they? No, of course not. But, you know, free dinner - Terrence

Modern Commentary
Sofia is crafty and Emily is going to be buying her a lot of food- Terrence

Original Commentary

And, finally, dessert. When I was lettering it, I felt kind of bad. It almost seemed like cheating to show the characters thoughts some times but not others. I'm sure there are dozens of instances where the plot specifically involves not knowing what a character is thinking. But I'll be over it in the morning, I'm sure. But, to summarize, I established that they'll be talking to each other, Sofia gets nice food with some regularity, and Emily gets a vague feeling of connectedness - Terrence

Modern Commentary
The "one course per strip" idea was kinda cool on paper but didn't really play out in practice. I don't think many people noticed, but I don't think they missed out on too much if they didn't.

When I was writing this, I thought a lot about what Sofia and Kimberly thought of each other. I mean, they didn't like each other back in Unlike Minerva and they kept on not liking each other. But there are layors and flavors to those kind of things - Terrence