FAQ



Greetings! *waves* This is the new-and-improved UC FAQ page, where Betsy-sama and the Jena-thing can answer questions of the utmost importance! (or at least talk a lot and pretend anybody is listening). We used to just have a comic here by way of explanation, but we decided that really didn't answer all the questions people had. The comic is still available, as Betsy-sama won't let the Jena-thing delete it. So y'know... if you wanted to read it still:

The 3 page Bio-Comic of Doom



And otherwise, on to the real stuff! We're always open to questions, if there's something you'd like to know that isn't covered in this page. We're rather stingy about spoilers, but you're more than welcome to e-mail and ask. And as we're complete attention whores (well, the Jena-thing is anyway), we'd be more than happy to share anything else you might like to know about all things technical about our little webcomic.

For the moment there's no handy way to skip down to specific questions on the page, but I'm working on that next. And in case there's any confusion or doubt, the black boxes are Betsy-sama's responses and the white are the Jena-thing's. Prepare to learn more than you ever wanted to know!

(Oh, and on the Jena-thing's name, since it's not covered in the FAQ but still seems to be a source of mass confusion? It's pronounced "Gina." The end)



~~What does "UC" stand for?~~

It stands for--

Shhhhhhh! Don't TELL them!

Oh! Right! Sorry, what I meant was, that's top secret. And Betsy-sama says I'm not allowed to tell people top secret things. Not ever.

Rest assured, it definitely stands for something. But we're going to leave that a mystery for the time being.



~~So how exactly do you do the art for the comic?~~

(in high-pitched Jena spoofing voice): "I take a pen & I draw a little circle and I put eyes on it"

She's lying! I start with a pencil! Not a pen!

Sometimes you start with a pen.

'k, but not for the comic pages, crazy.

the strips sometimes

I think have twice

In the earlier strips you did it a LOT.

Good point I don't count those. Those are poop. I am better now.

(Jena-spoofing voice again): "I don't count over half of what I've done, 'cuz I don't wanna think about itdootdadootdadoo...."

Well it sounds stupid when you say it that way!

So anyway, you draw with a pen. And a pencil.

Umm so I do the art. With pencil, pen and sharpie... I actually use sharpie a lot. Though I have not yet gotten high off the fumes. This is a good thing.

And then I scan it into the computer, and color it in photoshop with my Wacom tablet and pen. 'cuz I'm a spoiled little brat. And I send it to Betsy, and it is done. And sometimes we use transparent word bubbles.

And then I make it to a size that won't crash the entire website, and I put it up. That is the entire process of comic-making.

In brief.



~~Will you ever start updating more than 3 times a week?~~

There are insufficient words to express how much we wish we could.

Unfortunately, it's a physical impossibility at this point. I think Betsy-sama would be able to get me the material fast enough to do more updates, but I wouldn't be able to keep up on the art end. Sometimes it feels like 3 times a week is too much. We try to work far enough in advance that there's a buffer zone for just such times, and it's worked so far. *crosses fingers* So bear with us, maybe someday.



~~When did you both start writing/drawing, respectively?~~

So there was this period in my life where I was pooping into diapers, and shortly after that I started telling horrible stories. At some point I started writing them down. This specific story I've been writing for 4 years or 6 years.... or something. (as of summer 2004)

Um I started drawing stuff from Slayers in 10th grade. And I guess I just kinda never stopped.

Oh yeah, and people told her she sucked, and I told them to go to hell. So started the friendship.

Yes. Yes that's exactly what happened. Betsy-sama is the defender of my honor.

'Cept I don't get any nookie out of it.

*sweat drop*



~~When did you two meet?~~

In orchestra. In 8th grade. 9th grade, if you ask Betsy. She's old. Bananas. And I never brought mine. We were going to duel with them.

Oh yeah! Ya ho!

And and yeah. That was about the sum extent of our interaction that year.

Well, if you want the REAL story, Jena was an overwhelming brat.

I can't deny it. *shame*

And I was an angry angry misfit from society who had a way with words and a temper problem. And so I was writing horrible fiction, both with the blood & the scary, and with it being bad. And then I was distracted by people in my grade that pissed me the hell off. Then I went to high school.

And I didn't. Not that year.

But when we really met, rather than just hating each other though I don't think we meant it

I didn't hate you. I was intimidated by you.

I think lots of people were intimidated by me.

I was only intimidated by you because you wanted to do violence unto me with a banana.

That usually does it. But we were both in choir, and a certain hosebeastie wanted to hang out with both of us, and so on the choir bus Jena was like "oh, Mrs. Scary Person who always would threaten me with a banana", though she didn't say it like that and it was probably for the best as it would've brought the banana back into play, "we're gonna watch Slayers, is that okay?" And she was all scared that I would be angry, and then I freaked her the hell out by being like "I love you more than the sun loves the earth!"

It was really cute, though, 'cuz she was sitting in front of me on the bus. And she turned around and clung to the seat and gnawed on it.

I still gnaw on things. I'm a gnawer.

Yes. Yes you are.



~~When did y'all get together and decide you were gonna make a comic?~~

We'd arededdy

"arededdy"?

I'll kill you.

No you won't. You need me to draw. Though you might remove my left hand. I don't want that. I'll behave now.

So, um

*flashes Jet-Li screensaver at Betsy-sama*

um damn, Jet Li just chased all the thoughts out of my head. Oh! So at first we talked about doing a comic, kind of haphazardly, sort of a "you can draw, I can write, we should do a comic!" kind of thing. And I filed it away and asked her about 3 months later. And that's when Queues started. Then, when Jena was in her first year of college, she would come over and visit. And one time we were sitting in my lounge, and I had been contemplating this idea for about a week, about how this book I was writing wasn't going anywhere and it would really be a perfect webcomic. You hadn't drawn the characters yet, had you?

We already had Ikku, sort of. The old version. And we had Naim. He'd been around since high school. Kelsi we had the design for, 'cuz Emily had drawn her.

And I'd actually drawn the first picture of Nicodemus. It was really funny, 'cuz I did it on the back of a character sheet. 'cuz he was a little goth werewolf.

Oh, that's right, he WAS a werewolf!

Yeah, it was sweet. He was an Egyptian werewolf.

And now he is Jet Li. Or at least not a werewolf anymore.

Yes. And that was how the webcomic was born. We gave it a week, and the character designs and a couple strips trickled out. Then we got together and talked about plot, and more character stuffs. I had most of the plot in my head to begin with, you see.

Show-off.



~~Did you do much prep work beforehand, or was it more just jump-in-face-first-with-no-clue-what-you-were-doing?~~

Four years of novel-writing. Six months before we even posted the first comic.

We had two months of strips done before we started posting, because I was going to Spain. And I almost said Austria. And I don't know why.

You've never been to Austria.

I don't really want to go to Austria. I don't want to see it that badly. I DO want to learn German. But not as much as Italian. Why are you looking at me like that?

You and your languages.

Y'know, people in SOME countries ADMIRE the language-obsession thing.

Yeah. And some people are horribly jealous of it and want to stab out other people's eyes because of it.

Um so back to the question 'cuz we should really tell them something about the prepwork rather than your strange urges to do me bodily harm.

'k, let's see... We have it plotted out for the next five chapters, we have at least six possible endings contemplated, and we have detailed character analysis for when and where each of them break.

Thanks.



~~What advantages do you see in using a comic format over a purely written format?~~

Battle auras.

There are a lot of things that you can't um ok. Picking up a glass is one panel or two paragraphs. A picture is worth a thousand words is a cliché because it's RIGHT. On the other hand, internal thought processes in a comic are a pain in the ass.

Mmhmm. And I have yet to figure out a way to do thought bubbles that actually looks GOOD rather than passable. I'm working on it.

So advantages, disadvantages: actions a lot easier drawn format, talking is a lot easier because you'll forgive it if there's a head saying, when you won't forgive it if there's text. Motivations for characters and small movements are really hard to do in a comic, though. You can't have people twitch or casually do anything. Everything is deliberate.


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