#129 - Starboy
Thursday, March 6th, 2008Anders Loves Maria resumes March 17th.
In the meantime you can check out this interview I did with Comicmix Read very slowly.
I am also testing out the way I work my links to other comics. I just love so many and they won’t all fit in my sidebar. So I have decided to do something more for the ones I really love. Every few weeks I will try to plug a new one from my list. I start with Paul Southworth’s fantastic Ugly Hill!
March 6th, 2008 at 3:56 pm
ah, my theory was right.
makes you wonder why she never talks about her past though.
March 6th, 2008 at 4:11 pm
jeje, star boy
whats that about?
why is she angry? at maria or at anders for saying maria is adorable?? xD
maybe both…
March 6th, 2008 at 4:18 pm
That’s really very adorable, Maria wanting to be just like Johan is so innocent and cute ;.;! Although yeah, it’s kind of weird Maria kept that part of her life secret.. huh.
I guess the pieces do come together when Maria was wailing about Tina being “Ms. Perfect”.. I can imagine coming out of a neglected environment into some sort of.. perfect family with a wonderful and bubbly “step-sister” who is just positively lovely.. there’d most definitely be some jealousy brewing in Maria.
Although I keep wondering if there’s more than just jealousy.. because to be so stubborn right into adulthood is just strange!
I like Tina’s save. “Oii, don’t go into fanboying about Maria, she is terrible!!!”.. and Anders really does look hurt by that revelation “:-[” Wauughh.
March 6th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
What does the caption in the yearbook say (panel 2)? And does “farmor” mean “grandpa”? I ask because I think that is what it means in Danish. I picked up a little from my grandma, lol!
March 6th, 2008 at 4:44 pm
Whereas Tina clearly think this is going to bring her closer to Anders.
Prolly not though.
Because it NEVER EVER DOES!
March 6th, 2008 at 4:45 pm
Oooh, I remember seeing this holiday when I was a child! They had these dolls called American Girls and one of the girls immigrated from Sweden and she got to be St. Lucia. Oh, the memories. I think the doll that I had was Felicity from the American Revolution period. Mom hated them because they were so expensive.
I also remember from band in middle school that we played a song for seat placement called “Santa Lucia” which I thought was very pretty. Is there a song involved in the ceremony as well?
March 6th, 2008 at 4:48 pm
Christine: “Farmor” means grandmother (y’know, “father’s mother”), IIRC
March 6th, 2008 at 4:50 pm
so the caption goes: “Lucia ‘88: Maria, Tina & Johan sing for old gandma”. I guess.
March 6th, 2008 at 4:53 pm
I’d like to wander around in Anders head for a day and live in his wprld where it’s so easy to ignore someone else’s feelings. Then when I came back to being me I’d have the requisite know-how and level of insensitivity to steal candy from babies and snatch purses from old ladies.
Oh Anders *facepalm*
March 6th, 2008 at 6:08 pm
Too bad you have to join Facebook to see the videos.
(yes there are still some people out there who aren’t on Facebook)
March 6th, 2008 at 6:12 pm
I’m sorry Wood! If I knew how to post videos any other way I would do it. WIth Facebook I can record straight from their site and post it without any editing or anything. I don’t want anyone to feel excluded. I am so sorry.
March 6th, 2008 at 6:27 pm
i think her not mentioning it ties in a lot with who anders is..famous mum, very well educated, financially solvent, successful…
She probably wanted to ‘fit in’ and appear to be ‘worthy’ or good enough at the beginning and it just never came up after that, not great conversation starter and some people don’t talk about these things very openly, maybe was afraid of being judged, or pitied.
I can imagine it being very tough to go ‘actually yeah my parents are deadbeats and alcoholic and the state took us away from them and i have deep seated emotional issues as a result..sexy eh?’
March 6th, 2008 at 6:39 pm
Suddenly I feel like I’m reading a mystery novel…
March 6th, 2008 at 7:19 pm
Wait? Who does Anders visit then after he needs to run away from the police? Wasn’t that Maria’s Dad binge drinking with Johan? Was he the foster parent?
March 6th, 2008 at 7:20 pm
GG No those were their real parents.
March 6th, 2008 at 7:21 pm
ok so i have to ask - and i’m sorry if anybody else has and i’m being repetitive- but is this comic autobiographical? (or at least biographical) because if it’s not you have an amazing talent for creating very real characters and situations
March 6th, 2008 at 7:24 pm
Thanks Nicolas!
March 6th, 2008 at 7:26 pm
rox: No this is not autobiographical or even biographical.
March 6th, 2008 at 7:32 pm
At first I thought okay, Maria’s mom is actually Tima’s mom so Maria is Tina’s half-sister. But this is just as good. I didn’t think that Maria’s hatred for Tina was something trivial like, oh, in grade school she stole my favorite red crayon or something.
I can picture the ‘wtf?’ that would follow something like that, hehe.
I really hate how Anders treated Maria when they fled from the police, never really sticking by her side when she told him not to go to the gas station, assuming it was something stupid (because he’s that kind of guy it seems), and I hope now all of that comes back to kick him in the pants. >:D
March 6th, 2008 at 8:36 pm
“Maria almost died or something.”
Or something?? Wow. They must have been REAL close.
March 6th, 2008 at 8:44 pm
maybe she just nearly suffered irreparable nerve damage. or brain damage, specifically to the impulse control center.
March 6th, 2008 at 10:11 pm
Wow, Tina being Maria’s foster sister explains a lot.
Here’s my take on the situation: Johan and Maria become foster kids to Tina’s family. Tina starts developing a willing to please attitude because she no longer is an “only child.” Tina does something for attention and Maria gets blamed, sending the siblings back to live with the alcoholic parents.
March 6th, 2008 at 10:39 pm
I bet we (still) haven’t heard the whole story. Especially since Maria and Johan somehow came to be back living with their negligent parents 10 years later or so.
And I dunno, I’m not sure I would want to share that I had been taken away from home at a young age to live in foster care. Especially since Anders’ childhood seems to have been a lot more pleasant and privileged. Or maybe I am just inclined to make excuses for Maria because I think Tina is a wanton hussy… *Team Maria YEAH*
March 7th, 2008 at 12:04 am
there is more to this story. this makes me dislike tina even more because not only did she sleep with a guy who has a pregnant lady, but that lady was her foster sister at some stage in her life! WTF?! that is a bad business and any sympathy i had for tina has quickly dissipated in a rush of rage.
March 7th, 2008 at 12:30 am
This is a lucia train.
March 7th, 2008 at 12:36 am
Really? I find Tina to be increasingly sympathetic, while Anders’ stock keeps plummeting. Did she know Maria was pregnant when she succumbed to Anders’ charms? And what GIVES with that? Just a factor of being rich and outwardly confident?
-G.
March 7th, 2008 at 12:56 am
Yuck i cannot stand Tina.
March 7th, 2008 at 1:15 am
greg stolze–i think maria was pretty obviously preggers when she came to pick anders up from the gas station, and it’s hard to believe in such a small town she didn’t at least hear that maria was pregnant before bonking her boyfriend.
i agree with k–having sex with your former foster sister’s boyfriend is like, diabolical.
March 7th, 2008 at 1:53 am
Heh, everybody took my mercury comment on the previous comic so seriously, I was just trying to be funny.
That said, love where the strips going Rene.
March 7th, 2008 at 2:13 am
Being a foster kid is kind of awkward… Most people either don’t mention it or they play it up and joke about it all the time. Like, one of my friends in middle school joked about how she was taken away from one of her foster moms because she attacked her with a knife. I mean, I don’t know if it’s true or not, but it’s very sad either way. Parent issues are hard to talk about, especially if they involve abuse or abandonment.
March 7th, 2008 at 2:58 am
Rene- loved the video! You’re absolutely adorable.
I don’t like Tina very much, and the fact that she never bothered to mention this to Anders herself when she absolutely had the time to makes me like her even less. If there’s a reason why her and Maria ended up such huge enemies, I’m looking forward to hearing it, especially since it couldn’t be just that they were living together. I’m sure its rough, but that’s no reason to do the things Maria did to Tina.
March 7th, 2008 at 3:02 am
Thanks everyone for your nice words.
I saw recently that youtube has a function where I can record videos directly from your webcam, much like facebook has. Would you prefer I had these on youtube instead? I just feel bad for not doing anything with the Facebook group and the videos seemed like a good thing but I want everyone to be able to see as well.
March 7th, 2008 at 3:52 am
So, after it has now been established that the comic is entirely autobiographical, the question remains: Where your parents eventually allowed to take care of you again, Rene?
March 7th, 2008 at 3:55 am
Who said I was Maria? I am the daughter of an international celebrity with a successful career as a photographer and artist. Also I am kind of a pussy but I’m great at borking.
March 7th, 2008 at 4:07 am
I like the idea of a link to a youtube video, plus it’s good publicity!
March 7th, 2008 at 4:41 am
it says a lot that tina was voted santa lucia but he thinks it’s cute that maria is a starboy. we know he doesn’t care, obviously. but it must have struck quite a nerve with tina that he doesn’t mention her at all because tina usually never says anything mean to anders. i think she normally would say ‘yea it’s darling’ and scowled to herself.
maybe this is something that snapped when anders turned away from her while sleeping?
anyways yea now the fact that she slept with anders moves her even lower on my list.
it’s so ironic that maria hates tina for having a loving, healthy family and tina (if not already, probably will soon) hates maria for having anders even though they’re not together still… they each hate each other for what they feel they can never have..
March 7th, 2008 at 5:10 am
That was the song! Thanks for the Lucia video, Rene!
March 7th, 2008 at 5:14 am
@ rene.
that was toooo funny.
I like th videos on face book.
either way, however, i will be a watchin!
March 7th, 2008 at 5:38 am
In the caption where it says “….gammal farmer” Does that mean they were just singing to a old farmer or does “gamma” mean something else?
Thanks,
kaiki
March 7th, 2008 at 6:17 am
I like the videos on YouTube. More access for people without Facebook, and I believe the YouTube videos can be posted onto the Facebook group later. So best of both worlds!
March 7th, 2008 at 7:01 am
awesome that idea with the video it gives the reader thing much more insight in the story line and what your thoughts were when drawing it.
good idea
Also do you work on macs or pc?
March 7th, 2008 at 7:29 am
Rene, I love you.
I read several web comics, but yours is the first one I check everyday. (And I usually check it more than once, just in case there’s a bonus!)
You’re awesome. Keep up the great work!!
March 7th, 2008 at 8:22 am
Wow, all the Tina hate. The thing is, Anders and Maria are not together anymore. As he’s helping Tina scrub the spraypaint off her house, he thinks “We have to break up”. And we don’t see Maria exactly trying to get Anders back.
I’m sure we’ll see Anders and Maria back together at some point, but I don’t know if they can ever trust each other again, or make a happy life together. They’re tied together through their baby, but their relationship has been damaged.
I worry about Bjorn, actually. I think he could be falling in love with Maria, and she is going to hurt him.
March 7th, 2008 at 9:27 am
Mo: I work on a mac, two of them actually.
March 7th, 2008 at 10:17 am
kaiki: “Gammal” = old, “farmor” = paternal grandmother. No farming involved
March 7th, 2008 at 10:42 am
Ha ha! Farmer that’s a good one!
Also thanks Mirnavela!
That is sweet of you to say.
March 7th, 2008 at 3:28 pm
…Hmm. I was initially thinking that maybe Tina had done something to Johan, but he seems like the kind of person who gets more upset when you hurt someone he cares about than when you hurt him. And he did willingly paint that she was a “slut” on her house before she and Anders had slept together. And said she had crabs. And “infected junk”. Although she had just been having sex with his pregnant little sister’s boyfriend. And speaking of little sisters, OMG!! YOUR SISTER’S MAN?! Dang, Tina. I know she’s a foster sister, but Tina. That still counts, Tina. It still counts.
Maybe she’s done something like this before? …AH!!! MAYBE SHE SLEPT WITH BJORN!!! Maybe she slept with and got pregnant by Bjorn, or lied about being pregnant. (Forgive me, but without sleep, I can’t be held accountable for my crazy theories. My crazy genius theories!)
March 7th, 2008 at 3:51 pm
Please put the videos on youtube! I really want to be able to watch them.
March 7th, 2008 at 4:21 pm
come on, please publish the next strip, I can´t work, I am just waiting! :-/
March 7th, 2008 at 5:05 pm
bex: nothing, and i mean NOTHING, justifies you sleeping with somebody’s partner, ex or otherwise- when that person is or was related to you. without even considering the whole pregnancy issue, which i think was addressed fairly accurately by (sorry, i forget who it was) the fact that tina would have seen maria advanced in her pregnancy and general small town gossip.
the issue is not maria and anders getting back together, at least not from my point of view, but that tina’s actions seem truly despicable without even(presumably) the full story on what occured to create so much animosity between herself and maria/ johan. i know there are a lot of tina lovers out there, but jeez!!
i will get back to work now and try not to take my tina anger out on drunken customers.*
* a lie.
March 7th, 2008 at 5:42 pm
Yikes, Rene, that doesn’t sound good.
Hope she gets better!
March 7th, 2008 at 5:51 pm
Taking care of your family is, obviously, much more important than the comic. I hope everything is OK.
March 7th, 2008 at 5:52 pm
Best wishes to your daughter, you and the rest of your family. Luck to all of you.
March 7th, 2008 at 5:59 pm
hope your daughter gets better
March 7th, 2008 at 6:07 pm
Bex: I’m glad to hear someone not on the ‘Tina slept with Saint Maria’s boyfriend, she is unredeemable!!!!’ boat.
Also, I adore Tina’s nose. Especially in the photo of her as a child — friggin adorable.
March 7th, 2008 at 6:10 pm
I also like Tina’s ’suspiscous eyes’ in the second-to-last panel. While its adorable to see her bush-baby face, it’s neat how you can see the gears-turning as she thinks.
March 7th, 2008 at 6:11 pm
suspicious … hur hur I can’t spell
March 7th, 2008 at 6:28 pm
tina seems just as guilty for withholding the information from anders undtil he ASKED. something he probably failed to do with maria at all. and that whole “she almost died… or something.” or something? don’t sound so concerned, tina! i’m sure that sentiment isn’t new just because she’s bjorking her foster sister’s baby daddy. now she’s specifically saying things to keep anders away from maria, even though it’s obvious he still has feelings for her. that seems less like someone who’s a people pleaser and more like someone who’s jealous or still holds a grudge. in my eyes she’s just as bad as maria defacing her house. there’s something else neither of them have told anders yet, i’m sure.
rene, i do hope everything is alright with your family. i hope your daughter recovers quickly! i’ll keep her in my thoughts.
March 7th, 2008 at 6:49 pm
Goodness. I really hope everything is okay. Your poor family seems to have gone through so much lately. Take all the time you need Rene.
Everyone: Quickly, draw Anders loving things again.
March 7th, 2008 at 7:02 pm
Hope she gets better soon!
Take care! And take all the time you need!
March 7th, 2008 at 7:17 pm
hva skjedd med dattera di?
March 7th, 2008 at 7:23 pm
I hope your girl gets better very, very soon!
March 7th, 2008 at 7:27 pm
Wow.. bad luck this month with medical stuff!! I wouldn’t even worry about putting up a strip today.
I wish I could draw or i would be all over drawing anders loving things!
March 7th, 2008 at 7:32 pm
My best wishes to you and your family.
March 7th, 2008 at 7:36 pm
Yeah, hope everything’s okay!
March 7th, 2008 at 7:36 pm
Oh geez! Rene, I’m glad she’s better but tell your family to stop getting sick!
March 7th, 2008 at 8:32 pm
kasha et al –
I’m not sure I blame Tina for “withholding information,” because it seems like she was surprised to find out he didn’t know already. If you think someone knows something already, especially if it’s a touchy subject, you generally don’t tell them again >> Withholding info is generally more malicious than what Tina did, which was assume.
However, agreed on the sleeping-w/-your-little-foster-sister’s-baby-daddy = totally awkward and generally a BAD idea.
March 7th, 2008 at 8:33 pm
Also I am an insensitive prick!
I’m so sorry to hear about your daughter because omg, what a terrifying experience!
But I am also glad to hear that she is better now (whew!) and I hope things continue to improve!
March 7th, 2008 at 8:37 pm
Oh sh…
hope all is ok now Rene.
March 7th, 2008 at 8:56 pm
that is terrifying! i hope she’s alright!!
March 7th, 2008 at 9:05 pm
Rene, I hope your daughter is alright!!
Okay, here’s another Anders Loves _____!
http://usera.imagecave.com/mirnavela/AndersLovesTacos.jpg
(Sorry for the poor quality; my scanner sucks and I can’t draw very well.)
March 7th, 2008 at 9:24 pm
Glad your daughter’s all right. “We need to go to the hospital” always sounds so urgent and serious, but it’s not always for big, catastrophic medical emergency type things though, I guess. It’s always better safe than sorry though, really. My family’s the same sort of way, with all manner of medical incidents cropping up throughout the year, and throwing people into tizzies.
March 7th, 2008 at 9:26 pm
Well, to be honest, I thought she was dead. So to me it was an emergency. I am relieved that she is fine now though.
March 7th, 2008 at 10:19 pm
oh jeeze, Rene. I am glad she was not dead! What, exactly, was wrong with her? Would she not wake up? Shoot. If that was the case, I wouldn’t have even bothered to get online long enough to let us know. I’m sorry your family keeps getting sick…
March 7th, 2008 at 10:20 pm
I’m being an ass here, but, she didn’t eat berserker mushrooms did she? Seriously though, I’m glad she’s okay and I hope she gets better soon!
I think there are a lot of Tina haters because of that one strip. You know the one I mean… the one that traumatized us all. It really struck a nerve seeing Tina and Anders. Just imagining your (former?) lover with someone else is hell, but actually *seeing* them have sex?
So has Tina finally grown a spine?
March 7th, 2008 at 10:48 pm
I’m so glad your daughter is okay, Rene!
So, I was wondering: Is it all right for us to use your comic/art for avatars and icons? I would love to have an ALM icon for my livejournal.
March 7th, 2008 at 10:54 pm
Megtastic: Go right ahead. No problem at all.
March 7th, 2008 at 11:20 pm
I’m so glad your daughter is all right. Something similar happened to my little sister when we were about 2 and 5, and she had to get taken away to the hospital. I kept telling the EMTs she wasn’t talking because she was just shy, but she had to go on oxygen and everything because she wasn’t breathing - thankfully, she was all right. She also came back with a really cool teddy bear that I was _so_ jealous of :p. We’re both grown up and totally healthy now! Scary stuff happens. I’m glad everything is ok.
March 7th, 2008 at 11:45 pm
qoute:Who said I was Maria? I am the daughter of an international celebrity with a successful career as a photographer and artist. Also I am kind of a pussy but I’m great at borking.
I see, Anders is your counterpart in the story, but since you are of different sexes/genders it’s not about you, it’s Anders story with Maris et at as fidtional counterpoints… I think too much.
March 8th, 2008 at 12:13 am
Ok, I have to make a response to everyone calling out Tina for the “…or something” line.
It happened before her family adopted Maria. Tina was a child at the time. I somehow doubt that Maria would have gone into great detail about the events which caused her to be taken away from her parents. It is in no way unreasonable for Tina to not know the specific medical details of what happened to Maria. As a child it was probably something more like “I just got a new sister and brother! Yay!”
I think people here have a strong tendency to determine the moral standing of characters that they don’t know a bloody thing about yet and also conveniently forget such things as the characters perspective or age at the time of various events.
Anywho…
March 8th, 2008 at 12:42 am
heehee, everyone’s so crazy excited!
where are all the JFK theories, though?
March 8th, 2008 at 1:57 am
As someone who had a shit childhood, let me tell you: You don’t really… ever…. want to talk about it. You never want to discuss how bad it was, or how scared you always were. You just don’t. Once you leave that life, you want never to live it again… even by talking about it.
March 8th, 2008 at 3:24 am
I concur with Madonna’s point.
March 8th, 2008 at 4:37 am
Yup, it’s kinda obvious… if your couple do that, you might feel bad, but you HAVE to understand….
March 8th, 2008 at 4:38 am
Fnord–> ehm… WHAT?
March 8th, 2008 at 5:31 am
Madonna.said.what.I.was.thinking:..You.don’t.want.to.talk.about.your.shit.childhood..Period..Tina.assumed.Anders.knew.it..Anders.was.so.used.to.everyone.knowing.everything.about.his.life.he.may.not.have.realized.how.little.he.knew/asked.about.Maria’s..Everyone.here.is.a.little.selfish/self-centered..But.still.lovable..Quite.a.talent.Rene.
(sorry.about.the.periods..My.spacebar.hates.me.)
March 8th, 2008 at 5:47 am
Fnord: Take no offence here, but by “fine” I mean “not dead”. She still has a high fever and I do not want to leave her side. Nor does she want me to leave her. Friday’s strip will be up sometime during the weekend I’m sure.
March 8th, 2008 at 5:59 am
How old is Enid?
March 8th, 2008 at 6:18 am
Glad to hear your daughter is all right
March 8th, 2008 at 6:42 am
Sorry Rene. I was only making a (perhaps somewhat inappropriate) joke.
I guess, not being a father myself, I still believe everything can be made fun of…
March 8th, 2008 at 8:43 am
enid is 1.5
March 8th, 2008 at 9:14 am
Yes, having a bad childhood, you don’t want to talk about it, ever, it’s true. But sometimes you do, because you want to normalize it. You say something pretty shocking and then you laugh and say, “Oh, it’s all fine now, you know, I can understand when I think about it….” and you are so grateful to your close friend that he/she doesn’t call you out on it. It really does help, and the worst thing is when people express a lot of concern about it, because you are trying to re-write it to have NOT been upsetting/tragic.
March 8th, 2008 at 9:20 am
@ cera-
i distinctly remember anders talking to tina about maria disliking her, that could have been an opportunity for her to elaborate on that, i guess. the comic i mean is here: http://anderslovesmaria.reneengstrom.com/2008/01/16/091-2008-01-16/
i’m not saying tina knows what happened to maria specifically, but her choice of words is interesting. at least it was to me. regardless of things, her perspective now is about winning over ander’s affections. talking shit about maria while still being vague about their history is still clear enough for me to think she doesn’t give a crap about maria either way, at least not now. who knows how she felt before? only rene.
and rene- i’m glad to hear your daughter is recovering. i hope she feels well soon!
March 8th, 2008 at 1:32 pm
Ingen nye tegneserie striper…. JA ja bare det går bra med dattera di så…
March 8th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
amalie; Hon mår ganska bra just nu trots allt…. hög feber och grinig… jag får inte lämna henne för en sekund. Stackarn.
March 8th, 2008 at 5:36 pm
Headpats to Enid, and big mugs of hot tea to Rene. Wishing more good luck your way.
March 8th, 2008 at 6:13 pm
It’s been pretty insane here with the bad luck! I see it as good luck that both Enid and Sven are on the mend though. It’s just annoying.
March 8th, 2008 at 10:22 pm
Has Enid ever gotten sick like this before? (really young babies are prone to getting high fevers, but that doesn’t make it any less scary)
March 8th, 2008 at 11:05 pm
No Enid has never been this sick before. Her fever has been over 40, which is really high and unusual. She is OK though I think. She has caught the same bug as her brother only it has affected her in a much stronger way. Her heartrate dropped a lot yesterday and she went blue and lifeless. But she is herself now, just with a high fever and in need of lots of love.
March 9th, 2008 at 12:28 am
How scary to be a Mommy!!
March 9th, 2008 at 1:11 am
Oroa dig inte för oss, vi väntar så länge som det behövs.
Ta hand om lilla Enid, det låter väldigt hemskt att råka ut för något sådant där. Hoppas hon mår bättre snart!
March 9th, 2008 at 8:31 pm
Rene- I hope your family is okay! I just wanted to thank you for writing such a delightful comic. I was an exchange student in Stockholm in the fall and reading your comic makes me feel a little less “homesick”, now that I’m back in the states. I can’t wait to see where the comic goes, and I’ve forced all of my friends to read it. They, in turn, have all fallen in love with it as well. Thank you so much.
March 9th, 2008 at 10:02 pm
Rene:
Same thing has happened to my little sister, whom I raised as a daughter. It was terrifying. I completely understand your desire to be within arm’s reach. Family always comes first!
Get well soon Enid! Lots of lollys and ice cream if you do.
March 10th, 2008 at 1:00 am
Get well thoughts for Sven and Enid coming from Maine!
March 10th, 2008 at 2:55 am
Blue and Lifeless?! Oh my goodness. I am so very happy that she is ok. I don’t use metric measurements, but I suppose that 40 is very bad? It’s…104 degrees fahrenheit. Oh man. Two more degrees and she would have been dead. I hope, it being Sunday, that her fever has gone down?
March 10th, 2008 at 5:04 am
No, comics are obviously much more important than your child’s wellbeing! *cracks whip*
On a more serious note, I’m going along with everyone else when I say I’m so sorry your daughter is sick and I hope she gets better soon. I don’t have any actual children of my own, only cats, so I can only imagine the horror of finding your child with a 40 fever, blue, and lifeless. I pray for her wellbeing, and yours as well.
March 10th, 2008 at 6:53 am
Rene, that’s horrifying! Take all the time you need. Small babies really do need a lot of observation when they are sick! Hopefully she’s been monitored by doctors?
*Awesome* comic btw, but still… don’t fret about the updates, family is way more important.
March 10th, 2008 at 10:10 am
Glad to see your taking some time to be with your family. Love the comic, am looking forward to when you can come back!
March 10th, 2008 at 6:03 pm
I already marked the day in my calender with a beeping reminder!
March 10th, 2008 at 8:34 pm
Meditating on your child’s health today, Rene. Wellness to you all from Nebraska.
March 10th, 2008 at 11:22 pm
Oh my goodness! I hope your daughter is doing better! What a scary experience. Best wishes to you and your family!
March 11th, 2008 at 1:36 am
Well dear, hopefully everyone gets well soon so you can finish your tshirt and we can all throw monies at you to help you take care of them!
March 11th, 2008 at 3:18 am
“Or something”? Geez, she really cares about her foster sister.
March 11th, 2008 at 3:59 am
Rene, nice interview. It would be really cool to have a cup of tea with you sometime
Hope all is ok with your babies.
March 11th, 2008 at 5:24 am
Thank you everyone. You are all so very very swee! Enid is feeling a lot better. Yesterday Sven came home from the hospital as well. So for the first time in well over a month I had my whole family together. It is nice to be able to spend some time with them while they get better. I’m the only one in good health!
March 11th, 2008 at 3:22 pm
I hope you’re all snuggled together in blankets, playing Scrabble and eating chicken noodle soup to get better.
Best wishes to you and your family Rene!
March 11th, 2008 at 3:53 pm
Awww, good luck to the family!
Also, *giggle-snort* at ‘Fnarts’ (and it’s cool to see all the fanart up!)
March 11th, 2008 at 3:58 pm
Yeah I thought it was best to get them up, I will go back and add links/credits later. That’s what takes the most time.
March 11th, 2008 at 8:37 pm
Wow, just found your comics and I have to say…so pretty! Love the colors especially!
Now I have to go and get caught up from the beginning, heh.
March 11th, 2008 at 9:14 pm
But we can guess?
2 is by Meredith Gran
5 is by Spike
6 is by Ryan Estrada
7 is by Josh Lesnick
March 11th, 2008 at 9:31 pm
You are right on Meredith Gran and Josh Lesnick. 5 is Amanda Fox and 6 is Scott Dewitt.
March 11th, 2008 at 11:19 pm
I feel like a total jerk because of my older comment. Wish I could delete it.
Glad to hear things are starting to look better for your family.
March 11th, 2008 at 11:26 pm
I deleted it for you now Fnord, but don’t worry about it. How could you know the severity?
March 12th, 2008 at 4:10 am
Poor Fnord. Wisecracks are typically defeated by the lack of emotions on ye olde internets.
It’s okay! I understood what you were going for; overstated sarcasm, not total douchebaggery.
:)
March 12th, 2008 at 2:43 pm
I’m glad everyone is getting better now!
I’m happy that AlovesM will be back on March 17th. That’s my birthday! It will be like an awesome birthday present.
March 12th, 2008 at 7:33 pm
Every day I compulsively check this site hoping for a new update, and then see that it won’t be till the 17th and I feel sad. But then I realize it’s not that far away, and I cheer up
March 12th, 2008 at 7:45 pm
I’ll see if I can try squeeze in some fun extra material during the week! I have already added some fnarts (not all) and I have updated the site a little. Also, if you want, you can always go in to the characters profiles in Facebook and have a chat with them. THey are also bored this week.
March 13th, 2008 at 5:26 am
I just discovered ALM today and caught up with it in one sitting. I’m not exaggerating when I say that this is the most emotionally profound webcomic I have read in a long time. Hell, I don’t even remember the last one that had a similar effect on me as this did. While these characters aren’t outright bad people, I think the way you depict their flaws makes them all the more realistic and believable. You’ve done some fantastic work so far, and I’ll definitely be following this comic from now on. Also, your art style is simply adorable.
March 15th, 2008 at 2:48 am
Monday is my birthday, so the return of ALM will be like an extra birthday present! Yay!!
Glad things are going well for you Rene. Remember to take care of yourself too!