About
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Where
did the name hindsight 21/17 come from?
The story opens with the depressed 21 year old, Owen. Like many
of us, Owen can't see far ahead into the future because he's so
caught up in being stuck in the past, and trying to change the
past (hindsight). Quinton (the magical stuffed elephant) decides
to solve this problem by making Owen 4 years younger so that Owen
can attempt to relive life and do all the things he wishes he
had done before (21/17). It's also a pun on the t-shirts that
say hindsight 20/20, implying that it's easier to look backwards
than it is to look forwards, to suggest that even our view of
the past can be obscured.
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Where
did the idea for the comic come from?
The comic all started one day a long time ago...
Sometimes pieces just all fall together. One of my art projects
was to combine an animal with a character form and for the logo
to portray characteristics of each. This was the spawning of the
first cartoons for Q, the elephant, over dinner and desert at
Apple B's. Among other doodles and finally the inspiration to
start my own comic, I began creating the characters. I knew what
type of characters I wanted, and after that they just created
themselves. They live inside my head now and I've developed split
personalities. This is my first comic, and it was my goal to improve
my drawing skills. Also I wanted to prove to myself that I wasn't
a quitter and that I could commit to something grand (and maintain
something artistic to help me get through the stress of school).
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Are
any of the characters based on real people?
Perhaps a few, loosely based personalities. To me the characters
are more universal, each representing a part of us, or at least
me. Occasionally one of my friends happens to sneak into the comic,
but mostly the characters are figments of my imagination...
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Why
is pink such an important color?
Honestly I don't know. Pink was not chosen as a gay color. But
Quinton just seemed to fit as a pink elephant. Maybe it was my
childhood memories of Dumbo, or else the image of one of those
little beanie babies in the back of my head. Quinton became pink
to make him stand out, then after that pink just became important,
like Q is.
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So
is this supposed to be a gay friendly comic, and which of the
characters are gay?
I never intended for this comic to have a central focus on gay
issues. In fact I don't even like labels so I would hesitate to
call any of the characters gay. Sure there are some characters
that like one sex more than the other, but this comic is really
supposed to be about freedom, and falling in love with someone
for what their personality is. Unfortunately the world I have
created is unrealistic, and I have tried to reduce the amount
of discrimination and the tabooness of boys liking boys. Sadly
some people still look at my comic and scream, "oh it's gay,
yuck!"
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What's
the deal with backeyed?
Owen loves any good spy/mystery flick. From thrillers
to movies-that-make-you-think, Owen's obsession for the exciting
life of a spy sometimes gets carried away in his imagination.
Owen has a very active imagination, to the point where he begins
to fill in all the details of life that don't quite make sense
to him. backeyed is Owen's reaction to life around him, and his
way of explaining how mysterious things happen.
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What
about the author?
Well I'm pretty much just your average male student. I already
have an undergraduate degree in Computer Science, and I'm currently
back at school to get a second undergraduate degree in Art. This
is just to delay time before I decide between grad school and
work. I'll eventually end up somewhere in the large field of Graphic
Design. Unless of course I start a successful band or end up on
Broadway. This comic was just my way of having an artistic outlet
while trying to complete my first degree. It's also been an outlet
for me to reflect upon life.
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What
about the future?
My plans are to stick with hindsight 21/17 for as long as possible.
I want to be able to say I did a comic for a few years. So don't
count on seeing it end anytime soon. Unfortunately I'm constantly
coming up with new ideas, and never wanting to finish them. There
will likely be more comics by me, some short lived, but coming
in various styles and being in no way related to hindsight 21/17.
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