Comic Transcripts

[[A gregarious individual holding a fan is talking to her friend, Rachel.]]
Friend: It’s SO great to see you! I’ve been loving your Facebook statuses. Hilarious!
Friend: I’m glad Jimmy introduced us. You’re a treat to hang out with!
Rachel: Uh
Rachel: Y-yeah
Rachel: It’s fun! It IS fun, isn’t it.

[[The friend seems concerned.]]
Friend: Rach! Is everything okay? Did I say something wrong?
Rachel: NO! No, not at all. It’s just…
Rachel: I DO like hanging out with you. You’re funny, and nice, and we get along. But you’re EARNEST.

Rachel: I don’t know what to DO with earnestness! When you complimented me, I had to override my natural reaction to treat it as SARCASM!
Rachel: I’m… afraid to LIKE things, I guess? To seem like I’m not cooler than whatever’s going on?

Rachel: But YOU’VE got your DANCING and your COOKING CLASSES and your CHOIR and you just seem like you… ENJOY it all.
Rachel: You’re not ABOVE it. You’re not afraid of looking or feeling silly. I TELL myself I don’t mind looking silly, but what I REALLY mean is that I put on a silly AFFECT, to be cool.

Rachel: Even NOW I feel embarrassed to be honest. Not because I think you’ll JUDGE me, but because I feel like it DIMINISHES me somehow.
Friend: I’m sorry. I will immediately cancel all my hobbies and begin acting coldly towards you.
Rachel: THAT I hope WAS sarcasm but now I’m not even SURE!

{{header: dig into WONDERMARK.COM}}
{{alt-text: We are all of us static props in the psychodramas of others}}

#1027; The Import of Being Earnest transcribed by in

[[A gregarious individual holding a fan is talking to her friend, Rachel.]]
Friend: It's SO great to see you! I've been loving your Facebook statuses. Hilarious!
Friend: I'm glad Jimmy introduced us. You're a treat to hang out with!
Rachel: Uh
Rachel: Y-yeah
Rachel: It's fun! It IS fun, isn't it.

[[The friend seems concerned.]]
Friend: Rach! Is everything okay? Did I say something wrong?
Rachel: NO! No, not at all. It's just...
Rachel: I DO like hanging out with you. You're funny, and nice, and we get along. But you're EARNEST.

Rachel: I don't know what to DO with earnestness! When you complimented me, I had to override my natural reaction to treat it as SARCASM!
Rachel: I'm... afraid to LIKE things, I guess? To seem like I'm not cooler than whatever's going on?

Rachel: But YOU'VE got your DANCING and your COOKING CLASSES and your CHOIR and you just seem like you... ENJOY it all.
Rachel: You're not ABOVE it. You're not afraid of looking or feeling silly. I TELL myself I don't mind looking silly, but what I REALLY mean is that I put on a silly AFFECT, to be cool.

Rachel: Even NOW I feel embarrassed to be honest. Not because I think you'll JUDGE me, but because I feel like it DIMINISHES me somehow.
Friend: I'm sorry. I will immediately cancel all my hobbies and begin acting coldly towards you.
Rachel: THAT I hope WAS sarcasm but now I'm not even SURE!

{{header: dig into WONDERMARK.COM}}
{{alt-text: We are all of us static props in the psychodramas of others}}

We are all of us static props in the psychodramas of others

#1027; The Import of Being Earnest

  — May 6th, 2014

[ Tags: , ]       Permalink: https://wondermark.com/c/1027/

Buy a Print

New ways to get Bolted!

July 24, 2026 by David Malki !

In addition to buying things directly from me, the normal way, my game Bolted! is also now available on Amazon dot com.

On that famous website, you can also get the Creature-Crafting Magnets Set, which is made of the same artwork from the game, but is just a weird little trinket (not a playable game).

My kiddo made the elaborate version below to show off just how many magnets you get in the set (it’s 150 pieces in all — this isn’t even all of them).

Also now on Amazon is my set of Multi-Purpose Greeting Cards — a full dozen cards with envelopes in a fancy, unbranded, foil-stamped box!

Event alert!

I’ll also be showing off Bolted! at Greenwood Games, an event in Seattle this Saturday:

Greenwood Games is a free, all-ages community game event that invites players to spend the afternoon walking Greenwood Avenue from 65th to 80th, collecting clues, cracking puzzles, and discovering games made right here in Washington.

Think of it as Pride Hop, ArtWalk, and the Gumshoe all rolled into one,  except the whole thing is built around games and puzzles.​

Local game designers will be set up at different places along Greenwood Avenue in Phinney Ridge (near Ballard). My specific spot will be the “Holy Mountain Phinney Ridge Taproom”. All the information about all the different games & venues is on the website!

(If you’re in Seattle generally but not free tomorrow, Bolted! is also stocked at Blue Highway Games in Queen Anne.)

Next week, I’ll be at Gen Con! I personally will be hanging with my buddy Sam Logan at BFE Webcomics, booth #1217… but I have it on good authority that copies of Bolted! will be available at the CRWN Studios booth, #2549.

Visit one booth! Then the other! The order…is up to you.


Recent blog posts