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

Bolted! Shipping is UNDERWAY

Bolted! games have been shipping to backers over the last couple of weeks! The non-US orders are (mostly) done and some folks have been reporting receiving them already!

@davidmalki.com My game arrived today!! It looks gorgeous 🙂 Hope you are well 🙂

[image or embed]

— Lar deSouza (@lartist.bsky.social) April 2, 2026 at 2:52 PM

My US inventory of games is now in-country, but still being staged at the fulfillment centers. It’s being distributed to regional warehouses, so the actual shipping to backers happens more efficiently. I hope the bulk of US shipping will start next week.

These are what the cartons (and games) look like!

bolted! games BOLTED! GAMES (pounding the table) B O L T E D ! G A M E S

[image or embed]

— david malki ! (@davidmalki.com) April 3, 2026 at 10:37 AM

I am also waiting on the bonus cards to be finished printing! I ended up needing many more of those than I had anticipated, so I decided to have the game factory print those too, for perfect matching with the base game cards.

Most people will be receiving two separate mailings: the game itself, and “anything else” (bonus cards and/or add-ons) which will be sent by me personally.

As of today, 86% of backers have completed their surveys so far! That’s pretty good, but it’s not everyone. I know YOU PERSONALLY have already completed YOURS though, so no worries!!

We have now moved OFF of Kickstarter and ONTO BackerKit for any new orders. You can bundle a game with basically anything else I sell on that there website, it’s pretty nuts!


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