I wanted a sequence here that sets the stage for Hanna and Marigold's relationship. Mar's easily coaxed into smoking against her better judgment. Hanna, after ridiculing her housing situation and without prompting, helps Mar with the cartoonishly phallic bong. But Mar has a hand to play: an enticing little scandal in which she is the center! Hanna is instantly intrigued and wants more.
The topic of age gap and professional power (im)balance has become an issue of great public concern lately, but (and I feel like I'm saying this a lot) I wasn't trying to speak on the morality - rather to show what Marigold might want out of a relationship like that, and how it might impact her priorities moving forward. The next person we see her with is Will, a dramatically different kind of boyfriend. The key word might be "dramatically". Hanna's view of Mar will be defined by these turbulent times, contrasting her own so-called stability, even as it begins to unravel.
7 thoughts on “OTSAN #3”
Tragus
By any chance was the art teacher being named Anders a reference to Anders Loves Maria? I could've sworn the Anders in that comic was an art teacher who had a plotline where he was cheating with student(s) but I can't verify any of that anymore since the Internet is not reliable.
MacSimon
The very same, yes!
granulac
No, there is not meant to be any relation.
Tragus
Thanks for indulging my curiosity! I'm loving this revisit, by the way, thank you for taking the time to do it.
Turkish
I thought the same thing! Glad someone else remembers Andera loves Maria – even if the internet doesn’t.
Juniper Gravestock
Are there any bongs that aren’t cartoonishly phallic?
Mauricio Lemos
I didn't recognize Mar in the previous update but even if Hanna had not said her name here, those two last panels would have made me go "oooh this is young Marigold!"