Blaugust #02: Carry That Home

Brief. I'm having a hard-time remembering when this project first started but if I had to guess, it was likely sometime in 2022. It was about curling in the beginning... weird. Anyway, it's going to be a BW webcomic structured in volumes. It's coming-of-age drama with no magic at all, just boring bland normal human life. It's wild enough on it's own.

Premise. Bar trivia night! No, really. Kevin doesn't get along with anyone. Everyone thinks he's a total weirdo. By accident, he strikes a friendship with charismatic Julian who involves him with an unlikely group of friends who partake in weekly trivia nights at the local bar. Many secrets of the town, the main characters, and others eventually come to light.

Setting. A small woodsy town by the side of a large lake. It's dead and boring, there's nothing to do and the big city is hours away. It's what I assume Washington state is probably like but I'll be frank I've never been to the U.S. so this all may come off like how Deadly Premonition (2009) comes off.

Cast. A much more diverse cast than Marmoris in regard to age, one of the MCs is a high schooler but the rest of the cast are people in their 20s and even 50s. Everyone is an underdog, a loser. It's a cast of misfits.

Kevin Duran. Painfully awkward and off-putting, Kevin has been held back twice. He seems to irk everyone around him: classmates, teachers, even his only family; his dad. Kevin spends most of his days totally alone and up to his own devices. He got pretty into movies, his grandpa (probably his only friend) left him a trove of old films on VHS before passing. He plans to go the rest of his life by himself until meeting Julian who soon enough becomes his closest friend and idol. His trivia expertise: 50s movies, crime movies, and soundtracks. 

Julian Pacheco. Julian is a conman in many ways. His friendliness and outgoing nature is genuine, but also a shield for how he's really feeling. He has swagger and confidence but all of it is a fake. In fact, he doesn't have a job, he's a high school drop-out, and is living in a beat-up van that won't start. He lies about all of this. After meeting Kevin, he's set to finally turn things around but he's real deep in a lot of lies already and he's gonna have to wrangle them before starting his new life. His trivia expertise: 80s movies, action films, and fantasy films.

Mal. Cold and judgemental, almost nobody is able to break through Mal's defenses. His only close friend is Bernie, he just tolerates Julian and sort-of pities Kevin after meeting him. He looks like he's been through some shit. Was a child actor once but if anyone brings that up they'll be in deep shit. Surprising movie preferences. His trivia expertise: period pieces, romcoms, and musicals.

Bernadine 'Bernie'. Nuerotic, anxious, and confrontational, Bernie clashes with many people in her life. She works at a very small local grocer's to the shame of her family who expected her to be a real career gal. She's close with Mal and has frenemy thing going with Julian. She becomes like an older sister to Kevin when he joins their deranged little gang. In the end of it all, Bernie wants to bring people together and she's never runs when help is needed. Her trivia expertise: horror, sci-fi, and teen dramas.

Jacob. Pretty mysterious and suave, his deal is not clear to most. He likes saying things like 'yeah, I used to run with the mafia' and 'I shot a man's thumb off once' and no one knows if he's being serious or not. He's the oldest in the group and has the most wisdom and knowledge. He gets along with everyone but he spends most of his time with his daughter, Max. His trivia expertise: westerns, 70s films, and  surrealist movies.

Katie. Probably the second most disliked person in town after Kevin. She comes from a troubled family that has seriously impacted how she interacts with everyone. She wants to be accepted but the only person willing to be her friend is Kevin, who she rejects. Eventually, through a school film club, they become reluctant friends. She does not attend trivia night.

Inspiration. I've always liked stories, especially coming of age stories, about real losers. I wasn't anyone cool in high school so I've always felt kinship with even the strangest protagonists. In some ways, that's still true for adult life. Because it's a comic about movie trivia, many, many movies, albums, TV shows, books, etc. will be mentioned. As for content that inspired the actual story? Freaks and Geeks, Stand By Me, Win Win, and Me, Earl, and the Dying Girl are the main thematic inspirations. The remote settings of Night In The Woods and Firewatch inspired the lifestyle and setting of the story. I actually gave my town a name but I forgot what it was, dammit. I lived for a year in Tampere between 2018-2019, so I spent much of lock down reminiscing about that time and the spots I frequented. It's a beautiful place but its also pretty lonely, or maybe I was lonely and a lot of what I felt manifests in this story. Anyway, I also miss video rentals, I used to go with my mum and pick something out just like that. Or when I lived in Finland, you could rent DVDs from the library. I'm looking to those spots in my life. 

Notes. The working title of this project is from Built To Spill's 'Carry The Zero', a song I love so, so much. The full lyric is right at the start of the song: 'I'm not knocking your want to carry that home'. It's a great line but honestly I don't know how good of a title it is for a comic. If anyone out there is good at giving worlds/projects name please tell me your secret. I am literally awful at naming my porjects, its embarrassing. Anyway, do you have any thoughts about this project? Trash? Alright? Tell me in the comments!