#option 2: i went Oh! because thats clever and the one my character would choose

[hellafluff]

Slowly making progress in my ambition and let me tell you that reading through these options sent me down so many different emotions. i love never knowing what the fuck is going on in this game holy shit

[comicteaparty]

September 28th, 2017 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party chat that occurred on September 28th, 2017, from 5PM - 7PM PDT.  The chat focused on Radio Silence by Vanessa Stefaniuk.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

RebelVampire

Good day everyone~! This week’s Comic Tea Party is now officially beginning. Today we are discussing Radio Silence by Vanessa Stefaniuk~! (http://www.radiosilencecomic.com/) For those new to CTP, discussions about the comic are freeform, so please feel free to bring up whatever you wish. However, every 30 minutes I will be dropping in a discussion question to help those who would like a prompt. These questions are totally OPTIONAL to answer so pay them no mind if you wish~! Remember, constructive criticism is allowed, but the primary focus here is to have fun and appreciate the amazing comics that the community makes~! Each chat a top comment will be picked and featured on an ad for this chat, so let’s have a great discussion~! With that said, let us begin with this first question~!

QUESTION 1. What is your favorite scene in the comic so far and why?

wishjacked

YAYYYY, the Radio Silence chat!! Full disclosure I didn't get the chance to read it this week, so I'm a little rusty on the early chapters, but it's been one of my favorites for a good while and I'm so excited to talk about it!!!

This comic has such a good sense of pacing-- it feels a little weird to say ALL the scenes are my favorite, but honestly the entire comic is fantastic scene after fantastic scene, so it's really hard to choose!!

RebelVampire

im glad you enjoy it. i personally find the pacing harder to get into. not that i think its bad or anything persay, cause its a really well-made comic. i find it really borderlines between being paced as if its a story and paced if its a documentary. so for me its a bit hard at times cause i cant decide what its trying to be. but thats one of the few critical things id have to say about it

MathTans

Hellooooo. Favourite scene is tricky, but I'm going to go with the one where Wren insists she's staying in the same room with the band, rather than going with Liz. Feels like it shows the group dynamic, while also hinting at Wren having some sort of relationship (even abandonment?) issues.

wishjacked

That makes sense!! Especially with the video narration of the prologue, I agree that the narrative framing does feel a liiiiil disjointed at times.

MathTans

One thing I'll say I'm impressed with is how, while some characters do seem to be a bit more central, there's time devoted to all of the band members. That's a balancing act that I don't think I'd be able to pull off.

wishjacked

And hello, MathTans!! That's a good favorite scene, I wouldn't have thought of that

RebelVampire

@math ah yeah that was a nice scene. it kind of resonated with me a bit cause ive been in wren's position of having mostly male friends. and sometimes you just want to hang with the bros and forget about the teensy tiny detail youre female

MathTans

I thought the prologue was clever, but I can see where you're coming from. Like, Shy was having issues dealing with graduating and the band... and then there's a bit of a time skip and they're celebrating the fact that he's finished. Which is fine, guess I just thought more might happen with that. I'm not sure what more, but it felt bigger somehow.

My mind works different sometimes. ^.^ That's cool, Rebel, seeing it from that perspective.

RebelVampire

yeah i do like how the prologue was. it may give me mixed feelings on how the story is paced and framed, but i thought it was an ingenius way to throw out exposition stuff about the band's history without it seeming weird(edited)

wishjacked

I really really love "how the team met" prologues so honestly whatever the narrative dissonance it might cause it is so worth it to me as a reader. I love all its little backstory hints, and I think it gives a lovely introduction to each of the characters!!

MathTans

Starting with Brent's hair being cut too is kind of clever, when they flash back his hair is longer again so you can tell when that's a thing. ^.^

wishjacked

And YEAH, REBEL, SAME HERE. if all my bros are hanging out I want to be included too!!!!!!!!

RebelVampire

one thing i also like about the prologue is you can get some quick sense of all the characters. for a lot of comics that start with a sizeable cast like that, you either usually gotta take a long time for intros or you get bombarded and have to work at it to keep all the characters straight. but i never really felt overwhelmed in this comic. like the prologue was just long enough for me to get a sense of each character and their role without it feeling it dragged. so when it starts jumping into the rest of the story, i felt like i had a good grasp on at least why each person was there. so even if i didnt remember a name at first, i could be like "oh yeah thats the bassist, and thats the etc."

MathTans

That's true. Seeing them in the order they appeared helped with that also, clever that Shy (the last one) was used as narrator as well. Something else that I found interesting... I don't really have a favourite. Like, with a band there's the tendency to say "that's my favourite member" but for me they all have their points, going both ways.

wishjacked

Yes, I agree!! I think it also really helps that the character designs and artist's style make it easy to visually differentiate between folks

MathTans

I probably relate closest to Shy, but then there's the piercings, and no. I get Wren's tendency to have difficulty letting go of the past, but she's also high energy, which is not me. Matt's cool in standing up for people and looking out for the group dynamic, but he's also doing that in a leadership role, and so forth. It's interesting. No real fave. All just well rounded.

RebelVampire

yeah i do like that, that every person in the comic is visually very distinct. like even all the guys have different hair styles which is a boon to me cause when it comes to male characters i tend to find its easy to make the hairstyles too similar and thus all the guys blend.

MathTans

Matt's beard took a few strips for me to get used to.

RebelVampire

i really like the contrast between shy being, well, shy yet being bold enough to get non standard piercings. like i really like this comic went out of its way to portray an introvert as something other than a dorky, shutin

MathTans

Good point, nice that they're not just trotting out stereotypes.

Wren seems bisexual. That's an interesting angle too.

It was done really clever, kind of in the background of the prologue with her and that female member of the Sirens. Then we have the more "traditional" m-f relationship being teased at, but that history was still there, able to come forwards without being out of left field.(edited)

In my opinion anyway.

RebelVampire

yeah. in the case of wren in particular i like how smartly her past is incorporated with how her character is portrayed. so even though she is who she is, theres small details like the insomnia that you can really tell are caused by stuff that happened in the past and shaped who she is today

QUESTION 2. While a lot of the focus is given to Shy, the other characters aren’t without their mysteries or pasts. Wren has hints of a life filled with abuse, Matt has a mysterious video call with someone, etc. Which character’s past are you most interested in uncovering? Do you think it’ll be uncovered or will it forever be a secret? Do you have theories on their pasts or how they’ll affect the story later on?

MathTans

I think Wren's is going to come out, probably sooner rather than later, what with her visualizing Sirens Girl (I suck at names) and it morphing into someone from her past (which was a neat effect). I'm of two minds about that, I'm interested, but I wonder how much it will change her character dynamic with the others for them to know about it, and I kind of like the dynamic how it is. I think they'll do a good job with it though.

RebelVampire

i do think wren's past is gonna come out to at least shy. idk if i think itll be soon though. i think shell continue to avoid it for a while longer.

MathTans

I think some of the Brent and Willow past stuff has been referenced, but might come more to the forefront later, now that she's around them more. Colbie seems to have family issues, including his mother passing, though I'll admit I'm less interested there - in part because I find myself shaking my head sometimes at his character (dude, pay attention to time, and it's not all about Wren-dating). Matt somehow makes things interesting no matter what he's doing.

Yeah, in particular because Shy's kind of oblivious. "Wren's crying? Oh, here, I just gotta take this call."

So I shake my head at more than Colbie. Like, don't get me wrong, it's great and makes them human, and it's probably good that it gets me invested. I've even shaken my head at Wren (the piercing). Just, oy, priorities Shy.

wishjacked

Ahaha, I was actually going to say I was most interested in Colbie!!

RebelVampire

the only time i felt myself truly shaking my head is when brent pulled the "im disappoint in you" thing with shy. cause i just felt for someone so close to shy, he still doesnt quite get what an introvert means when they talk about a relationship being draining.

MathTans

To each our own. I can see Colbie being set up for later plot, with the money chats too.

wishjacked

I felt like both Brent and Shy were understanding that conversation completely differently.

RebelVampire

yeah i have to say colbie is one of the characters im a bit more intrigued by cause hes the one who has the least past hints. like brent has willow, wren has these abusive things, shy has the sammy stuff. but colbie (and matt too to a degree), have slight hints but then its just left sitting as plot threads to focus on shy and/or wren

wishjacked

Yeah! I just like Colbie to be fair, he's a goof

MathTans

I can see that, Rebel. At the same time, it needs to be someone close to Shy who pushes him. But I wasn't really sure about Brent's shipping. (I'm still not. I think Colbie might have a thing for Wren, and the only reason he's not putting it out there is because of how they're in the band together. Which might be a problem if Wren and Shy do get together.)

Colbie needs to be more self aware, in my opinion. Whereas Shy's the reverse, he doesn't get other people too well.

RebelVampire

yeah the wren/shy shipping thing im not sure where its going. like wren did get sort of jealous about sammy, but why? does she like shy? does she just want shy to only be close to her as a friend cause she needs that? or is this gonna develop into some sort of toxic, co-dependent thing because of wren's past abuse where she clings to shy cause she feels hes safe

so many ways it could go

yeah i agree colbie's character flaw is hes not really that aware.

which i really liked that scene where him and matt were talking about money

and it just didnt click with colbie that ppl would feel indebted to him despite him saying "nah bro its cool"

MathTans

I'm not sure if it was jealousy? Like, Shy showed her a picture and said Sammy was somewhere that Wren knew she wasn't, so was it all, 'Is Shy playing me? Is Sammy playing Shy? Why am I even doing this to myself?' Like, I don't think she's in a good place where relationships are (boundaries need to be clear, though I don't think she's the type) but yeah, could go a few ways.

Truth. Money, much like politics, is the way to start arguments without trying.

RebelVampire

yeah. which in this case its sad cause its not even like colbie wants to be vindictive about it. just wants them to have some cool band stuff.

tbh of all the characters i want to know wtf is going on is matt

cause of that video call

cause he clearly has something secret

and i feel like its one thats gonna tear the band apart

like whoops surprise hes dying or something

MathTans

I thought maybe that was just another call to his relative in the US? Could be I'm misremembering.

RebelVampire

it could be. i was unsure what their relationship was

but either where there are secrets to be had cause she did ask him if hed said anything or something like that

MathTans

Gotcha. Guess I wasn't focussed closely on it. I mean, I have a suspicion that there will be some sort of falling out, after that which might be when Matt brings up some secret - though maybe that will help to pull them together?(edited)

RebelVampire

okay description says she's matt's cousin and apparently its a crossover with another comic of some sort?

http://www.radiosilencecomic.com/comic/104

ah yeah its the page after that

where she asks if matt told them and hes like "you crazy of course i ahvent"

RebelVampire

QUESTION 3. The comic puts a lot of emphasis on navigating relationships. Given that the main characters are in a band together, this puts extra pressure on them to have harmonious relationships while practically living on top of each other. Do you think the group will be able to maintain cordial relationships and succeed as a band? Will the band’s success affect their relationships positively or negatively? Are there other ways you think their work as a band will be affected by their relationships or changes in them?

MathTans

Riiiight. Now I follow.

RebelVampire

idk. i mean i could see the secret being nothing too. it was just the one mystery that gave me pause

MathTans

Heh, "harmonious" relationships. I see what you did there.

We all read different things into it, that's what makes it good!

I do feel like something's going to drive a wedge. Whether it's the characters' pasts, Shy-When-Colbie, or something external, I'm not sure, but something, and Matt will have his hands full as Brent is sad about it. But maybe they'll pull together after that?

RebelVampire

right now im considering that maybe ego gets to someone. cause even tho they all seem down to earth to a degree, a lot of bands break up cause someone gets too big of a head once their fame starts taking off.

or something could happen

like say for instance someone is like "we wanna sign matt for a record deal but just matt"

and matt is like no but the others are like no matt you should do it, its a great opportunity

cue all dem tensions

MathTans

Yeah, that's possible, if a bit cliche. Pretty sure Matt wouldn't go for it though.

Unless he's got that terminal disease or something. ^.^

Speaking of the band though - OMG. Actual written music in the comic during concerts? Audio tracks to listen to on the side? Thematic music as well? Daaaamn, that can't be easy. (Can it?) Like, whoa, talk about extra workload.

RebelVampire

nah i was honestly just mentally comparing radio silence to nana which is also about a band and as much as i love nana, it does not portray written music that well. even in the anime they kind of cheat it which is sad.

this comic went all out with the music

http://www.radiosilencecomic.com/cast

i appreciate that the cast page even has little playlists for each character

MathTans

Gotcha. Yeah, I'm not as well read in terms of other things out there. ^.^ But I do have a music minor so I have a sense of things. Also, yeah, noticed that on the cast page. Lots of extra thought there that I wouldn't have even considered. Much kudos.

I wonder if the characters came first, inspiring the writing of music, or if it was the other way around. Or some combination.

RebelVampire

id assume some combination.

hard to say tho

MathTans

Probable.

Like, there was even a guitar riff recording at one point.

RebelVampire

it really depends on how the development for the story played about. but usually its a symbiotic thing. so theyll usually tangle up where say the characters coming first influences the music which influences the characters which influences the music and so on

MathTans

Well, points for authenticity or whatnot.

Also, mouse rollovers. These things take time to think of, I know. ^.^

RebelVampire

yeah. it a really detailed comic. although i think the music aspects i think its good they took the time for that.

since thats pretty integral to the story

that the band part of it feels legit

MathTans

yis. Adds credibility too, towards knowing the genre you're writing in.

I wonder if anyone doing the writing/drawing were in a band, or know someone who is?

RebelVampire

ah according to the about page a family member composes the music for the comic

so they know someone who at least knows about music

MathTans

I think I rememer reading in the below-comic remarks that it was original music. Impressive.

Also, the languages! (I keep tangenting here, but...) I don't know from German or Scottish but it's cool that the characters speak it, and that it's translated in the below-comic remarks.

RebelVampire

yeah i like that they kept the theme of diff languages considering theyre in europe and closer to where ppl speak those languages

i took german in college so shy was kind of nostalgic to a degree when he spoke it

MathTans

More of that authenticity angle.

RebelVampire

i have to say i really liked that touch that the barista or w/e at the counter replied to shy in english instead of german. cause this is actually a discerning cultural phenomenon in germany atm where english is becoming super widely used in business instead of german

MathTans

Really? I didn't know that. I thought maybe the counter person was just used to speaking to tourists or something. Neat.

(I was in Germany years ago for a relative's wedding. I let my wife do all the talking and just smiled hopefully.)

RebelVampire

it might have just been a tourist thing. i cant say for sure the comic knew this culture thing. but even if it was unintentional i thought it was a nice touch. not to say for sure i know how widespread it is either. i just know from taking german that its a concern thats going on.

which to be fair its easy to mix the languages cause german and english both have the same germanic roots

MathTans

That's fair. Also, truth.

Maybe if they get Sammy to say something to show she's not German that'll cause her house of cards to fall.

RebelVampire

QUESTIONS 4. In the most recent events of the comic, Shy is rekindling a relationship with an old friend named Sammy. However, the rest of the band is clearly suspicious of Sammy’s intentions, which the comic shows is a well-founded suspicion. What do you think Sammy’s end game is by getting close to the band? Do you think Shy will eventually see the light? Or, is this going to be an issue that causes a rift in the band for a while?

MathTans

makes marks on his segue sheet

Seems like she wants to get close to Matt, for some reason, since he's the leader. Maybe she hopes to take his money or get free meals? Real tough to say. She doesn't seem the brightest bulb, but she can think on her feet, which makes her dangerous.(edited)

I think Shy will be forced to see the light, meaning confronting the fact that his childhood actually sucked because the one person he thought he could count on was horrible, and he'll withdraw, and that's what will force Wren's childhood issues into the light, and they might either bond over it, or it'll be a huge wrench between them. Possibly Brent gets them to heal each other.

RebelVampire

it could be sammy just thinks matt is hot and wants to date him. is just a matt fangirl in disguise. she definitely isnt the brightest bulb cause i think to anyone with eyes its clear what shes up to by flirting with matt. unless youre shy. then its just a friend being a friend

personally i dont think wren will be able to do much for shy cause i just dont think shes emotionally fit at the moment to handle it. but i dont think shy is gonna be that crushed and if anything, i think the rest of the band will remind him that theyre his friends now

his really cool friends

wishjacked

Ahaha, sorry, had to head out for a bit.

MathTans

I suppose that's possible, yes. And yeah, Wren wouldn't really make a good psychologist, I was thinking more in terms of levels. Like, it's bad for Shy, but bad in a different way (or worse?) for her.

Yay for friends. ^.^ wb, wj.

wishjacked

Sammy has been a very strange addition the the story, her intensions are still so... Vague?? Like it seems like she's lying about a lot of things that aren't necessary for any kind of plot... why would it matter that she lives in Germany, for example? Why would she need to specify that false detail? It's just... what? Sammy, whY?????????

MathTans

Because Sammy wants to be someone she's not.

Heh, maybe she's been playing some guitar? And wants to make music with Matt?

RebelVampire

yeah i have to admit if shes just trying to get close to the band, theres no reason to lie about being in germany

LOL omg

this is some elaborate plot so she can give them her demo tape XD

/crack theory

MathTans

Maybe not so crazy. She read up on all the members.

wishjacked

And I feel really bad for when Shy inevitably uncovers the truth about her, but it's a relief to me that the majority of the rest of the team easily sees through her act. I think that'll make it much easier for them to all bounce back-- you can already tell that a lot of the band is already protecting anyone from being more hurt by her than necessary.

I love that crack theory and I accept it

MathTans

Yeah, that's true. Matt definitely stands up for the others, he's good people. Awkward that it's happening the same time as Wren's issues.

RebelVampire

tbh tho i think that trait of matt's will create conflict. if not now, then later. cause while its nice he wants to protect his friends, he may be a bit overly aggressive about it. which for wren is okay, but for someone like shy i think thats gonna come off in a bad way

MathTans

I can see that.

Also, quick aside about Liz? What was the deal with her and that woman with the Sirens?

She may have things going on too.

RebelVampire

oh man, that moment really bugged me. wanted to slap that woman (i think here name was pandora?) so hard. cause the business person in me was like "this is so unprofessional what are you doing @_@"

yeah its pandora

MathTans

Yeah, like wtf. I wasn't sure, was she implying she and Liz were an item? Or was she being flirty just to prove a point somehow.

Like, to get even more under Liz's nerves.

RebelVampire

i got the feeling they were an item but just guessing. they clearly had a past relationship of sorts

wishjacked

I read it as a power play-- Liz seemed disgusted by Pandora, and Pandora seemed to both know and relish the effect she was having on her.

MathTans

Hm. I also wonder a bit about having Wren be bisexual and Liz be either lesbian or bisexual too. Though I suppose there's Willow. Maybe I'm just worried because there's lots of guys in the cast who seem straight.

Could've been a power thing too.

wishjacked

oh, I do know that the author has said Liz is aro/ace.

MathTans

Poor Liz though. Has to deal with all the bookings and venues, and then the interpersonal things on top of that.

RebelVampire

maybe they were business rivals in the past

MathTans

OH! Gotcha. That's interesting then, and different from Wren (I gather). Still wonder about it being the females who go against the norm, but aro is good for representation that you don't see a lot of.

Maybe. There's that past coming up again.

Also, I hate myself for saying "the norm". Like, I'm too into mainstream or something. Blah. Must be tired.

The tourism stuff coming up could be interesting. I won't know if Sammy's lying, I know so little about the area. ^_^

RebelVampire

to be honest i dont know how sammy being a bad tourist guide proves much XD if someone said "hey rebel, show me the landmarks around town" id be like "there are landmarks here?"

MathTans

Maybe she does too good a job, that's how they know. No person who lives here knows about that stuff.

Matt's cunning though, I like that. Also, his fondness for symmetry.

RebelVampire

theyre like "wow its like you read wikipedia"

MathTans

(Shy's asymmetry could bother me too. ^.^ )

RebelVampire

Unfortunately, the scheduled Comic Tea Party is now complete~! Thank you everyone so much for joining this week’s chat~! That being said, if you would like to continue discussing the comic, we encourage you to do so~! We want to give a big thank you to Vanessa Stefaniuk, as well, for volunteering Radio Silence for our reading queue. If you liked the comic, please be sure to support Vanessa Stefaniuk’s efforts. If you have questions, concerns, or suggestions about CTP, please feel free to PM me, or e-mail me at RebelVampire@startfaire.com.

With that said, next week’s Comic Tea Party will focus on Galebound by Respheal. Please use this week to read as much of the comic as you would like. Hope to see you next Thursday (October 5th) from 5PM to 7PM PDT~! Until then~! Comic: http://www.galebound.com/