clk17's art Reviews on Newgrounds

[salve]

the interesting thing is that snakes are ultimately very misunderstood animals. despite the fact that most of them are harmless to humans, fear of anything snake is hard wired into us. our brain tends to stereotype as a protection mechanism, so i wonder if that was a factor in choosing to associate doctor with snakes.
what's also curious is that in many cultures cats (at-tan's representative animal) were praised for killing snakes, but this is definitely reaching. i just find this connection interesting. the boa(i think? maybe a python) is very well drawn. i like how his heat pits were depicted

handofdog responds:

Yes, while it's easy to determine cats and dogs, snakes are deemed too unusual and not many people understand their body language. At-tan doesn't really know what to think about him, so she is ambivalent. One At-tan loves to stare at him, but some of her wants to kill him anyway for just being male, so you're not wrong.

Thank you! It's a python. I actually don't know too much about snakes but I think they're cute, shy, and come off really ambiguous (physically & folklore-wise) so it's all very fitting for Doctor.

[BRAINLESS!]

i like your art from a sheer skill standpoint but the idea that chronically evil penis wielders™ invented troons© to oppress fellow EXCLUSIVE uterus havers is so brain numbingly stupid i can barely comprehend it. feminists will always reduce themselves to their genitals and parrot right wingers when it's useful for them (and vice versa) which i find amusing. why are then trans homicide, suicide and rape rates so high? why are male suicide and homicide rates so high? or maybe the issue isn't that penis is evil but that the world is a shitty place?
i'm not saying that you should focus on issues of people you don't care about, as i truly do hate oppression olympics of who has it worse; however i am saying that people who have opposing opinions aren't "brainwashed" or "evil" but they simply hold views that correlate with their subjective experiences and observations, same as you or me. lack of basic empathy and understanding is the main reason i don't associate with any mra movements, as same as fra they just blame their faults and issues on the opposite sex without a sliver of complex thought. i may have completely misunderstood the comic, but that's the only message i can get out of it, which i find completely delusional. i don't want to undermine your experiences, but suffering isn't sex specific.

handofdog responds:

I don't show men as solely responsible. A study may be coined by a man, but it's typically women that are more socially progressive, and they propagate these ideas (or invent their own) to the masses. Some things women did have been helpful to women's rights and other things are very damaging. Most women in At-tan's comics (usually seen with cat masks and/or Mars armbands) are a parody women that At-tan sees as enemy— because they favor men, silence other women and uphold ideals that keep the status quo. They're like Brothel Madames (women designed to hurt and keep other women in check.) I'm well aware of the evils women can commit, as they are human and flawed.

Women (not going to use 'feminists' as that is a specific group) have to talk about their genitals when it's relevant or to differentiate. They aren't reducing themselves to anything, as they still call themselves women. Women do not like being called dehumanizing terms like "bleeder, menstruator, vagina-owner". It is gov policies that reduce women to their genitals because they refuse to call us women (but interestingly, men get to keep being called men). That's why there is a pole in At-tan for the entirety of the comic, it's saying "I'll give you painful reminder you're nothing but a vagina-owner". At-tan introduces herself as a woman, but was reduced to body parts by the end of it. I'm not sure what right wing things are present or if you were just speaking in general terms. Neither the left or right care about women so I am not staunch follower of either. But I do bring up concerns I find relevant to comic.

I have to ask: Which sex commits the majority of those rapes and homicides? I leave out suicide because it's self-induced for reasons that vary too much (yes it's issue, but not always sex-related oppression). At-tan does think penises are evil, she's pretty extreme (she is her own person, not my mouthpiece). I don't think penises are evil. I can still wonder why they're so often used as weapons.

Thank you for sharing your opinion to me. I shouldn't need to make disclaimer "not all men" every time I post, I think it goes without saying. I'd consider it a blessing you were not treated in a way based on your sex, to view the world in such general way. My personal opinions and experiences are not interjected very strongly, as I absolutely hate vanity projects. But it is inevitable that my work will have subconscious of me in it. Not all suffering is sex-specific, but At-tan's suffering is sex-specific. My suffering was sex-specific. I won't call it anything else.

[Hairstyle Meme! [Bonus Text #2]]

i think it's funny how the main character going on tirades about how all men are degenerate rapists is fine because it makes sense for her character, but the "bad' guys calling someone a fag isn't, even though it makes sense for them as characters in the context of the story. you can't comment on societal issues (at least i think that's what the point of this series is) without showing them happen, otherwise it's just confusing. glad to know doc shares a love for snakes with me. also it's pretty funny how attaboys' head bags make them look like dick glans. i assume it's intentional

handofdog responds:

Well, I am already pushing it enough by making a female character that is critical of males. I've seen gay people tell straights to "stay out of gay people's business" so since I'm heterosexual, I avoid looking at lgbt discourse. I don't really know much about it. All I know is that when people see that slur (even if the context is from a character who's supposed to be -phobic) it becomes a hassle to deal with & I don't want the comic focus on gay slurs. (I have other reasons, too, but too much to write here)

I know some people assume all women are privileged golddiggers, just eat birth control, date chads, watch Euphoria, and can freely talk shit about men, but that is only a caricature. I don't think people understand the reality that I live in constant fear, especially writing stuff like this. This comic isn't "fun" for me to write. But I know I'm in a better position than other women who are too polite, brainwashed, or can't speak at all. So talking about men, gay or not, I am trying to weigh my options on what will hurt me less in the future.

The At-taboy design wasn't intentional, but that is funny. At-tan's round head + dress making her outline look like a keyhole was intentional by me, though.

[1. パソコン依存症]

would look sick on a t shirt

TreasurePlanet responds:

thank you for saying that!