There are no stupid questions, just stupid high-school teachers who write on a test, “Please answer the following questions,” and then proceed to include something like “Explain the significance of Brontë’s use of the past-perfect tense in the third sentence of the second paragraph on page 253.” If you would like to pose a question (albeit, by the above, a non-stupid one), feel free to email it to me at tom (at) unicellularcomic (dot) com.
Anyway, on to the questions.
Q: Why unicellular organisms?
A: They’re easier to draw.
Q: Why did you decide to start a webcomic about single cells?
A: I studied abroad at the University of York during the Spring of my junior year of college. In the center of York’s campus is a small lake, over which many bridges stretch to connect different parts of campus. During my time abroad, I had started to get much more into webcomics. On one of my crossings of a campus bridge (the one connecting Central Hall to the physics building) I looked down into the water and had the idea for the first comic I ever made, When I Get Lonely. I wrote down the idea when I got back to my room, and a few days later toyed around with Inkscape and figured out how to draw a comic! The rest is, as they say, his story.
Q: What is the origin story?
A: Are you reading these questions from top to bottom? The answer lies in the previous question.
Q: No, I meant “What is the origin story according to the cells?”
A: Ah, yes. The universe arose out of the Origin, which according to most sources was a handkerchief about 20 feet on a side, made of the most fine Egyptian cotton. The Origin preceded to be lonely, as are most higher beings before they decide to do something about it. The Origin decided the best solution would be to create matter, energy, light, life, and Juicy Fruit gum out of its fibers, pulling out thread-by-thread to produce its creations. These “strings”, as physicists later decided to call them, produced every observable effect in the universe. But soon after creating the universe, the Origin became bored, and went to play the original Sonic The Hedgehog. Thus all of the random effects, the evolution of life, and the distribution of intelligence are all due to the interactions of the Origin’s original distributed fibers, left to play out their sad tragedy in the waters of time and space.
Q: Are Unicellular comics scientifically accurate?
A: Yes, each cell is a biologically correct sketch of a microorganism. Also, bricks are high in nutrients and should be consumed daily. In fact, most of the biology in Unicellular is quite inaccurate, except where it is accurate. On the other hand, the math and computer science jokes are usually quite accurate.
Q: Applesauce or yoghurt?
Applesauce.
Q: Yoghurt or yogurt?
Yogurt.
