Comments

I must say that it's disappointing to me that you won't be finishing the story. I recognize how serious considerations of race portrayal can be, but I hope that you can find a way to adapt your story to give proper weight to the issues you're concerned about. You could add interludes addressing those issues, or even modify previous passages to make them better fit how you want the piece to work.

On the other hand, I realize as a creator that it can be very difficult to work on something when your heart is no longer in it.

One thing I would heavily encourage you to do is to keep what you've posted so far online. Unpublishing material from the internet goes against the spirit of the forum, and is near-impossible anyway with archive.org and other such resources. At least if you maintain the site, you'll be able to manage the content's exposure and provide whatever disclaimers or commentary on it you believe necessary.

Not being a reader of color myself, I can't really comment on the racial content of the story- I've just been reading it as a gripping, intellectually fascinating history of an automaton. (Privilege in action, I guess).

I'll miss the comic, but I respect deeply that you're committed enough to recognizing and combating racial imbalances in creative works that you'd take such a drastic step with one of your own works. I think the situation could be addressed with, like you said, some tinkering and heavy footnoting, but that's an authorial decision.

Anyway, thanks for sharing your crazy historical mind with us- it's been a blast to be along for the ride. Now I guess I'll have to go finally read the wikipedia page, to see how the darn thing actually worked.

I for one will be very sad if you do decide to end CG. I'd never heard of the Turk before and you've opened up a fascinating little chapter of history I'd never realised was there. After every episode I find myself heading off to Wikipedia to follow up on a character or incident you've described. Perhaps that is something to consider as you make your final decision?
Whilst I respect your desire to present the whole truth of racial prejudices of the time and behave responsibly to your readers, do you need to take on the burden of making sure your readers interpret the story correctly as well? They'll bring their own perspective and prejudice to the table, all you can do is present the facts as best as possible and hope they'll learn. I guess you have to make a decision as to whether it's better to tell a flawed tale than not to tell it at all.
If, however, you're just not happy with the comic anymore (for whatever reason) then that's good enough reason to stop. I've really enjoyed reading it and look forward to seeing what you do next.

I'll state my honest opinion as a black Canadian; I recognize and accept that there was a lot of racism in the past. It's something that obviously can't be denied, forgotten, or changed, and as such, it actually hurts me when people try to do so.

If we completely abandoned and ceased to display the past just because of the blotches upon it, no matter how horrible, we could not show the beginnings of the evolutionary revolution, the great political sciences, the most wonderful works of literature. Othello could not win the sympathy of so many audiences if he was silenced because of Iago's racial comments in the very first act.

I very much enjoy your work, I've followed it from the start, but I disagree very firmly with this choice not to continue because you realize that the past had its flaws, as we now identify them to be. Those who deny history enable it to reoccur.

Thank you so very much for this, Kay. You've summed up my struggle precisely. I *do* recognize that not discussing history will condemn us to repeat the same errors. I just want to make sure that my works aren't contributing further to the problem.

My major worry is not that I haven't depicted the past accurately, but that I haven't framed it well enough within a modern context.

I, like many readers, will be very sad to see this project go. I think you have done an excellent job of writing a fascinating story that can keep an audience firmly engaged. I recognize your need to address certain issues such as race, but I believe the very fact that you are concerned about such things is comes through in your work.

I wish you the best, whatever you end up doing. Are you working or planning to work on any other projects? I'd be interested in following whatever you come up with next.

I'm Asian. I have been following your comic regularly, and personally I don't find anything offensive about CG, including the automaton's "Orientalism". Like Kay said, I think most reasonable people recognize that sensibilities were different back in the day, and won't take offense with honest depictions of previous opinions and practices that we might not agree with today.

I really do appreciate and respect the thoughtfulness in how you're approaching all this. As one of your readers of color I say keep up the good work. But whatever your final decision is, I look forward to seeing more of your excellent work.

I'm dissappointed by you decision to end the comic. It was a real pleasure to see your progress every week.
Personally, I never found the depiction of the automaton to be at all offensive. A representation of something from a historical point of view does not equal an acceptance of that point of view. Though I respect your decision to discontinue, I sincerely hope you'll change your mind.
In any case, I look forward to any future projects you have with tremendous enthusiasm!

I'm disappointed by your decision, but it is yours to make. I probably wouldn't have had much comment until you got up to Poe's "exposé", which was my introduction to the Turk almost 50 years ago. It's available online. "Clockwork Game" inspired me to re-read it several months ago; I'll suggest that those who want another presentation look for it.

Sorry, I just don't get it. You're telling a story in a historical European setting. History is what actually happened and some pretty darned awful stuff happened, and still happens today--any judgements about that history are not portrayals, but commentary.

But frankly, I, too, am puzzled as to what's so insensitive and offending about what you've done so far with this story.

Perhaps you could post some of these "devastatingly honest posts from Readers of Color" (anonymously, of course) so we can see what the heck you're talking about.

I'm with macsnafu.

Whilst I respect your decision, we're not privy to the decision-making process, and it seems to me (being white, I should add) that you've displayed what happened back then accurately.

Slavery is no new thing. The Romans had it, the Greeks had it. That doesn't make it right, and any thinking person acknowledges that. However, accepting that slavery is wrong doesn't mean that we should filter all references to it from all historical accounts; anything but.

I feel that at least some of the other commenters have expressed my views more eloquently than I ever could, but if I don't at least stand up and be counted, you won't realise how many people really, truly care.

Suffice it to say, I'll miss this comic, if you decide to go through with your plans. And, as others have said, I'll look for what you do next.

All the best.

Koad,

Thanks for posting this -- I really appreciate your honesty. I'm very glad to hear that you've liked the work so far. At this point the story' faults are all looming large in my mind, and hearing your input makes a big difference.

llearch,

To clarify: I wouldn't be removing the story because I don't want to talk about ugly parts of history. If I do choose that route, it would be because I felt that my work wasn't discussing the ugly parts with enough care and foresight. I know what my intent for the story is; I have to make sure that I'm adequately expressing that intent to my readers, especially my Readers of Color.

I have dearly loved reading Clockwork Game. I discovered it only recently, and have looked forward to Thursdays ever since. Like David, I never knew about this fascinating part of history before I found CG, and seeing places I've visited (such as Schloß Schönbrunn) recreated so faithfully has been a joy for me.

It saddens me that you feel that you cannot continue this retelling. From what I've seen of your work, I believe that you are a strong enough artist and storyteller that you could overcome the difficulties of your task.

However, I agree with the previous comments, in that you need to do what you feel to be right. I look forward to future projects!

In other news, I have decided to end Clockwork Game.

Oh NO. Sorry. But that was my instant reaction. And I'm truly sorry I haven't commented before now. I found Clockwork Comics about six to eight weeks ago - in fact, I found it because of a comment you wrote in one of the RaceFail posts - and I put a link to it in my blogroll because I was enjoying it so much. I enjoy the detail, I liked being made acquainted with a story that I'd only vaguely heard about before, and when I'd run out of new pages to read and had to wait for a week between updates, I'd started paging back to favourite drawings. And now: there won't be any more?

After a solid month of deliberation, I've decided that my original intent doesn't actually match the story I've created. The problems I'm seeing are not fixable with a few changes to dialogue or action; it's a deeper, more fundamental issue with the overall tone of the story. I've been too focused on the nerdy parts of the story I enjoy, and in doing so, I've failed to take some very critical aspects of the story into proper consideration.

I can respect that, and I won't try to argue you out of it, but I am sorry.

I do wish you would put up the pages that already exist... just because I'm really looking forward to reading them. Also, I suppose I have hope if you wind up book 1, and then after a sufficiently long gap you see some way to continue the story, I hope you will.

While I respect your choice.
Now my target audience is much lower in age bracket than yours (I am writing youth fiction after all)

I do have storylines planned dealing with topics such as slavery and the role/impact it had with in the AWI to which I have been seeking out historians to help me with showing that aspect in as truthful ways I can.

I am happy to see how many of your readers are stating how I feel about history and it’s presentation.
The good, the bad and the downright shameful, it's apart of the worlds past and should be shown.

I had written a news shout out yesterday to your comic and I removed it out of respect for your choice.
I do hope that you will continue to do projects online that deal with history.

I love this comic ... and I love your bravery in making this decision. I hope very much that one day you find a way to treat the story in a way that satisfies your inner moral compass, because I would like to hear it told by someone of your sensitivity and sense.

The problem with dealing with the past is the past is far from Politically Correct. To be accurate and honest one risks the ire of the overly sensitive and the historical revisionists. These are the ones who have removed "insensitive" terms from "Huckleberry Finn" thereby removing Twain's portrayal of the awakenings of racial justice in the lead character and making the story just a kid on a raft.
To do justice and honour to those who have been wronged over issues of race, one needs to portray exactly what people said and felt back then and not sugar coat it. The past was brutal in many ways and to hide it or fear accurate and honest depictation is to ignore or make smaller the sufferings people have endured because of those attitudes which persisted for so long.
The truth is all the framing the wrongs of the past need. Trust your readers to see those wrongs for what they are, a portrayal of what people have overcome. To quit is to deny those things ever existed and that is far worse than and possible problem a "lack of framing" could ever do.

I'll have to agree with the others. While I respect your decision and realize how hard it is to continue with something when your heart isn't in it, being a writer myself, I would be saddened to see it come to an end and more so if the remaining pages were left behind.

Being a student of both history and magic I may have gotten more out of this than many readers. I had heard of The Turk and reading this story gave me a fascinating glimpse into its implications and who the genius behind it could have been.

You've already shown great sensitivity to the issue by this decision process and I do believe you may be able to find a way to make this work. This is primarily a story of white Europeans and while issues of race weren't so heavily discussed at the time I agree that most of your readers understand this.

I also agree that the truth, perhaps accompanied by appropriate notes, is all that is needed to convey itself.

At the very least if you do decide to end the story I would strongly encourage you to release the remaining pages.

Whatever your ultimate decision, Thank you from the bottom of my heart for sharing this story with us.

I don't know if I could add more to what's already been said. As someone currently writing a work of historic fiction (with a few obvious reasonable gimmies), I think trying to acknowledge a modern sympathy in the context of a period being written about should not be a crippling prospect. No, the folks back in the 18th Century were by no means as ecumenucal as we all are or would like to be, but because we'd have trouble having these characters as casual acquaintences doesn't mean we should de-friend them so.

Nonetheless, freedom of the press includes respecting when someone wants to walk away from the press. While I will miss the rest of the tale, I will stand by your decision to abandon it, and hope to see more work from you in the future.

I've always been a fan of unpopular decisions, and though I've thoroughly enjoyed Clockwork Game, and I'll miss the Thursdays going forward, I applaud your decisive nature.

An unpopular question.... Perhaps you can explain: Why is racism wrong?

It's not that I disagree with this assertion, but I have trouble defending it.

For instance, I don't have a decent idea why Buddhism does not rate a U.S. stamp though many other, and less popular (though, perhaps, more vocal), religions have depictions in domestic philately.

Perhaps we'll see "The Turk" on a stamp someday.

Best Regards,

Andrew

Andrew, that's an argument I have not the strength for right now. If your question is legitimate and not an attempt to derail this thread, please start with Google or any of thousands of books on the subject.

I, also must add my disappointment to your decision. It saddens me mostly because now many will be deprived of a most interesting piece of history presented in an entertaining manner. The key word here is "entertaining" - you are a presenter of historical 'tidbits', not a Historian. You are neither expected or required to be able to present all sides in order to satisfy every individuals' "extreme political correctness."
I might add these things to be considered: both Japan and Germany would like to pretend their past never happened; is that right to do? I lived through that era and am not offended that I am reminded of it. It happened - accept it and go on I say. The background of your story is just that - the background. It does not require that you handle every nuance in order not to offend. You will notice by the letters here that you are far from offending any but those who, it would appear, need some serious therapy.
Whatever your decision, I wish you the best, but I do believe that if you give up and quit simply because a few make comments the rest of us don't agree with, you will find your future ability to tell a story greatly diminished.

I am in agreement with people like Craig.

You are not trying to encompass the entire historical layout of the time-frame you are writing/drawing about. You're focus revolves around a very specific thing. The Turk.

Anything that does not deal with The Turk, (Creators, challangers, challanges, family, etc), is not relevant to the story, and you should not be made felt that you were somehow eschewing things or being racist or ignoring other important historical facts.

The focus of a story is just that. Everything else is secondary and negatable.

Now, if you were writing a much broader story about life in this time-period? Then yes, I can see how people can be offended at some oversights or feelings of personal sleight.

However, it seems that a group of readers have decided to that everything needs to be either "historically accurate" or "politically correct", regardless of the simple fact that some things do not.

I was quite entertained with your story thus far, and I'm sorry to find that it won't be completed.

Thanks to your various links over the weeks though, at least I should be able to find other materials that will give the story of The Turk, focusing on it as your story has... without worrying itself about the sensitivities of the people trying to perceive the world around (and outside of) the focus.

As a follow-up, Ayn Rand said that art is the selective recreation of reality. Selective recreation for what purpose? Perhaps what's really at stake here is that you're just not sure what kind of story you're telling. It's one thing (and perfectly legitimate) to simply tell the history of the Turk, and relate some incidental stuff that happened in relation to it. It would be another thing to tell the story of the Turk and how society and culture was affected by it (also more ambitious and difficult, I would think).

You've repeatedly made outside-the-comic references to color and race and the foreigner, but the Turk was a foreigner only in the broadest sense. I would think it would be more of a story about man and machine, human and automaton, person and robot. How do people perceive machines and their apparent ability to "think" and replace humans? In this regard, the story of the Turk is something of a science fiction story.

Of course, there *was* a trick to the Turk, so it could be more of a story of the con artist and the gullible (or not-so-gullible) audience, either in a broad, general sense, or in the more personal sense of the people involved.

There are probably other stories to tell, as well. Most of these have nothing to do with race. I sense different aspects of the above in your story so far, but without a clear or obvious direction to drive them. There's nothing wrong with a mish-mash as long as it's an entertaining mish-mash. Perhaps different themes could be explored at different times--nothing says this has to be a straight, chronologically-ordered story.

I've enjoyed this comic from the start and was hoping to follow it to its intended conclusion. I'm very disappointed that for whatever reasons, this will now go into the same heap of unfinished stories that seems to grow exponentially every year.

I understand that your heart is no longer in this story, but then that just makes the argument that you should not have serialized it in the first place. A graphic novel in the form of your wonderful "Vogelein" books would have been a better idea.

Good luck with whatever you do decide to pursue. I guess I'll have to read about the automaton elsewhere.

I wrote this in German for greater eloquence, but as expected, the English version lacks, even with my skill.
--
So wie die anderen hier bin ich der Meinung, es ist schade um die unterhaltsame Geschichte. Ich lese eine ganze Anzahl Webcomics, und viele davon sind schon lange vor ihrem Ende abgebrochen. Ich fände es wirklich schade, wenn eine so ausgezeichnete Erzählung dieser Gruppe hinzugefügt werden müsste.
Ein solches Werk braucht keinen Anspruch auf Vollständigkeit oder großen Tiefgang zu erheben, denn die Unterhaltung steht im Vordergrund. Wenn es (dir|Ihnen) aber so wichtig ist, akzeptiere ich das.
--
Like the others here I find it a shame to lose this entertaining story. I read quite a few Webcomics, and many of these have been discontinued without a conclusion. It would be a pity if this excellent narrative had to join this group.
A creation such as this need not demand completeness or great depth, as its main point is Entertainment. If it is so important to you, however, I accept it.

I hate to sound like the least intelligent and/or mature person in the room, but your reasons for giving up on Clockwork are complete and utter bullcrap.

Am I saying racisim is bullcrap? No.

What I think is bullcrap is giving up on a wonderfully enthralling historical comic simply because of something like this. This is, sorry "was", a story about the past and, as much as we'd like to, we can't deny that it wasn't pretty. The reason we are where we are today is because we learn from the past, not ignore it and pretend it never happened. To censor, or in this case end, a story simply because it doesn't appeal to modern sensibilites is ridiculous.

I once admired how far you would go in your research just to make your stories better, more accurate, for your readers and for yourself.

Now I have to reconsider my Vogelein books and whether they were worth keeping after all, let alone reconsider if I should continue to follow your career.

Why let you break my heart all over again if I just know you're willing to give up on future promising projects?

But you are right, you can't please everyone all the time.

I'm just disappointed you sucummbed so easily to those who weren't pleased.

Jane, I must chime in with the many others and express my disappointment with your decision.

Depictions of actual historical events, in my very humble opinion, are exempt from the usual negative reactions that most racist actions elicit. Particulary when presented as clearly as you have endevoured to accomplish.

The unfortunate fact that the Turk was a minority is, in my eyes, totally abrograted by the fact that he WON. All the time. How is writing about a successful and accomplished minority a bad thing?

Not to mention that your artwork has grown and strengthened considerably since the beginning of the strip. You can't leave us dangling now! I've gone out of my way to avoid all refences to the Turk online so that I could be surprised by the story and its denouement.

Please reconsider!

(Note: I have posted this comment both here and on your personal blog)

I'm a Turkish Canadian who has been enjoying Clockwork Game greatly, and after reading the post and comments here as well as on your own personal blog at http://www.vogelein.com/JanerBlog/2009/01/#001067 , I'm not sure I see what all the fuss is about. Of course, if you as the artist feel troubled by your own work then by all means, stop and gather yourself together, but I wanted to share my opinion on the excellence of this fantasy story.

I've seen Clockwork Game like I see such other semi-historical fantasy tales. There are inevitably bound to be omissions and sacrifices to reality for the sake of storytelling and the artist's sanity. In all of these sorts of works, the story is being presented in the form of a movie, a comic series, or novella -- not a doctoral paper in a history journal. You seem to have taken particular pride in ensuring technical accuracy, particularly with regards to costume and technology, but I get the sense that you feel you've omitted too much information about society. You are free to decide what compromises you're going to make in this comic series, but I think you need to remember that it's simply impossible to hit every realism target. Sacrifices ultimately have to be made in any work of fiction, particularly those set in the real world, and even more so those set in a fairly well-documented era of history.

Maybe you need to reassert what parts of the story of the Mechanical Turk really appeal to you and refocus on those -- whether you choose the costumes, the machinery, the politics, the social tensions... Once you decide that what's important to you -- and, perhaps more importantly, what you enjoy doing -- then I think you need to recognize that you must sacrifice the other aspects. Whatever you chose to focus on must become the focus for the comic, and the other aspects will inevitably suffer for it, because you simply cannot do everything perfectly all the time.

As for the Turk itself, I'm not sure how anyone could be offended by its depiction. It's a machine, made to resemble what the popular image of an Ottoman Turk would have been. It wasn't a racist satire like blackface minstrels, it wasn't even on the same level as the 'freak show' portion of contemporary travelling circuses. To me, making the chess-playing automaton in the form of a Turk is like the magician who dresses in great flowing robes and shouts "Abracadabra!" when the illusion is done. It's pure inoffensive showmanship.

I wish you luck with whatever you decide to do with the comic.

Everyone,

I'm sorry it's taken me so long to post a proper response -- I've had obligations offline -- but I do feel that I need to (hopefully) clarify my reasons for making this decision.

From Tim's comment:
You seem to have taken particular pride in ensuring technical accuracy, particularly with regards to costume and technology, but I get the sense that you feel you've omitted too much information about society.

That's it in a nutshell, Tim. It's less that I'm depicting the automaton in an offensive manner, and more that I'm not placing it enough within its historical societal context. I've got the layer of "Man versus Machine" covered pretty well, but I haven't done much to add the "Austrian Empire versus the Ottoman Empire" aspect, which I feel is critical to a proper understanding of the automaton's power to command its audience's attention.

I also feel the need to emphasize again how this decision was not made in an effort to "please readers who cannot be pleased." I made this decision because I felt that the work I am creating has a critical flaw in its foundation, one that I'm not sure I can easily fix without starting over from scratch. Believe me, I understand how hurtful it is to a reader whose favorite authors stop in the middle of a series or leave a story unfinished, and I really, truly, do not enjoy adding my name to that list. But the reality is that I cannot create and analyze Clockwork Game at the same time: they're two different processes. I have to stop what I'm doing, do some more reading, and decide then if this is something that I can pick back up, or if it's best left behind.

Thank you to everyone who's taken the time and energy to post here. I had no idea I had this many passionate readers, and even though I haven't been posting, I have been listening closely to what everyone's said.

Hi -

I've read your post and the comments here and on your blog, and I feel a little dense in that I don't see any failure in the presentation. On the other hand, I probably come to it already thinking about cultural context. I was more puzzled about why you changed Ben Franklin's reaction to the automaton :) Great furry Franklin hat, though. I guess I don't have a huge amount new to say, but, since I tend to talk a lot, I'll say it anyway.

In presenting a story about fetishising the "exotic" (the automaton, the mechanical "Gypsy" fortune-telling lady in old carnivals...), I wonder what you'll include to make it any clearer that people were amused but confused by this sort of thing that isn't already inherent in the story as is. Didn't fashionable women dress in "Turk" style, in turbans and striped fabrics, or am I thinking about the next century? (This modern history stuff is so far out of my league.) Do you think it could be enough to include a discussion of "Austrian vs Ottoman empires" in the early notes (truth be told, my reading of the notes got a bit spotty, but that might just be the layout of the page)?

If you feel that the reasons why the automaton commanded so much fascination need special underlining, I look forward to reading the comic again when you find a way to continue it to your satisfaction. I'll be cheering for you.

My webcomic is set in ancient Rome, and I feel a sudden urge to include a water pitcher with a "Nubian" face on it--big red lips, large white eyes--in sideways homage to the storytelling issues you're dealing with here :) That sort of depiction occasionally showed up, part of the general environment, how people casually viewed others. For some ancient folks, it would have caused hardly more thought than some people a few decades ago would given to Aunt Jemima on their pancake mix box.

I'll end by saying, if there's no joy in creating your work, there's no reason to keep slogging through it. I hope you'll find the joy in this story again soon.

You say, "But the reality is that I cannot create and analyze Clockwork Game at the same time: they're two different processes." So why not choose which you are a creator or an analyst?
You fear people will not understand things unless they are place in context. in that case there are 2 solutions. One is to simply add historical footnotes (some which may be long) for those seeking such placement. the second is to understand VERY few need (or want) such placement and simply want to read an interesting story.
What you must understand is core to every good writer and that is, you can not fit everything in. this should be tattooed on every person seeking to become an author. The story of the underground railroad needs no placement in the overall schema of slavery. You don't have enough pages to do that so tell the story and interested readers will seek out the rest of the story. The same goes for the political and social issues surrounding the Turk. Provide some links to more info and let the reader follow up if that is their inclination. Never over or underestimate your readers. Like you, when interested they will find the information, so just tell the storybecause you are a creator, not an analyst.

Klio --

Thanks for the thoughtful post. In regards to the "dress in Turk style" -- that's exactly the kind of visual commentary I feel that the work is lacking. And thanks for the reminder that I need to go get caught up on SPQR.

Cat -- Analyzing my own work is part of the writing process. That's the only way I can make sure the story I'm telling is still on point with the message I'm trying to get across.

Well, I for one hope you choose not to underestimate readers. Will the portrayal of some of the characters offend a small number of people? Yes. There are many that will take umbrage because that is what they expect to find, and indeed may prefer to find. Frankly, if they're not taking offense to your work, many of that small crowd will be off finding someone else's work to be offended at.

Personally, as a direct result of finding your online comic, I read up on the Turk, and some of the history of that time. It's very rare to be presented with an artwork in the webcomic medium that seeks to educate, rather than just entertain. I commend your work for both reasons, and I think it'd be a shame for it to be discontinued on such grounds.

As an artist/author/creator you owe your primary loyalty to the story in your head and only to that story. If it takes you into places others find offensive or hurtful or inaccurate then you're doing your job right. Primarily because life/reality is like that. And to wait until you understand every legitimate/illegitimate hurt that could be caused by your work before completing it - is unprofessional to say the least. Certainly juvenile.

I am sensitive to such issues and I do go out of my way to create work that respects others as much as is possible in real life. BUT. It is an immature, unprofessional, cop-out, to discontinue or not produce work because it might offend. I'm sorry, I really am, but you cannot have your loyalties divided between the images in your head and what you think others will find hurtful.

I like your stuff. You're proficient technically and had a pretty good thing running. But this isn't the noble act you think it is and it's not doing racial sensitivity any good deeds either. You can have a constructive dialog around these issues using the work as a focus and motivator for such discourse. But the past cannot be allowed to censor the present.

You need to ask yourself how much you want to do this work. Because if you don't have the courage to put your vision out there - and have a discussion, admit mistakes, whatever - then you have no buisness doing so at all. Go sell shoes.

It's a really tough thing to get beyond sometimes- self-censoring provokes a crisis in everyone who writes/creates. Professionals work through it and find that it's not a big issue. I have no respect or sympathy for someone who isn't mature enough to handle the subject matter of their OWN material... Especially half-way through it!

Creativity isn't a "soft" pursuit/buisness and opportunities and audiences are taken for granted at considerable risk. You should have thought this through better before starting aparently and taken a hard look at what you could face. But hey, it's your funeral kid. Good luck in your future endeavors.

I have enjoyed the aspects of the Turk and its creator you have brought out so far and have made me think about the device in a different way. I'm sorry that Clockwork game will be ending, but I understand the creative process that has brought you to this conclusion. Thank you again for having me re-examine this from another angle and I hope you can bring the orientalism into the script and make it work in the future.

I've already commented, but I feel the need to do so again. You mentioned that while you have "Man vs Machine" covered, you have left out the "Austian Empire vs the Ottoman Empire" aspect of the story. Frankly, if I had started reading the comic and was treated to history I was already familiar with or could easily look up on Wikipedia, I would probably stop reading and never look back.

In my experience, if the story is interesting enough, and the Turk certainly is, your readers will be turned on to a period of history they perhaps hadn't previously studied. With outside reading, they will get more information on the period than you could squeeze into the graphic novel format, and your story will be that much richer for them.

My opinion is that your story up to now is perfect the way it is, and your worries about historical accuracy could be allayed by including links to inform your readers about the social and political turmoil of the period. I, along with the rest of your fans, sincerely hope you can come to a peace with yourself about the work you have started here. Good luck.

Thank you.

Thank you for creating art that I, for one, find lovely and fascinating. Thank you for thinking about how your work fits into a social context. And thank you (so much) for being courageous enough to recognize the ways in which you weren't telling the story you wanted to, and make what had to be a hard decision.

It makes me think even more highly of you as an artist and an ally.

“But the reality is that I cannot create and analyze Clockwork Game at the same time: they're two different processes. I have to stop what I'm doing, do some more reading, and decide then if this is something that I can pick back up, or if it's best left behind.”

This is a lot to ask, but I think it would be really valuable if you exposed this process in some way. I know that analysis of your own work in particular can be really intimate, but I think this kind of dialogue can be a hopeful result of the otherwise basically s---y White Fail. (Edited by Jane: Sorry, Violet, but a lot of educators and kids come by here, gotta keep the language PG. Thanks for the post, though. I really appreciate it.)

This decision irked me, because it sounded like you were giving in to the politically correct adage that White People Have No History.

Lynx, I don't recall ever saying that. In fact, it's rather hard to do so when the entire book (so far) is about the culture and history of 18th century Austrians. If I choose to end or to never publish the book, it would not be because I feel the history needs to be repressed, but because I didn't feel like I'd done a good enough job of covering the negative parts as well as the positive parts -- like writing a biography of Henry Ford and neglecting to mention his antisemitism. Often, the history we *don't* write about is more damaging than the history we *do* write about.