028 “How To Judge Women”

I used to hang out with a group of guys, which is an awful thing to do if you want to understand women. We were all embittered through our various experiences, though none of us would really admit it, and I was no exception. One of the stupid misogynist things we’d do is rate various women we’d see, and it was such a black and white scale — the “Fuckability Scale.” Simply put, is that person fuckable or not, yes or no. So a woman would pass by, one of my friends would say, “Yeah, I’d fuck her.” and we’d all grunt in agreement. I’m sure that my group wasn’t the only group that did this, but from that, came this strip. My friends all had their criteria about what was “fuckable” and what wasn’t… though truth be told, the criteria was far less than anyone would admit. So I wondered what if the criteria was simply getting off. This strip is the result of that wondering.

One of the things the “Fuckability Scale” did not cover is if said woman would find us fuckable. It was always a non sequitur because I think we all understood deep down beyond the false machismo that the answer would be a resounding “probably not.”

I was also inspired by a Heartbreak Angels strip where a guy unashamedly whacks off in a convenience store, using the magazines on the rack as jerk fodder.

This is one of my favorite strips because of its simplicity. The understated punchline is a classic, I think. The character I thought was interesting enough to warrant more strips. Mike is also one of the few characters I managed to hit right on in character design, and never really changes, even in the clothes he wears. I think the V-neck T-shirt was some kind of nod to Sugoi Yo!! Masaru-san. The couch also makes its first appearance here. It’s the same couch that appears in most of the Mike strips, though its size changes depending on how many people I want to draw in it. Sometimes it’s a one seater, sometimes it’s a love seat. I did this on purpose, though NO ONE has ever commented on the sofa’s elasticity.