I guess I can talk about the three scientists. None of them have names yet, I haven’t got that far. Sometimes what happens is I create characters but don’t give them names until it’s absolutely necessary to do so. Touro (in the Madame X thread) is one. Mark didn’t have a name for a long time, until someone wanted to do a guest strip and asked me, “What the hell IS his name anyways?” The two hecklers in the Madame X thread STILL don’t have names, though the guy on the right is alwarys referred to as “the swearing friend”. When I had a character page way back, they were known as “Touro’s Friend #1” and “Touro’s Friend #2”. I will probably NEVER name them.
The main scientist was first designed by Yuki (she also designed some of the clothes for the giggling “kawaii” girls in #137). After her design I made a few changes, like adding a necktie and removing his eyes. I wanted him to kind of remind people of Dr. Bunsen from The Muppet Show. Yuki says the result looks nothing like she drew, though I admit the final character design wouldn’t be what it is if it weren’t for her initial sketches.
The other guy who hasn’t said a word yet is “the brother of the guy from Sunday Morning Coffee.” I liked drawing Tim (Tim and Lisa were my designs), and since Tim moved to Tang’s Weekly, I wanted to have a Tim-like character in the strip. I like drawing that face. His face is definitely inspired by a muppet.
There’s nothing to say about the female lead yet. It’s part Lisa Fung and part Generic Hard Character. I’m sure as time goes by their personalities will come out, like the guys in the “Madame X” thread eventually did.
As if men need more stimuli to turn gay…this would truly be the tipping point