Introductions

[Rae]

I'm Raechel. I'm also not a linux zombie, but have enjoyed many hours watching Paul fixing his computer instead of using it. ;p

I know Adam and Jesscia via the Web Dude and am a nerd of many flavors.

[Rick4781]

Hi my name is Rick and I don't know anything about Moleculor Biology.  I like your Comic though.  I've tried reading Comics before but they didn't have all this crazy stuff about Boobs and Sex and satan in them so I just didn't like them.  And no I am not into satanism or anything.  And it's alright if you are though.  To each his/her own, am I right?  I actually like buddhism and shinto myself.  Maybe you should include some stuff about shintism in your Comic since it's about Ninjas and they come from Japan where many hints of shintism.  A lot of people aren't as Open Minded as me and might be offended by satanism.  Just sayin!!!

[Rijst]

People who're offended by Satanism but insist on reading a comic called "Satan Ninja 198X" should press Ctrl+F4, as it will automatically remove all references to Satan from their screen. 

Welcome guys! Or welcome back if you just tried that key combination..

[Adam Dravian]

People who're offended by Satanism but insist on reading a comic called "Satan Ninja 198X" should press Ctrl+F4, as it will automatically remove all references to Satan from their screen. 

Welcome guys! Or welcome back if you just tried that key combination..

We realized that naming the comic Satan Ninja 198X would be off-putting to a lot of people. But the name amuses us too much not to use.

[Rijst]

I agree that the 198X bit is slightly weird.. 

[Adam Dravian]

It seriously does lead to some awkward situations. Especially because our home city of Grand Rapids is notably Christian (we hold some kind of record for the number of churches per square mile in the US).

For instance, last time I went to get my teeth cleaned at the dentist, the, uh, dental assistant lady was making small talk with me. She knows I'm a writer, so she asked what my latest project is.

"I'm writing a comic that my girlfriend draws."

"Oh, how nice! What's it called?"

"Uh, Satan Ninja 198X."

"What was that?"

"Satan Ninja. 198X."

"Oh ... Okay."

Yeah, it tends to be awkward.

[Rijst]

Yeah that's pretty awkward. By the way, do you pronounce it "nineteen eighty-X" or "1-9-8-X"?

[Adam Dravian]

It's pronounced "nineteen-eighty-X" or "nahyn-teen-ey-tee-eks" if we wanna get really phonetic about it.

And on that note, how the hell do you pronounce Rijst? Is the "ij" that funky Dutch letter that we don't have an equivalent of in English? My ancestral Dutch surname ends in that "ij," which is the only reason I know about it.

[Rijst]

I guess the closest would be the way "i" is pronounced in "idol". There's no direct equivalent in pronounciation but this is pretty close.

The word rijst means rice by the way, and for some reason became my nickname about 12 years ago. Most of my friends (the Dutch ones anyway) call me this.

You think "ij" is funky? Try the "eu" in my surname, there's a sound that doesn't exist in English and my name hasn't ever been pronounced correctly here in Glasgow. I've given up on correcting people as they generally don't even hear the difference.. 

[Adam Dravian]

Ah, Jessica actually looked up your name awhile ago and told me it was the Dutch word for rice, but I totally forgot.

My ancestral Dutch surname ended with "naaij" but when it was "Americanized" they changed the end to "nay." Apparently, something like "nye" would've been more accurate.

Yeah, it's strange how we can't really hear distinctions in certain sounds when it's not part of our cultural vocal lexicon.

[Rijst]

So Dravian is just a pseudonym then? Or is the Dutch ancestry through the maternal line?

[Adam Dravian]

Dravian is a pseudonym. At least for now.

Here's the story behind it.

When I was in my late teens, I started singing for a horror rock band (think The Misfits). My dad asked me not to use my family name in the band, since my extended family are very Christian, with pastors and Christian authors in their ranks, and my band was vulgar and had some mild satanic themes and such. So for a very brief time I simply used my last initial, making me Adam D.

Then I dyed my hair a kind of blue-black and a couple of my friends jokingly called me "Raven." I decided to tack that on to the end of my last initial, making me Adam Draven. I went by that for a few years, but people kept assuming I took the name from The Crow. Also, some wrestler or something started calling himself Adam Draven, so I altered my fake surname to Dravean.

Shortly before we launched the comic, I decided to alter the spelling to Dravian so that it would be more obvious how it was pronounced.

I'm thinking Dravian is the last stage of its evolution, so I'll probably make it my legal name at some point.

[Rijst]

So you've reached your ultimate form, so to speak.

I wouldn't pronounce Dravean any different, but Dravian does look more like an existing name. Is Safron a peusonym too?

[Adam Dravian]

Most people pronounced Dravean the way I intended, but every once in awhile, someone would say something like "druh-veen." Or they'd avoid saying it altogether because they weren't sure. Also, the "ea" combo kind of gives the impression of a trying to be exotic or fantastical with the spelling. My previous girlfriend is the one who favored "ea" over "ia." Like you said, I think the "ia" spelling makes it seem a little less like a totally fake name.

I'll let Jessica speak for herself. That is, if she can ever pull herself away from drawing for long enough to post on here.

[Rijst]

I'll let Jessica speak for herself. That is, if she can ever pull herself away from drawing for long enough to post on here.

Haha it's quite clear that you do all the writing and she's drawing all the time..