Comments on: “How Mirka Got Her Sword,” Page 30

By: Shmuel

Shmuel — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 22:30:53 +0000

Sorry; I moved across state lines shortly after posting my comment above, and then all was chaos for a couple of months, and I confess I forgot all about Hereville until I was reminded of it just now. I second Yochva: the usual thing for a boy that age would be a kippa / yarmulke.

What kind of kippa / yarmulke will vary by community and carry a ridiculous amount of symbolic weight; in this case, black velvet is a safe bet.

By: Barry

Barry — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 18:08:56 +0000

Thanks, Yochva. I’ll keep that in mind.

Of course, I’m also feeling free to be totally inaccurate — for instance, it seems to me that very few Orthodox boys wear their hair long, as Zindel does. But I’ve decided that Zindel’s parents just indulge him on that point, because I find him easier to draw if he’s got long hair. :-)

By: yochva

yochva — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 13:28:59 +0000

In Israel, I’ve seen boys as young as three wearing miniature hats like that. However, I don’t think your story is set here, and outside of Israel, it doesn’t really occur.

Mostly boys below the age of thirteen just wear a kippa.

By: Barry

Barry — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 01:57:09 +0000

Yochva, I’m sorry you’re not enjoying this sequence. Hopefully you’ll enjoy the rest more.

Shmuel, thanks for the information. I realized a while ago that I completely messed up Zindel’s design, but by then — much like Fruma’s hair — it was too late for this story. I’d like to get it right for future stories, however. What would a 9 or 10 year old boy be wearing?

By: Shmuel

Shmuel — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 01:32:16 +0000

(Other than that, I loved this page.)

By: Shmuel

Shmuel — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 01:31:51 +0000

Nitpick: I’ve been having trouble with Zindel’s age, and I just realized why. In comic #2, he’s established as being Mirka’s little brother, making him 11 at most. Problem is, in every community I’m familiar with, he wouldn’t be wearing that hat until he started putting on tefillin, a month or so before he turned 13. It’s a grownup thing.

By: Yochva

Yochva — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 16:28:39 +0000

Mmm… I didn’t like this conversation. The little panels broke it up too much for me, there wasn’t any flow, and the facial expressions didn’t seem to match the words. *shrug* I like the rest of it, though!

By: Patrick

Patrick — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 15:45:46 +0000

The last panes does it for me, the mouth is great!