Sniff Test

[Daphne]

Two coworkers are sent to sort out some junk, and find some fascinating potion bottles amidst the mess…

A photocomic starring Paris Kennedy and Mickey Mod!



Photography: Henri • Lettering: Daphne

[KingMind]

I don't know a nice way to say this but here we go.  I feel a little cheated.  I'm used to you producing a variety of comics and most are good if not great.  Not this one I'm sad to say and I hope next week we get something more along the lines of Sudo, one I haven't seen for two years now.  I can respect if its not able to come out for awhile but i need some actual clarity.  I have been a subscriber for years and some of my favourites I feel like I'm seeing less and less of.  This photoshoot comic feels like a downgrade compared to everything you've made in the past.  I don't mind it but it should have been a bonus issue instead of the main comic of the week.  Anyways sorry this is all my opinion but one I had to voice.

[Daphne]

OK, apparently I need to say this.

For reasons that are not important right now, I have been unable to be as productive in my writing over the last few months as I normally am. We have, however, continued to keep our promise of a once a week release. I hope to return to full functionality soon.

Just as a polite reminder, I have to write between 13 and 20+ pages of comics a week, 52 weeks per year, in order to just maintain our current release schedule. Sometimes that is easy, sometimes that is hard.

We have never guaranteed any particular title will have any particular frequency, but if you think that I am magically able to get artists to draw faster, I am afraid I must disabuse you of that notion. Just for example, the artist who draws "The Inheritance" maxes out at one page per month, and that artist is not the only one who is methodical.

If the current type of releases are unacceptable, I apologize, but if you think that I am just fucking around with you and don't care, please just unsubscribe and save us all a lot of trouble.

I am sorry to have to be so blunt, but I have been dealing with hate mail from people who can't even be bothered to read the announcements of the forum, during a period when if I have one good hour a day to write, it is a good day. I do not want sympathy, but since clarity is demanded, there it is.

[KingMind]

I'm sorry I just didn't know a nice way to say it.  Keep up the great work and sorry again I just needed to know.  I never meant any hate or malice behind my comment I can only imagine the stress.

[Daphne]

I am not happy about this situation either (to put it mildly). I don't think this release is filler, but everyone is entitled to their opinion. But I have gotten the impression that people think I am withholding their favorite comic deliberately, and I could just whip it out of my ass if I really wanted to, and that's just not the way it works.

[macavity]

Actually, I quite enjoyed Sniff Test for a change, although my old school chemistry teacher would have thrown a major fit if he’d spotted anyone sniffing an unknown chemical that way….
But I was getting a bit worried about Daphne; her output has been very regular over many many years, and if there has been any slippage she’s invariably posted an update online., so when it got to Sunday without anything I was getting very concerned about her. I hope whatever her current complications are they get resolved in as good a way as they possibly can.
And can I put on record my immense respect for her (and her team). She has built up an impressive business in a very difficult area, regularly turning out great quality work (not a trivial challenge, not least when the work goes through the hands of multiple artists all with different rates of work!), frequently developing into new areas – and surviving some ELEs en route: credit card companies refusing to take her business, COVID, and major outbreaks of piracy (I can’t be the only one who recollects the outbreak of of siderodromophilia(!)  in the early part of this decade: I remember spotting over 250 instances of MCT videos appearing on one site in one year without even looking very hard…..)
And as for The Inheritance : I’m in the big queue who would love it to come out more often but I really do like the artistic style so if the price paid is that it only comes out once a year or so I’ll suck it up. At least it means that I can enjoyably reread it from the beginning each time.
PS: I hope Octavia Moon is also getting a well-deserved break (if she needs one) whilst SJI is on temporary hiatus. Of course, if she is getting bored then I would like to put on record how much I’ve enjoyed her stories as something of a change of pace….

[Espadachin]

I presume that you didn't find a better way to do it, but I am a bit disappointed with the format.

I mean, in a comic, the text should accompany the images, not be on the next page. This could work in a printed two-page version, but it is very strange on a web, even more if, like me, you read the comic scrolling up-down.

Anyway, thanks for releasing this. It's nice to see Paris' trance face again. I'm sure you have material from 10-15 years ago to run the DF machine for a year. :-)

And get well soon, Daphne.

[crazydorian]

OK, apparently I need to say this.

I'm very sorry to hear about the hate mail, Daphne. That's stress no one should have to deal with. I hope the issues preventing you from writing clear up soon, but more for your own peace of mind. One thing that's always been clear over the years is that you care about the quality of your work, and everything that's offered on the site.

The site is still a great value, and if folks don't like the current weekly offering, it is always great time to re-check the back catalogue for some re-reads.

[wannabe]

FWIW, I'm glad to hear from you, Daphne, even though this particular comic wasn't much to my taste.

It's a shame that some of your customers are less than kind. And much as I (and you) wish that some of your artists could/would work faster, I mark that down as customer enthusiasm for a great product rather than neglect or withholding on your part. I'm sure you'd want more Biggers and Sudos (not to mention Inheritance and Hidden Knowledge) if you could get it. Oh, those wacky creatives with their annoying standards.

Feel better, willya please?

[kbs666]

Personally, I'm amazed that Daphne can write multiple comics every week and also write so many scripts for MCT. Every comic won't be to everyone's tastes and that is just how it is.

Anyone sending her hate mail needs to get a life.

[madboy7931]

Seeing Paris again after so long was great!! Took me on a little Paris video tour of files I'd bought from MCT and other hypno videos she had done with Christina Carter and Jade Indica, so thank you for that!!

And looking forward to another issue of this. Something a little different

[Dr. White]

I liked this comic.
An unusual format to be sure but experiments can be fun. I liked the rhythm created by the pictures and text being alternated rather than combined.

More please.