Frivolesque

Q : Does “Frivolesque” mean anything? Is it french?

A : Frivolesque is a made-up word, I guess, since I really didn’t know what to call this comic, and anything catchy I came up with was already taken. Basically, I wanted something that could work in english and french and stand on its own as an URL too so I wouldn’t need to add words like “comic” in the domain name. Something mostly light and fluffy was that I was trying to convey, and the word frivolous came to my mind. (frivole in french) I ended up warping the word into something that could sound nice in both languages by adding the “esque” suffix to it.

Q : Is any of the characters in Frivolesque based on real people?

A : Not really, no. At least not among the main cast. I do have quite a lot of nice, colorful friends in real life with a lot of stories to tell, however, so I guess I took a lot inspiration for my characters and the situations they find themselves in from them, but there isn’t a specific character in Frivolesque based on a specific person. Outside of the recurring characters, though, there’s a few cameoes of real people here and there.

Q : Which character is your personal favorite?

A : That’s a tough question. I like them all equally, of course, since I created them all. If you REALLY want me to pick a personal favorite, however, I’d go with Chloe just because she’s always had a special place among my various character desings long before Frivolesque came to exist.

Q : How old are the characters? There’s no set age in the bios…

A: Yeah, I don’t really know myself, and I prefer to keep it vague. Gaia’s age is uncertain, but she’s younger than she looks. Liliane is around 30, Conroy is around 40, Mimi is 9. Flore… I can’t say. The rest of the girls are all in their early to mid twenties.

Q : One update a week is not enough. Why can’t you make more?

A : Frivolesque ain’t Penny-Arcade for sure. I’m just one guy with a day job and little free time. I really hope I can work faster someday so that I can release at least two comics a week, but right now, I can only stick to one in the foreseeable future.

Q : What’s up with all the french sounding names?

A : Frivolesque takes place in Quebec City, Canada, where I happen to live too. Quebec City, like the rest of the province of Quebec (mostly), is a french speaking place. I felt like I had to inject some cultural flavor in my comic and retain some frenchiness even though it’s in english.

Q : Is there a french version of Frivolesque somewhere?

A : YUP! It’s finally done. https://frivolesque.com/fr/

Q : You’re a guy, right? How come you prefer to write female characters?

A : I’m really surprised at how many times people ask me this question. See, I do happen to consider women as human beings, and being human myself, I don’t think writing about my own species is all that strange.
Also, everything out there features male characters. Writers often consider males the “default gender”, and this irks me to no end. Finally, well, I also happen to like girls. They’re pretty and fun to draw. Really though, I’m doing it because people keep asking me this question.

Q : Is Gaia supposed to be black?

A : Yes. No. Not really. Gaia seems to exist as a radical embodiment of the Japanese Mukokuseki concept so pinpointing a specific race or ethnicity for her is quite hard. If anything, I always saw her as a blend of every race. With green hair.

Q : Is Gaia human?

A : Depends what your definition of “human” is. Short answer : yes and no.

Q : I love Philemon! Will he ever become more important in the story?

A : I’m not really planning to make the animal characters important… (I’m not much of an animal person to be honest) but I do have a little story for Flore’s cat. When will I get around to do it, however, is anyone’s guess.

Q : Did Marie-Neige really rape Clementine in their introductory comics?

A : No. Rape is a really serious matter, and I feel bad that this comic sent those vibes to some readers. She did coerce Clementine into one of her little BDSM games and the girl didn’t really fight back or anything, being both curious and scared at the same time. However, Marie-Neige released her when she realized her friend really wasn’t gonna be comfortable with it. I promise I’ll try not to be this ambiguous in the future. I’m still learning. For the record, Marie-Neige has a lot of sexual fantasies, but I don’t think she’s ever “done it” with anyone.

Q : What’s up with Laurence and her animal friends?

A : … I suddenly feel hungry, I’ll be back later.