hear me out

"Hear Me Out" is a song from the 2002 album, Details, by Imogen Heap and Guy Sigsworth. I used the lyrics from the fourth verse and parts of the chorus in this comic. The metaphors of unrequited love in the song screamed, "Make me into a comic, please!" I could not ignore that desperate cry, so I obliged. I wrote a semi-haiku (traditional haiku use 17 syllables, whereas I used 22) to introduce the comic.

The panels are organized in a way that dramatizes the comic. Honestly, I did not plan to make the frames so bold or pointy, but I like the movement that they create. Forgive me for the poor alignment. I have to scan each piece in two parts since my scanner is too small for the paper. This one was especially tricky.

I'm a

The protagonist (does she look familiar? I am not a narcissist, I swear!) walks across the street while the "Do Not Walk" signal flashes. I personally avoid this danger as a result of my older sister's incident of being run over by her school bus when she was four. This character, however, feels so lost in her thoughts that she neglects to notice the sign or oncoming traffic.

slow

The character hears a honking car that wakes her from her daze. We see her eyes for the first time. I do not really know what to say about this other than I enjoy her surprised face.

motion

This panel shows the character looking up at the approaching vehicle. Roy Lichtenstein's Girl With Hair Ribbon is responsible for this facial expression. I almost scrapped the paper to start anew, but my inky pen loves mistakes. I enjoy how the chaotic lines portray the turbulent nature of the scene.

accident

I confess that I can not draw cars to save my own life (or the character's). To make up for the skills that I lack, I decided to emphasize the common usage of onomatopoeia in comics.

lost in coffee rings and fingerprints

This image seems pretty morbid, but please hear me out (heh) on this. My initial plan for this panel was to cut to the character sitting in a coffee shop, soaked in her own blood and surrounded by abstract looking fingerprints. It felt too literal and void of emotion, so I drew the blood as the "coffee rings" instead. In my middle school days, I conveyed my inner battles through images of broken and battered characters that resemble this one. Unreciprocated love often feels like slow bleeding, so forgive the macabre imagery and try to understand where I am coming from.

I don't wanna feel anything but I do
and it all comes back to you...

Our heroine rises. She lost an arm and remains adorned with many injuries, but she is still standing. This shows that heartache is brutal, but survival is possible. I admit that this is my least favorite panel. That damn jacket was a constant issue in this comic, but it looks especially iffy here. I am over it. The next image makes up for it.

So listen up
this sun hasn't set

just hear me out
I'm not over you yet

My favorite. The character turns to the sea to seek solace. I mentioned earlier that the ocean is my place of peace, so I repeated that concept in this panel. I am really happy with the sunset and the wood grain on the dock's railing. I inserted a lighthouse in the background because I find them so aesthetic. It also symbolizes that small beacon of hope that associates with nonreciprocating love.

Disclaimer: I do not own the lyrics from "Hear Me Out" by Imogen Heap and Guy Sigsworth ( a.k.a Frou Frou). The song influenced my original comic that holds the same title.