dmra wrote:TCampbell wrote:crimzontearz wrote:same here
I don't know how someone can not hate him
I guess you just don't know me.
I'm curious to what extent your view of Dillon is influenced by being associated with the creative team?
Giz said a few days ago that Dillon's character was flawed but was going to "grow" but the "normal" reader can only go by what they see in the published strips. Obvioulsy without giving away any secrets does knowing that there is going to be a "journey"- and presumably some of the how and what of that effect how you view him?
In my view, Dillon's chief virtue is a very important one: the ability find the joy in life, and to share that joy with others, including Zii, Amber, Matt, and Jerzy. He can certainly be hurt, and feel it deeply, but his buoyancy and confidence endure and overcome such hardships. Admittedly, we haven't thrown him much in the way of hardship in Volume 1, but he got a few bumps in
Menage a 3 and the rules of interesting storytelling seem to favor trouble of some sort on the horizon.
His secondary virtue might be a controversial one, but I'll gladly take his side in it. The stories often put him next to people who don't share his extroversion, and he messes with their comfort zones, but he has a desire to help those people break out of their shell a bit, and frankly,
they need this help. Ruby has already gained a certain amount of confidence in dealing with other people and done things she never expected to do that have enriched her life-- including, yes, going on two dates and successfully maintaining a disguise for an evening (at least outside of the washroom). No, there is nothing wrong with not dating, but Ruby's insistence that she avoids dating because she's a serious businesswoman who doesn't have time doesn't really ring that true, especially when she's unemployed. She has avoided dating out of fear, and even if she ends up not dating again after a time, her life will be better for the taste.
Gary learned a kissing technique that has brought his character
enormous benefits. The fact that Dillon did not grasp the significance of that technique is not particularly relevant. If Dillon was teaching Gary what he
thought he was teaching Gary, if it were Gary's
kisses and not his cunnilingus that were brain-meltingly good, Gary would still be seeing a lot of action, still getting enough women interested in him that he could start to think about what he really wants
in a woman.
Now, Dillon's an efficient sort of guy, and he has a way of marrying these character-building exercises with his own more hedonistic pursuits, but his participation in Gary and Ruby's growth is
no accident. Did he want the chance to mack on Gary? Sure. Does it stroke his ego to think of himself as the sensei and Ruby as the student, focusing on her difficulties and diverting the spotlight from his own flaws? Absolutely! But if he were half the scumbag some people seem to think he is, he'd have sabotaged Gary's "training" instead of actively improving it (and therefore helping Gary be with women instead of him). Or he'd neg Ruby about things she couldn't change about herself to keep her dependent on him. Instead, he listens to Gary and Ruby's goals and says "okay, see, this is how you get there." And they keep listening because he produces results.
This is pretty much Dillon's
entire social life, barring the occasional, short-lived fit of jealousy. Sharing joy, helping others, having fun. And honestly, my mind boggles at how many forum posters have a hard time finding something to like about that. At this point, Dillon's
biggest current faults have been
pretty well-documented, and those are to be addressed, but it's possible that some future story may need to underline those virtues a bit less subtly.