About this whole thing.

While driving home from work I noticed a shifting shadow cast by the leaves of a tree that was shivering under a gentle breeze, leaves gliding down to the sidewalk. I wanted so badly to stop and watch a while longer.

This webcomic is about that feeling. It is about the elegance and beauty in what might seem monotonous, about the innumerable things that are or will never be, and the quiet dignity in just getting by day after day.

Each comic (or tableaux, if you want to get technical about it) comprises a very short story, often only one sentence long, paired with a picture that complements or challenges it.

How to use it.

You can stick with the rather pedestrian methods of clicking on Previous and Next underneath the comic, or getting a random comic, or looking at the table of contents to find all of them.

Or you can be super-awesome and look at the full text of the story, below the picture. You’ll notice that some of the words may be links. Click one! It will take you to the comic for that word.

In case you're wondering, I include the full text of each comic so blind people or people who cannot read the small text on the comic can enjoy GBWL too. It also means that searching and indexing robots can totally record my site for posterity and ease-of-use.

Who writes GBWL?

I do, Desi Quintans. I am a pastry chef who happens to like creative writing and programming web software. You can contact me, if you’d like.

Why use other peoples’ pictures?

Because I don’t take enough pictures, as it takes conscious effort for me to even remember I have a camera strapped to my thigh (yes, my camera is in a drop-leg pouch, which is badass — it goes from stowed away to on and ready to use in less than two seconds).

I never developed a love for photography because I feel it distances people from what is happening around them, almost to say, “What is happening now is not as important as the story I will tell about it later.” If I have suitable pictures which are my own I of course prefer them, but it is impossible for me alone to illustrate the range of stories I tell.

About the title.

Tennessee Williams wrote an article called Person-to-Person where he outlined the reason why he writes.

“I want to go on talking to you as freely and intimately about what we live and die for as if I knew you better than anyone else whom you know.”

In it he includes an excerpt from the original preface of The Glass Menagerie:

“I have never for one moment doubted that there are people — millions! — to say things to. We come to each other, gradually, but with love. It is the short reach of my arms that hinders, not the length and multiplicity of theirs. With love and with honesty, the embrace is inevitable.”

I am tired of normal people not having stories. Here are as many of them as I can recount. We can talk this way, you and I, about what we live and die for and become closer knowing that we are all so similar.
April 24th, 2009

Sundries

Gradually, But With Love is listed on a whole bunch of webcomic sites, including OnlineComics.net.

This is an original work. All rights reserved.

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