Here, Awktopus has transformed from a silly cephalopod into a true hero of the marine world. Although he doesn't exactly lose the silliness of his original character, the transformation of Awktopus's function is the highlight of this comic.

 

Awktopus began as a whimsical drawing, with no true purpose aside from amusement. I created him to serve as my own artistic outlet, to keep my creative side active to some degree. After the first two stories, I decided to add a small increase in the depth of his character by making him into a small-time hero. Even after saving a civilian from a corrupted brittle star, Awktopus's heroism can't save him from the inevitable event of inking all over a seahorse as a result of sneezing violently. The reason I keep including the theme of ink sneezing on seahorses is to maintain the awkwardness that his name suggests. Instead of creating new awkard situations in each story, I figure that all awkward situations in social settings involve some form of an individual inking on a seahorse in one way or another...

 

After Awktopus inks all over the seahorse, he always flees the scene in embarrassment. At the moment, I am considering a new story in which Awktopus decides to confront the issue he has with the seahorse instead of running away from the problem. The reason I have not decided to do this yet, however, is that I made Awktopus as a being who does not know how to react when things go wrong. As a representative of my own tendencies, and the tendencies of many of my peers, Awktopus is afraid of stepping outside of his comfort zone.

 

Anyone can look suave and heroic when they act upon a pre-meditated conflict. You can't judge someone, really, based on their actions in planned circumstances. It all comes down to the way they react in the face of immediate challenge. Awktopus enters the scene already aware of how he will handle it. But no one can predict when they will sneeze, at least not every time they sneeze. It Awktopus's case, sneezing always results in humiliation. His instinctive reaction to humiliation is flight.