Bethany's Birthday

Original concept art c. August 2009

Today's entry is dedicated entirely to Steve D'Monster's bestest buddy, and the Joseph Scarbrough Universe's leading lady: Bethany Crystal.

The idea for Bethany came from wanting to give Steve a character that he could interact with, on camera, that was on his own, child-like level, but at the same time, could also serve as sort of a conscience for him, as needed. Knowing that Steve's fanbase is largely female, and also knowing that being a wannabe babe magnet is part of Steve's personality, a girl monster seemed like the most logical "side kick" to give him, so right away, I went to work on designing the new character that would be his best friend.

I wanted to make sure that Bethany looked really feminine, but not to overly girly that she wouldn't appeal to male audiences as well, and that was basically the major reason why I chose a decidely gender-neutral color scheme: aquamarine; she also sports what I call a "poodle-cut" style to her fur, to show that even though she's still a monster, she's a doesn't have as much "body fur" as a boy monster, like Steve. She was also named after my "high school crush" (same first name, just a different gem for the last); and Steve would still like it to be known that she was meant to be "Bethany" before that Frankel chick came along.



 Recently, I realized that there's also another benefit to having Steve's best friend be a girl monster: it sends out a subtle, hidden message to the young ones watching that it is, indeed, okay for boys and girls to be friends with each other; forget all the talk of cooties, and teasing from others that, "She must be your girlfriend", best friends can come in all genders. A lot of the facets of Steve and Bethany's friendship are derived from myself and my own best friend, who also happens to be a girl. See kids? Even grownup boys and girls can still be best friends with each other.

Because my own best friend serves as a bit of inspiration for some of Bethany's traits, characteristics, mannerisms, and her friendship with Steve, in her honor, I decided to make her birthday Bethany's character's birthday as well, and that day is today. Below is a comic I did last year, but now, it is being released publically for the first time this year; so come and enjoy the party, and be a part of Bethany's Big Birthday Bash!