Rachel Corrigan
A young woman with an advice column and a lot more sense about other people's
lives than about her own, Rachel is really just trying to figure out what
life as a responsible adult is all about. She is kindhearted and generous,
optimistic almost to a fault. She loves literature -- especially Victorian
romance and poetry -- and since the age of six has harbored the life-goal
of becoming a rich and famous poet. Although as an adult she admits that
it's an unlikely dream, it remains one she can never quite shake.
Dianne Denneldoff
Rachel's
best friend is the resident cynic, though she would call herself the voice
of reason. She feels that snark and cynicism are what make life more bearable.
Dianne often enjoys debate for its own sake, and has been known to adopt
opinions she doesn't really believe, just to challenge someone else's assertions.
She feels stifled and smothered in her current job as an executive assistant,
but lacks the self-confidence to try for anything more fulfilling.
Simon Palinchuck
Rachel's
boyfriend is a well-read, soft-spoken, bookish sort with a philosophical
bent and a quirky sense of humor. He got his bachelor's degree in etymology,
and upon graduation discovered that the study of word origins doesn't offer
much in the way of marketable job skills. So he works a variety of odd
jobs -- mostly in the service sector -- to pay the bills while trying to
figure out just what it is he really wants to do with the rest of his life.
Sandy Dillweed
Neurotic,
troubled, and an infrequent thorn in Rachel's side, Sandy Dillweed is consistently
impervious to the good common-sense advice she so desperately needs. She
has an almost preternatural knack for making the wrong decision in any
given situation, as well as an uncanny ability to fabricate wrong decisions
where one might think there are none. That she usually ends up turning
to Rachel for help in these situations is mildly bothersome to Rachel herself
and very troubling to her less generous friends.
Scott Harris
Publisher of the newsweekly The Free Radical, Scott is not just Rachel’s boss but also her godfather, mentor, and an old family friend. Though he still fancies himself a freewheeling child of the Sixties, the truth is that age has mellowed him more than he’d like to admit.
About the Cartoonist
Josh McDonald is a writer and cartoonist. In the past, his works
have appeared in publications such as the National Catholic Reporter
and websites like BustedHalo.com.
He is a regular contributer to the CTA Young Adult Catholics' blog
and the guy responsible for everything found on the web-comic Ask Rachel.
In his spare time he reads, sings in church and community choirs, volunteers
at the local food pantry, and manages a small movie theater in Rochester.
He lives in Somersworth, NH (for now) with a rabbit named Ginger, and
he has a fiancee in Burlington VT.
You can see his semi-regular bloggings at his personal blog, and at the CTA Young Adult Catholics' Blog.
Ask Rachel; All content © 2008 Joshua D. McDonald. All rights reserved.
