original_post:_12/22/2000________ First appearance of Alli. from a storytelling standpoint this is important. We've established the normal: Max and Chip live together. Max and Emily make comics. Alli is the first character that the reader and the character are meeting fresh. Even though Max knew Alli before, this is still sort of meeting her for the first time. At the time I was doing the strip, I would never have been brave enough to go meet up a girl like this to show my artwork to. That kind of courage came much later.