Antimony "Annie" Carver is the protagonist of Tom Siddell's 2005 webcomicGunnerkrigg Court. She was the first character created for Gunnerkrigg Court and her design has evolved alongside the webcomic's artstyle. Characterized as quiet, shy and, as well as lonely and subtly rebellious, Antimony has been praised for her complexity.
Creation
Gunnerkrigg Court was conceptualized from a doodle Tom Siddle was sketching one day. for antimony After designing the character, Siddell decided a "strange school" would fit her personality. He named the house Antimony is in at Gunnerkrigg Court "Queslett North", after his own former house. Delos Woodruff of Comic Fencing suggested that Antimony may be named after the metal of the same name, pointing out that the alchemical symbol for antimony is commonly shown in the webcomic. El Santo of The Webcomic Overlook noted that, as the artstyle of Gunnerkrigg Court evolved, so did Antimony's design. The character was initially drawn as a short girl with a "football-shaped head", but slowly evolved to be taller and more "elegant". El Santo felt that these changes complement Antimony's emotional growth and maturity in the webcomic.
Character
The story of Gunnerkrigg Court starts with young girl Antimony Carver entering Gunnerkrigg Court, a boarding school with "strange" properties. Antimony's mother died while she was young, and her father remains emotionally distant from her. Antimony is described by Michael May of Comic Book Resources as a "quiet, pleasant girl lonely, but not angsty about it". At the start of the story, she is considered an outsider by the rest of the students, save for her close friend Katerina "Kat" Donlan. Greg Burgas, also writing for Comic Book Resources, described Antimony's "reserved and thoughtful" nature as a contrast with Kat's more "vivacious and rebellious" character, but noted that Antimony also has some subtle rebellious facets. Delos Woodruff of Comic Fencing noticed that Antimony seems to act older than she really is, as she knows how to pick locks, speaks several languages and knows some martial arts. Over the course of the story, Antimony becomes more involved with the mystical woods outside of the school. She owns a stuffed animal with the demonReynardine inside, who helps her deal with the various situations she finds herself in. Furthermore, she inherited the ability to escort the spirits of the dead to the afterlife from her mother. As the story continues, it becomes apparent that Antimony is coping with issues of abandonment and of inadequacy and that her initial emotional detachment is in actuality a social impairment.
Reception
Though Katie Schenkel of Comics Alliance noted that "all the characters have their charms and appeal", she stated that the manner in which Siddell had written Antimony is particularly interesting. Schenkel pointed out that Antimony is "flawed" despite having extraordinary talent, being somewhat secretive, selfish and self-loathing, and making big mistakes throughout the story. Schenkel praised the character by saying that it is "nice to see a protagonist handled with this much care and complexity". Joe Zabel of The Webcomics Examiner stated that he was particularly fond of Antimony's character design, noting her "distinctive mascara-tinted eyes and high cheekbones", which make the character look older and more composed. Burgas noted that Siddell did a good job of making Antimony and Kat seem very precocious while reminding the reader every once in a while that the characters are indeed still children. Tris McCall of Inside Jersey praised Antimony's character strongly, stating that "to call her anything less than magnetic would be a gross understatement." Michael Burgin of Paste Magazine called Antimony a "marvelously opaque, unpredictable protagonist", stating that the most moving and memorable moments in Gunnerkrigg Court are when Antimony "falters in her friendships or is called out for her flaws". Siddell himself has said that Antimony is his favorite character in Gunnerkrigg Court.
