Terry, or Theresa Maria Veras, is a supporting character in the cast of Scott McCloud’s Zot!. She is Jenny’s best friend; Jenny being the love interest and eventual girlfriend of Zot, the fresh faced teen from an alternate Earth. In her first appearance Terry and Jenny are shown having a typical at school and afterwards bike riding. Woody, who gains importance as the series progresses, expresses interest in Jenny which causes Terry to become overly protective and to shout at Woody to scare him off. Over the course of her next several appearances McCloud continues to use her in the best friend/ guard dog role, adding a stolen glance here and a sly smile there that show the artist’s subtlety.
McCloud unveils her secret by recounting an incident that happened to Harry, a male classmate who was presumed to be gay because of his interest in ballet, and how this was love and opportunity was stolen when someone threw a firecracker at him which exploded by ear and ruined his middle ear/ balancing functions. Terry had a friendship with Harry’s sister Pamela, who afterwards “is suddenly telling everyone she’s a dyke” and thus, the years long friendship ended.
Time passes and Terry ignores her thought about the friendship while trying to hide her attraction to Jenny. The only person to pick up on this is Zot, who comforts Terry when her emotions come to a head and good naturedly coaxes Terry to confide while assuring her she’s normal. as the story’s title suggests. Terry’s story ends with an encounter between Pam, two of her new friends, and Pamela passing each other in the hallway between classes.
Some plot elements in “Normal”, which was nominated for a Harvey Award in 1991, are tied to “Sometimes A Direction…” in the following issue. Pam steps forward and expresses her brother Harry’s gratitude to Woody, another supporting character at Terry’s high school who’s taken the task of writing an article about Harry’s gay bashing. Woody is confused when Pam explains that her brother isn’t gay, but that she is. The series ended just a few issues later with an upbeat feeling for all the characters.
This entry is lacking somewhat in details because I don’t want to chance spoiling the story for anyone who may want to track down a copy of Zot! The Complete Black and White from a bookstore or library. A new print is solicited from Harper Collins in Previews for November 2012.
Terry first appeared in #11 and is shown to be lesbian in Zot! #33.
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