In panel 2, is that symbol coming from Maria's mouth from manga? I can guess from context that it means a sigh or something similar, but I've only read actual manga perhaps once or twice if at all. I recognise the symbol but not sure where from.
It's a sigh, yeah. It does happen in anime and manga, but it's perhaps less common than, say, the giant sweatdrop. I use this for sighs occasionally too; I'm sure you could find more instances of it if you go back through the comic.
Anyway, I think the "symbol" itself is just meant to resemble a big puff of air.
OMG, I'm so happy to see that you have an RSS link on your main website! After the SmackJeeves RSS feature went down, it became very difficult for me to keep up with all of my webcomics due to my horrible memory for things like that. :)
TLDR Sine ill. No outdoors for me or family for 14 days.
It's a sigh, yeah. It does happen in anime and manga, but it's perhaps less common than, say, the giant sweatdrop. I use this for sighs occasionally too; I'm sure you could find more instances of it if you go back through the comic.
Anyway, I think the "symbol" itself is just meant to resemble a big puff of air.