what’s funny about this comic — not like, Ha Ha funny, just Odd funny — is that after all the references I made to the Wii I never actually wrote a comic about the time I finally got one. I wrote one for getting a big old Xbox, but one of my single most anticipated purchases went totally unmentioned. I can’t account for that, really. It’s just one of the many examples of the way in which I am kind of terrible at keeping an honest journal, ironic given that this is supposed to be a Journal Comic. [May 22, 2011]
Category: Commentary
mine’s Peter. yeah, laugh it up.
I have kind of a chip on my shoulder regarding my middle name. Is that the right expression? Hang on, I’m going to google it. [Google Research Break!] The thing is, throughout my whole life people have tended to giggle at me when they hear my middle name. I’ve honestly no idea why but it starts to bother a person.
I have a half-baked theory but it is entirely rooted in the specific cultural background of my hometown and in any case it isn’t very interesting so I shall decline to go into it. Some people I know have middle names that really work for them, but I thought you might like to know that this comic came from a place of embarrassment and shame. Actually that sounds much worse than it is. The embarrassment is greatly diminished now, but when ever people ask me I still hesitate before replying. [April 28, 2011]
it’s either that or I just go as a huge nerd
INTERESTING TIMES presents BADLY DRAWN REFERENCES EXPLAINED: In panel two, the co-workers are dressed as (from left) a Cenobite, Cyclops of the X-Men and Mr. T. [April 28, 2011]
another thing would be “comic ideas, un-had”
This comic doesn’t make a lot of sense. I completely acknowledge that. What inspired it was this: at the movie theatre I used to work for there were spice containers for your popcorn. You could buy a nice bag, head over to the spice area and load them down with things like white cheddar and BBQ flavours. These containers periodically needed to be refilled and cleaned.
The notable thing about them was that they were paradoxically harder to open if you tried harder to open them. They were twist-off lids. If you grabbed and wrenched they wouldn’t budge. If you adopted a light touch and a minimal amount of twist, they’d slide right open. THAT’S what I was trying to get across. Maybe I should have just stuck with trying to tell that story. Well, what’s done is done![May 22, 2011]
me and Lucas are tight, I call him G-Luc
Actually, I never did end up buying the DVDs I was talking about. The problem was that I had finally caved in and bought that silver DVD boxset after holding out forever, thinking that if this was the only way I was going to have proper Star Wars DVDs then I would make my peace with it. Weeks later, the DVDs come out AGAIN with 2nd discs containing the original theatrical versions (which was what I wanted all along – I don’t foam at the mouth with hatred about the CGI-enhanced updates, but I have no love for them either).
As of this writing there is a Blu-Ray release on the horizon, but I don’t care. I don’t. As special as these movies are to me I am done paying for them like a sucker. If somebody gives me the set I won’t throw it away, but I feel like I’ve sort of moved on. [May 22, 2011]
a haiku tribute to Pluto
I really like “What Are We Voting On” guy in panel 2. Here is this person who saw some people about to vote on a thing with cards, so he sidles into the lineup, because who doesn’t like voting with big cards? Moments later he realizes that there might a serious issue at stake, but he doesn’t want to distract the others with questions. So, he takes the time to write out an entire sentence on his card rather than potentially vote the wrong way.
Is he a hero for spoiling his own ballot in order to help facilitate the democratic process for others? Answering that question is an exercise I leave to you, dear reader. [June 2, 2011]
look at that frown! he means business
There’s a lot of older comics that I’d like to redraw, simply because I can see things that I would do much differently now. I hesitate to say “better” because in five more years I might say that about the work I posted yesterday night, for instance. On the one hand I’ve marked this comic as a personal favorite, because of the frown in panel one and because I like what I wrote.
On the other hand I dislike every other facial expression in the whole thing. What was I thinking, drawing mouths like that? Somewhere, and I’ve no idea where, but somewhere I once had a comment that a reader had finally figured out my characters weren’t wearing masks over the lower portions of their faces. Looking back, I can totally see where that notion came from. [April 26, 2011]
Fear does not exist in this Bee! Yes sensei!!
All I want to say is that I have never completely given up on the idea of re-telling “The Karate Kid” with an abnormally large bee. [May 22, 2011]
“he was a petty and unjust King,” they will say
Since I know you are wondering; the game I was playing was “Escape Velocity Nova” and the radio show was most likely “Dimension X”. The media player was, I think, Windows Media Player with some sort of skin. And the spreadsheet program was probably OpenOffice. The thing I am standing on in the third panel is a rock.
There, now I’ve explained it TO DEATH. Oh no wait, the whole thing took place in my parents’ basement, for extra Nerd Cred Points. Is there anything else you could possibly want to know? If so, email me at nathan@interestingtimes.ca
(That sounds sarcastic but I will actually answer your questions if you have any!) [June 2, 2011]
there may be a more graceful solution
I’ve actually been on the verge of taking this comic down in the years since posting it. But I’ve talked it over with a few people and apparently I’m being oversensitive, so for that and various other reasons it stays.
The problem I had is that the comic appears to rely on violence against women for the sake of a punchline, which is not what I’m about. However nobody I’ve shown it to reads it that way. Also, a friend of mine convinced me that it’s more important to chart your growth and changes as an artist than to try and censor or bury work that for one reason or another you aren’t proud of.
So, my fears about this comic have been allayed. [April 26, 2011]