Category: a man can dream
money for nothin’, and chicks for free
So here’s what happened with that gig – I wrote a couple of paragraphs for some kids movies I got to watch for free, as I was still working at the theatre at the time. Most of them weren’t great (“Underdog” was passable and even a bit funny in places). This lasted for…three issues? I think? At which point the publisher decided to have his wife write the reviews instead.
Shortly thereafter, the magazine disappeared. I’m fairly certain that I had nothing to do with it. In the end I did actually get a cheque, and though it was modest I was just happy to have had the opportunity. [November 9, 2011]
I’m sorry, he’s what? Fictional? Impossible
fortunately, you can never remember them later anyway
INTERESTING TIMES 1ST BIRTHDAY COMIXTRAVAGANZA
Suddenly, an entire year had passed! And I knew I had to do something special, so I just started linking the standard frames together and told a rambling, nonsensical story filled with callbacks and pop culture references. Also, in typical I.Times style, barely a third of it is true.
Honestly I’m not crazy about this comic and have had a terrible time trying to come up with anything to say about it. I don’t hate it either, it’s just…hm. Hard to put into words. And isn’t that exactly the kind of insightful commentary you were hoping for??
Okay, fine! Let’s try. It’s pointlessly long and not particularly funny. The artwork is serviceable but why did I bother bringing back the masked man? And the last two panels are only there because I was re-using the entire three-panel frame each time (you can see the curves in the corners) and rather than lop them off I decided to fill them out with, well, filler.
But don’t listen to me. I am sometimes my own worst critic and have a long history of utter disdain for my own work simply because time has passed between writing it and re-reading it.
Let’s focus on the positive. I like my imaginary Tom Selleck moustache and accompanying expression. I like the panel where I threaten that guy with a knife. And I like what should have been the final panel (the one with the date in it). [May 22, 2011]
and as I post this, it’s playing…"Portly Pear"? well, 2 out of 4 still ain’t bad
think of all the comics about horses and cats that never were
This comic turned out exactly the way I wanted when I first made it, but little did I know that I would get much better at drawing cats in a couple of years on account of adopting an intermittently evil cat named Gideon who is currently sitting on the windowsill and probably conspiring against me.
One thing I’ve found tremendously helpful for drawing animals in general is just to use reference photos for goodness’ sake — not everything has to be off the top of your head, and even in copying something else you can make it your own.
Since we’re on the subject of things I can’t draw well, I hope I never have to do one about pregnant woman. I have no idea why it would ever come up, and if it does, I’m hosed. [May 22, 2011]
it seems like something I could easily fix, but I guess I’d rather just complain
can’t trust myself anymore
the snake represents our boundless natural resources
Well it’s 2011 as I write this and my flag isn’t flying above the parliament buildings just yet. I also haven’t managed to make merchandise out of it in any way, although I do still like the design very much and have always wanted to update it a little.
Oh, and this comic marks the first time that I employed alt-tags to sneak extra jokes and commentary into each comic. (Those are the bits of text that appear when you hover your mouse over the image.) I stole the idea from Dinosaur Comics, basically, although I’ve also noticed a lot of other comics do it too. [May 10, 2011]