general update

Sorry for not having any new comic updates for you as of late, but I've got a lot going on over here. Tonight, I have a meeting with my new web designer to revamp the website, which is long overdue. Apple users, rejoice because you are going to be able to view the comics a LOT easier than before. Over all, it's going to be much more user friendly and will have a slightly new look/layout. It will still be basic, but I think everyone will like it better.

The big news, as of late, is that The Dregs will become an animated series. I've got a co-writer in place, and I'm working on filling the roles for voices and music. It's weird thinking about things like that, but it's really exciting. We're going to start with a 30 second short and see where we'll go from there. Be sure that I'll keep you all up to speed as things progress.

the dregs #48

This joke is another Omar-ism, though it required a mood adjustment. Omar's (one of my fellow bartenders) punchline was actually "too bad good lookin' ain't hiring" after we both sighed that we need new jobs. I wrote it down since it was funny, but I couldn't use it for The Dregs since it's way too positive for any of the characters to say as a punchline. I think we can all agree that this way is much more appropriate.

the dregs #47

this episode was drawn in late july 2010. this episode is a special one because i think i finally came up with a better stylized look for Onions. i've been trying to find a good one for a while. instead of making him another chubby character, he's become more turtle like because i've always thought of him as being more cowardly than anything. i left him with the large body so it looks more like a shell he might hide in, but trimmed his neck down considerably and gave his nose a more dominant beak-like look.

i've also stopped filling in the black negative space by hand and let photoshop do the work for me. i doubt anyone noticed (or at least i hope not).

i hope you like it.

the dregs #46

this episode was finished a minute ago in early july 2010. sorry you had to wait 2 weeks for the new episode but our forefathers fought for our right to be lazy and i didn't want to disappoint them. anyway, i have to give my fellow bartender, Omar, credit for this joke. it was so funny that i had to write it down. what can i say? the guy's funny.

enjoy.

the dregs #45

this episode was drawn in late june 2010 and, like many of my joke ideas, it's an old one. i probably thought of this joke about a year ago so i'm glad i finally got to use it! like all the other "old ideas", it was the wording that didn't seem to be that funny. the punch line didn't have any "punch" and the delivery was too forced and wordy. sometimes it just takes stepping back from an idea for a year for it to work again.

the science project on hiatus

i just wanted to make a formal post about The Science Project and its continuing absence from near future postings. for the record, it is not over. right now, i'm working on publishing a small collection of Dregs episodes for sale and distribution, but i will pick back up with the SP when i have the time again.

thanks for your concerns and love for a truly fun part of my life.

john

a long anticipated episode - the dregs #44

hey, everybody. first off, sorry for the hiatus, but between going on vacation, my birthday, and preparing for a cartoon contest, i hadn't been working on anything new. if you were wondering about the contest, i had entered the "america's next great cartoonist" run by the washington post. if you guessed that i didn't win, you'd be guessing right. honestly, i wasn't surprised at the outcome because of two reasons - 1. the dimensions of the single panel entries needed to be 3.5" x 3". the dregs are wider than tall, so my entries might have been disqualified immediately. 2. my sense of humor doesn't seem to be something that meshed with the judges, but i'm judging simply by what made the 10 final cartoons. but whatever the reason, i'm ok with it. that's not to say that i'm not disappointed by losing the opportunity, but it's ok.

that being said, this new episode is one that i'd been trying to tweak the dialogue on for some time. it was originally a back-and-forth with onions, but it sounded forced. in true "me" fashion, it clicked right after i finished the pencil work so i had to redraw a good portion of it. i'm glad it worked out the way it did, because it's much better this way.

hope you like it!

oh! don't forget to vote for "america's next great cartoonist" at http://postfun.washingtonpost.com/post/entry/americas-next-great-cartoonist-vote

the science project #56

this episode titled "mock trial", was drawn in late april 2010. the title was ripped off from Arrested Development's "Mock Trial with Judge Reinhold" because it was the first thing that popped in my head and i couldn't stop laughing. by the way, if you haven't seen all three seasons of AD, please do so. it's the best sitcom to come out in the last decade.

as you can see, the judge from "porn court" is back, this time sentencing someone to death. the idea came from a news article about a week ago about a man choosing the firing squad over lethal injection in utah. the fact that that article came out so quickly after another article about a man in ohio inmate on death row arguing that his allergy to anesthesia should halt his execution by lethal injection. they killed him anyway about a week or two ago and it's funny. good try though, buddy.

john

the dregs #43

this episode was drawn in late april 2010. it was an older joke and i don't know why i hadn't used it until now.

i like the perspective of this one, being behind peg. i don't think i've ever really shown what she looks like from behind (that's a good thing), and at this point in the strip, i doubt there is anyone who wouldn't know that was her. earlier on, however, i can see there being some confusion. i admit having problems with the foreshortening of sal's left arm. his forearms and hands are already so big, it looked really strange making them bigger to show they were in front of him. i think the staggering of the boxes helped.

john

the dregs #42

this episode was drawn in mid april. it's a joke that was delivered by a friend of mine, oddly enough the husband of a woman that gave me a joke i used a few weeks ago. or i guess it's not that odd when you think about it. anyway, about a month ago i had gone to eat with some friends for a birthday. we ate a suckling pig, part of which was the head. the chef put together a "head plate" for us consisting of the eyes, ears, brains, jowls, nape, tongue, snout, and skin. it may sound gross, folks, but it was fantastic. regardless, i tried brains for the first time that night and made a comment about it on facebook. aaron delivered the punchline. i just tweaked it.

the only thing that really bugged me about this episode was trying to draw sal at a backward angle. it took a while, but i think it looks pretty good. yay.

nerd alert... well, i'm heading off to the chicago C2E2 in an hour or so. anything i should look to pick up?

the science project #55

this episode called "law & order: adult video unit" was drawn in late march 2010. the story behind this one is simple. i watch a LOT of law & order. seriously. lennie briscoe is my main man. but in between the 3 back to back weekly episodes, there are several commercials for the tv show "bones" in which david borneanaz says "the dna's a match" while emily deschanel corrects him and gives him a nerdy/pseudo sexy glare. after seeing this commercial at least 10 times a day every day, the similarity between the two acronyms became glaringly obvious. actually, coming up with a clever title for this one was the most difficult part.

the science project #54

this episode titled "bright lights, big city" was drawing in late march 2010. this idea was an older one that i only just completed because i had a few other ideas on how to draw it. one way was to have the guy explaining himself in an interrogation room. another was to have a girl talking about how she was once arrested for this little misunderstanding. this time i thought i'd let the girls off the hook and use a male character. this time only, though. ha ha ha.

the dregs #41

this episode was done in late march 2010. it's a new joke that hit me while i was watching a political talk show - the topic was obviously the passing of the new health care bill. the joke came at the perfect time too. i was struggling to work out some of my pending ideas. i hope i don't need to be bailed out like that again!

the dregs #40

this episode was drawn early/mid march 2010. it was an old joke idea i had, but wasn't sure how to deliver it in one panel. finally, i said "screw it. i'm going to do it how it needs to be done." aside from sounding like folksy down home wisdom, it was the right thing to do. and after i finished it, i thought that maybe The Dregs could be better told in a format like this and make it into a comic book - something like American Splendor. we'll see.

the science project #53

this episode titled "suicidal tendencies" was drawn in early march 2010. i recently quit smoking by taking wellbutrin vs the other non-smoking aid chantix. if you didn't already know, both of these drugs have suicide as a side effect. obviously, suicide is not funny, but it is when it's the side effect of a non-smoking drug. "he be a corpse, but at least he finally kicked that disgusting habit!"

the dregs #39

this episode was drawn in early march 2010. it's an old idea, but i was going through my book-o-ideas and it made me laugh. i was going to make the guy asking for a job not have any arms at all, or hooks for hands, or something like that. unfortunately, that didn't even seem believable for a comic. i think this way works best.

the science project #52

this episode, titled "take a left on the highway to hell and take it all the way down", was drawn in early march. i got this idea from a friend on facebook. i said something about how i needed to "get my damned car window fixed." she asked if that required a mechanic or an exorcist. i said it required a pencil and paper because i need to write that down. enjoy!

the dregs #38

this episode was drawn in late february 2010. i like this one a lot. i got the idea from my friend jimmy the gnome last year while we were at a beer tasting. i don't have to tell you that i had to write this one down because i certainly wasn't going to remember it that night. anyway, i've mentioned before that i like using different angles, but this one is nice because it's a totally new vantage point. the hardest thing about this was deciding how i was going to angle Onions' body. i think it plays.

the science project #51

this episode, titled "i swear, it was like this when i found it" was drawn in late february 2010. i thought this one up after my dad sent me an e-mail with political cartoons, all leaning toward the right. i am more liberal than conservative, so i usually read/watch/listen to more liberal media. these cartoons, however, gave me an interesting and intelligent view of how people view obama's first term (sans the limbaugh-esque sound bites that melt my brain cells). initially, the idea was to show that obama really hasn't made good on the promises he made and we elected him for (one being the removal of our troops in the middle east). then i thought, "what if the Staples' easy button was real or obama believed that it was and was upset that it wasn't working?" my initial thought was that obama wasn't going to understand that, because it's a toy, it wasn't working. that didn't make sense though because he's not an idiot. but the last president was and so, being a liberal, i couldn't just take a shot at obama when george w. bush is soooo much more fun to fuck with.

i hope you like it.

j

the dregs #37

this episode, drawn in mid february 2010, is something that i agree with. i am one of those people that hates valentine's day. i know i sound bitter, but it has nothing to do with relationship status. i think it's a stupid "holiday" that i'm guessing was made with good intentions (and you know what they say about those) but has become something gross. don't go out to eat with all the other lemmings because a card company tells you to. do something special because you want to WHEN you want to. that being said, this is a saying that i use from time to time (i also flip flop it for new year's eve). the punchline was something that i struggled with, but i think peg pulls it off.

on a technical note, i used mechanical pens to ink this episode and i think i'm going to stick with them. i'm going to have to get a bigger variety of line widths, though, but it'll be worth it. not only did it cut down on the inking time, but look at the line quality. much better.

THE SCIENCE PROJECT #50!!!

i would like to start off by saying that i never thought i'd draw this many episodes of SP, and certainly not this quickly. it used to take me forever to get myself to draw just one, and then i'd lean back, feeling accomplished, and not do another one for a month or so. granted, the strip was a lot different at the beginning, but i was just flat out lazy. anyway, reaching this goal feels great. i hope you enjoyed the ride.

this episode, titled "in the land of the blind, you can't see who's plotting to kill you", was drawn in early february 2010. i guess you can say that i dated this one with the FaceBook reference, but i couldn't help myself being somewhat of a FaceBook junkie. i don't know why people get so uppity when the format changes. then you see groups being formed with names like "if we get 1,000,000 fans maybe we can get the old format back" or something, as if FaceBook would throw away a format that cost a lot of money to develop for 1M users. sorry, guys. 1M of more than 400M users worldwide is a minority they can live with. but, keep your chin up and keep requesting people to join your cause. i got away from myself... where was i? oh, that's right. people getting uppity. my brother and i were talking about the newest FaceBook layout change (via FB, of course) and we joked about it causing riots and, ultimately, the decimation of the human race. the rest wrote itself.

what can i say? genius runs in the family. as well as addiction to FaceBook. we've got "the gene."

project idea

i've been watching a lot of "venture brothers" lately, and i want to start a serial adventure comic. maybe some cartoon pin-ups too. now if only i can find the time...

the dregs #36

this episode was drawn in early february 2010. this one was funny, but i'm really getting upset with my line work. in the "the dregs #35" entry, i talked about how pleased i was with my line work, but i've come to the conclusion that i'm going to go back to using mechanical illustration inking pens. the convenience is just too great to pass up. to give you an idea of what i mean, inking this week's episode took roughly 2.5 hours with so-so line quality. i can shave at least an hour off and be certain the line quality will be better controlled. i like the idea of using the old nib style, but i think i'm about to cave.

the science project #49

this episode, titled "book 'em, dan-o", was drawn in early february 2010. there's no back story to this one. i think i got the idea from an e-mail my dad sent me.

the science project #48

almost to #50! this episode titled "function dysfunction" was drawn in early february 2010. this idea came from something that happened to me. one day i had logged on to my computer and a minute or so after sending one e-mail to a friend i came back to my computer to find that someone had gotten my e-mail password and sent out advertisements for viagra and cialis to quite a few people on my contact list. initially, i thought i could make a joke out of computer virus sending e-mails for sexual enhancement drugs. that didn't seem to work so well, so i came up with this one. i hope you like it.

also, some of you have told me that you don't like the layout format for this comic strip. i've changed it to a more traditional border and i'll be using it for now on.

the dregs #35

this episode was done in early february 2010. this joke isn't new by any means, but the dialogue fits these characters to a tee, so i hope you folks don't mind my lack of originality this week.

i know i said this last week, but i really like how the line work is coming together. i think this one looks great. the next step - learning and practicing my handwritten fonts. it's the main thing holding the series back, in my opinion. i never put much stock in typography, thinking "who cares? you're just reading it." now, it's actually becoming a bit of an eye sore on an otherwise good looking illustration. unfortunately, i'm sure you'll all agree.

what's in a name anyway?

i don't think i've ever talked about where "Make Good Illustrations" came from. the name, i mean. the only reason i bring it up is that i think it's an (long) interesting story and one worth mentioning.

i'm going to take you way back to when i was a child in parsippany, new jersey. every sunday morning, my father would put me on his lap in the recliner chair of the family room and read me the sunday funnies. his favorite was "prince valiant", a serial comic about a medieval prince and his sword wielding adventures, and "beetle bailey", a bumbling private in the u.s. army who always got chased by his one toothed sergeant. but what i remember most is my dad's 5 o'clock shadow not matching his mustache, his messy hair which was usually pristine, his pea green terry cloth robe, and the mix of coffee and morning breath breezing past my nose as he read the comics aloud, reading each part with a slightly different voice for effect. that constant memory is not only one that i will never forget, but one that i built on. i plan to do that with my kids someday (but with a blue terry cloth robe since red heads can't wear green unless it's christmas), since my hope is that the newspaper industry survives until i actually father a child, though i doubt my comics will ever be clean enough to be in the paper. but i believe this is where it all started for me.

as time passed, i drew all the time. what really meant a lot to me was that my family supported me in my creativity - my uncle joe and aunt lisa specifically. they bought me art supplies (the good stuff) and always asked to see what i had worked on, a request i was usually too shy to oblige. as the years passed and after countless art classes taken, i decided i wanted to study art in college. i drifted aimlessly through my classes, resting on what talent i had, but never pushed to succeed. at the end, i realized i had majored in what i wanted, but had no idea how i would apply it to make a career out of it. when i graduated i tried to find an art job but couldn't so i did what every art student does in this situation - mooch off my folks until they tell me "enough's enough" and i got a "real" job. i did that for 5 years until i got fired for not giving a shit anymore. office jobs are just not for me. a year or so prior to my relief from 9 to 5 society, i started working at a bar (the one i still work at today).

years earlier, my aunt lisa passed away from breast cancer at the age of 29. i took it pretty hard, but after i lost my day job i started feeling lost. i liked working at the bar, but knew it wasn't something that offered a future - at least not one that i wanted. i started feeling guilty - guilty about wasting my schooling, guilty about wasting my talent, and guilty about wasting the encouragement my family and friends gave me to pursue my dream. i felt like i owed them and myself a second chance. i felt like i had to make good on the chance they gave me. and so, Make Good Illustrations was born. it's my chance at redemption and my second chance at doing what i've always wanted to do. i'm very lucky that i have this second chance and lucky that i even recognized it when it knocked on the door. i truly hope you all enjoy my comics as much as i do. all i hope for now is to do this full time. then i'll have really made good.

the dregs #34

this episode was done in the last week of january 2010. it was a relatively new joke from work that the door guy and i made up. we both have beards and we were talking about how he grooms his and how i just try to keep my mustache from getting in my food. somehow it got to "if i had back hair, i'd get that shit taken care of." it just kind of went from there.

on a technical note, sal's top arm took a little while to get right - the foreshortening, etc - but i think it came out great. i'm going to keep trying to put the characters in interesting poses and layouts. the last few have really looked great. also, i really really am happy with the line work in this one. over the past few episodes, i thought my pen nibs had dulled and needed replacing. i found out that they were just gunked up with the bristol board after the tooth of it had roughed up from erasing. either i have to quit erasing or stop being so hasty when i ink. it might take longer, but the latter is the obvious choice.

the science project #47

this episode, titled "eat the rich", (after the Motorhead song) was drawn in late january 2010. it's very dialogue heavy in the first panel, but i couldn't think of a way to do it without all that dialogue. i also couldn't figure out how i was going to really drive in the punchline "isn't that rich" and would the readers get how the joke works in 3 ways - she could be referring to her husband "richard", she could be referring to her financial status, and/or she could be referring to the gag gift. i like to think she meant it to be all three, but i doubt it. i also like how this episode can be read as how rich people are out of touch with common folks. or maybe it comments on how the overly fortunate are oblivious and insensitive since they live in their own world. or maybe it says that the bear skin rug turned out really great. i like to think it's saying all 3, but i doubt it.

the back story to this one is from all those christmas car commercials. this past december, i caught myself shaking my head at the tv because i couldn't believe someone would give someone else a car for christmas. i mean, who's got the money for something like that? i asked a friend the same question, and he replied with the obvious "rich people." including the dilapidated house in the second panel came together on the fly and tied it all together.

the science project #46

this episode was drawn in late january 2010 and is titled "not even Jesus likes a cry baby". this joke was originally going to be a "dregs" idea. it still could have worked for that strip, but i liked the idea i had for the sp and i think it payed off. i hope you think so too.

but there is a back story to this one. this was an actual argument i had with a friend. her boyfriend is a real jerk and one day i said that i didn't like him and i didn't want to be friends with him. she explained how he's her boyfriend and he's, of course, important to her, as i am. she asked me to say something and quash whatever ill feelings we had for each other and i exclaimed "why do i always have to be the good guy?" she replied, "because you ARE the good guy." at the time, i resented that, but she was right. you can try to be someone else, but, deep down, you are who you are. i ended up trying to bury the hatchet in an e-mail, but i never got a response. he's still a jerk. i'm still "the good guy". oh well.

the dregs #33

this episode was drawn in late january 2010. i liked laying this one out because it really gives a good look at the size difference between sal and peg. i have to admit, i'm really happy with the way the characters are coming along.

the dregs #32

this episode was done in early january 2010. i heard someone say this while i was at work and i instantly saw it as a peg comic. it being a reflective joke, it seemed fitting to have peg looking at her own reflection. where is she going to find her reflection at sal's place? in her martini. i think this layout and drawing is my favorite so far. i hope you all like it too.

the dregs #31

this episode was drawn in early january 2010. it was an older idea that i never got around to drawing, and was originally a two person dialogue. originally, it was only going to be "sal" and "onion's" lines that were going to be used. i like it a lot more with "peg's" dialogue because it gives a kind of double punchline. hope you like it.

the science project #45

this episode is titled "first come first serve" and was drawn in early january 2010. yes, i know. i went for the cheap joke here, but i thought the idea was hysterical. what if someone said that on your way out of a sperm bank? the original idea for this episode was going to be a sign over a room in a sperm bank displaying the title for this episode. i thought this way was funnier.

the science project #44

this episode, titled "hey there, tiger", was done in early january 2010. wow. the first comic of the new year. anyways, this episode was basically written by a friend and my dad. i just put the two ideas together. so, nadia and dad, thanks!

i don't think this has to be explained. but i will. MOST of us have sent messages to others that are... of a personal nature (or so i hear), and they never arrive. haven't you ever wondered where those messages go? my friend and i joked that there is some guy out there getting all these illicit messages and then has to defend himself with every woman he ever dates. my dad came up with the great idea to make this unfortuntate man tiger woods. the timing was perfect, so i couldn't resist.