the science project #24

titled "Mummy Dearest", this was drawn in late february 2008. the idea for the joke was an old one from when i used to be a door guy, checking IDs. in that job, you're damned if you do and damned if you don't - if you ask someone who's obviously over 21 for their ID because they're with someone who may be under 21, the older person gets upset. if you don't ask, they get offended and ask "what? you don't wanna see MY ID too?" just shut up. this comic illustrates the silliness of that question through a bit of embellishment.

sadly, this is the last comic featuring "bob", though the bar idea will continue into its own series soon.

the science project #20

i did this one in early february 2008 and originally titled it "A Little Taste of Freedom". i decided to change it to "Freedom Fries Taste More Like a Knuckle Sandwich" simply because it sounded better. "bob" and "lawrence" are in this one too, but only as background characters and in the first panel.

this was my best political cartoon to date. i always felt we attacked the wrong country just for the sake of urgency for revenge for 9/11. the country needed someone to pay for the attacks, and iraq was the easy target. this comic illustrates those feelings completely.

the science project #14

done in mid december 2007, this episode is titled "Merry F'n Christmas" and has become a favorite with some of my fans. i'm glad because i think this is not only funny, but the best drawings of the characters "bob" and "lawrence". it flows well and i like the usage of uncomfortable situational humor. if you haven't noticed, this is also probably the moment of conception of the comic i'll start to develop in about 3 months.

the science project #3

thankfully, this episode doesn't require any explanation. it's just plain 'ol silly. one thing i do have to point out is that this is the point where i started questioning the idea that the SP was going to be successful as a comic catering to the service industry crowd only. i thought broadening it's scope would not only open things up for more potential readers, but would also allow me a much larger number of usable ideas to work with. "bob" and "lawrence" would still have their episodes, but i had new characters in mind for serial appearances as well as knowing that i would be using non-serial characters from time to time.

so, this may be an interesting turning point to some, but it was an uncertain one for me. this was late summer 2007.

the science project #2

this is probably the worst comic episode i've done yet simply because it doesn't make sense to the viewer. as it goes, "bob" asks the customer if he can get him anything. the hipster customer is drunk, so he's garbling his words. "bob" then snaps his fingers, turning the hipster into a tiny camel. "lawrence" (another not-so-clever alias since the character looks exactly like the guy who he's based on) is surprised at this magical transformation and asks "bob" how he did it. "bob", however, is reluctant to reveal his magic school secret and transforms "lawrence" into a tiny pony when he continues to ask questions. the generic bar patron then makes a silly comment.

i believe this comic makes sense once it's explained, but that defeats the purpose of a comic strip and so i think it's an unsuccessful episode. i could have redrawn it but i chose to chalk it up as a loss and move ahead.

the funniest part about this comic is where the idea came from. one of the bartenders that i work with told me a story about how a drunk customer kept talking at him one night and how he avoided him. when it was obvious that the customer was going to keep nonsensically talking at him, he slowly lowered himself below the bar level, like some people do when pretending to lower in an invisible elevator behind a couch. he then reappeared farther down the bar, and the customer he was trying to avoid never noticed. i took the idea and changed it a bit, but i still think the original story is funny to imagine. funnier than the comic, unfortunately.

the science project #1

it's funny to go back and look at early SP episodes (this one having been done in early 2007) knowing where the strip is now. so, let me start at the beginning so you can understand...

the original idea for the science project was that it was going to be a "dilbert" for service industry people. working in a bar, you hear people griping about things on both sides of the wood. having the perspective of the bartender, i thought an outlet like this would be great. however, it quickly became very inside jokey and i realized that, if this was going to be successful at all, i couldn't take it in the direction i had initially wanted because i was going to alienate most of my potential audience telling them how they sucked in a number of ways. SP#1 is a perfect example of this.

living in chicago, the idea for this specific episode was how most non-wrigleyville (maybe even some wrigleyville) bartenders hate cubs fans and frat guys. they're loud, obnoxious, lousy drunks, and really exp;ain the need for our "adult babysitter" role. that being said, most bartenders like the ones i described above (sometimes secretly, sometimes not so secretly) fantasize about these types of customers spontaneously combusting (or something along those lines). so, i took that idea and ran with it.

the main character in this one is "bob" (a not-s- clever alias, considering he looks exactly like the guy he was modeled after). the cubs fan guys he's talking to were drawn to look as generic as possible, while keeping the accents that help define them as this type of customer.

i don't think i need to explain what's happening, but i will. for some reason, some bar patrons (at least one's that i've found) don't listen. when you tell them you're out of something, or you don't carry something, they sometimes keep asking anyway. in this episode, the main cubs fan is doing just that: asking for a beer the bar doesn't carry. the bartender explains just this, and it escalates to where "bob" gets mad and uses his "scanners" power and makes the main cubs fan's head explode. "bob" asks them again what they'd like, and one of the cubs fans was already out the door, as to not end up like his friend. i still think it's funny. but like i said, it's a fantasy.

if i had to change something specific, it would be to make the tiny panels in the middle (the ones that zoom toward "bob's" and the cubs fan's eyes) move in rows vs in columns. it just made it awkward.

there was an alternate idea for this episode. "bob" was going to uppercut the cubs fan's head off in a very flashy japanime style move instead of using mental telepathy. the other way would have been funny too. maybe i'll still use that somewhere.

anyway, this is where it all started. *sigh of nostalgia*...