the dregs #16

here's the episode that was originally supposed to be #14, as it was done in early april 2009. the joke actually came from a customer (thankfully, not saying it to me).

does anyone recognize the mystery guest? he was in the SP...

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.