Dregs #70

First of all, let me say that I never thought I would post more episodes than my original cartoon strip, The Science Project, which I was sure was going to be a hit. Most episodes of SP still make me laugh, where the others make me shake my head while I mutter to myself "what were you thinking?" Oh well, they're not all winners. But The Dregs is 70 episodes old and I hope you've enjoyed it as much as I have.

This episode is a blend of another Pitt-ism and an idea I've have for some time. I don't know about you, but it drives me crazy when people say "no offense" before letting someone have it and saying something offensive. The same goes for, "I don't mean to sound like a jerk..." or "don't take this the wrong way...". After reading this episode, I think you can see how it fits. The "everything else does" joke is the Pitt-ism and is probably the funniest thing he's ever said, so it'd be a shame if I didn't use it.

Cheers!

Johnny

the dregs #69

Hey, everybody. I'm glad I've kept up my end of the bargain and made another episode of The Dregs before another 4 months had passed so I hope you don't get burned out have two episodes within a months of each other.

This episode's joke is from a fellow bartender of mine. I don't remember how it came up exactly, but he wasn't feeling well (from the last-night-flu aka a hangover) and asked I would mind if he went home early. I asked him if he was alright and he responded "Am I ok? You're the one who's melting." I told him to go home because that one line was the best he was going to do all day, and so I had to write it down. I hope you thought that was funny because the next one might be one of his too.

Also, I'm starting to feel like Seth Macfarlane (a one note song) with all the awkward pause panels, so I'm going to try to not use them so frequently.

Cheers.

Johnny

Dregs #68

Well, it's been about 4 months since my last confession. Errrr... I mean comic. In fact, it's been so long that I'd forgotten my password to the blog and how to upload the comic. I don't know what else to say other than that I'm embarrassed. But, it's good to be back.

This episode is different from the rest because it actually ended the same way it started - No changes. The only thing that was difficult, was that I had to use photoshop more than usual. I was an idiot and forgot which way Onions should be looking so I had to flip each of his frames. I also must have been excited and rushed to get it scanned and ready to load because I had to put in some of Onions' hair dots and a line in his hat. None of this is difficult, btw, even with my limited "knowledge" and even lesser "expertise". Despite my obvious limitations, I still like this episode and I hope you do too.

Cheers.

Johnny

Dregs #67

I know I've said this before about saying this before, but this episode started as something else. I had heard this great joke from a Scot at the bar I tend and I thought that would easily be the punchline for this episode. But, as I usually do, and I did (and no one ever accuses me of this - except my girlfriend), I think too much. Soon, the original idea turned into something totally different and I worked on something that was nothing like the original idea. That's not that I'm going to abandon the original idea. I still think they'd be great with the Dregs Collective (yes, they deserve caps), so I'll make sure to let you know when that happens. (Spoiler Alert) - It will start a little something like this, "In this episode..."

Cheers.

Johnny

The Dregs #65

It seems that no matter how often I promise you (and myself) that I'm going to punch out more comics on the reg, I get caught up in something else - the beach, episodes of Lost (I'm only on season 3, so don't say ANYTHING), my "real" job, other people's comics, drinks, or running (that's right, running). And yet I still believe that this shit is going to get me paid someday. Is it ironic that I just realized how American that makes me as we come up to Independence Day? I'm clever like that (or so I like to think). 

Anyway, like just about every episode I write, the "you're as deep as your belly button" line was an old joke that I was trying to find a way to work in. The rest was me, but I can't take credit for that zinger since it was said by my coworker Good James. Aaaaaaand I probably shouldn't have written that. Now he's going to want royalties if it makes any money. Of course, we all know that's going to be a huge sum of money, so hopefully I'll have spent it all sailing around with Dave Chappelle at George Clooney's place at Lake Como, Italy while doing shots off Salma Hayek and Kim K's goods, all the while throwing around ideas on how to get Dave back in the biz (I didn't push. He asked for my help, I swear!). Because that's what a cartoonist with a free web comic will be doing in a few years once people get that he's really as funny as he thinks he is.

Good thing you got in on the ground level so you can say you loved this shit back when it wasn't "cool", right?

Cheers.

J Dub

The Dregs #64

Hands. God, I hate drawing hands. Thank God, however, for technology. Just create the same position you want, take a picture with your IWhatever, and draw it. Pretty friggin' awesome. AND it makes me not afraid to draw them anymore, lets me practice drawing them, and keeps me from making every character stand and/or gesture with fists. I do draw a sweet fist, though. And I do love Peg's face in panel 6. The cigarette falling out of her mouth makes me laugh. Like a buddy of mine who wears a monocle (no kidding). When he get's surprised, it falls out of his eye, and it's funny every single time.

Cheers.

Johnny

The Dregs #63

First of all, I'm happy because I was proactive enough to draw another episode the week I drew the last one. But this was an old script that I found as I was going through an old sketch book. I couldn't believe I never used it, but better late than never, right?

On a technical note, I am really happy with the way things are looking. Hands, angles, line work, etc. The only thing that I think is a little tough is the flow - going from left to right and then down to the middle row and not top then middle then right. But I don't think it'll be all that difficult to figure out. I just want it to be seamless. It's a comic strip and not meant to be difficult to read, so I hope it doesn't come off as that.

Cheers!

Johnny

The Dregs #62

I can't believe we've made it this far! #62. Anyway, I totally stole the "you're a cab" line from my buddy, fellow bartender, and bicycle gang member (Nick) and I've been waiting a while to use it. So, yay to that.

It took me forever to do Sal's hands, but I'm really glad with the way they turned out. 

That's about it this time. Cheers.

Johnny

Dregs #61

Hey, everybody. I find that I keep apologizing for not putting out cartoons on a more regular basis, so hopefully, one of these days, I might make good on that promise. But, in this episode, we see Sal getting confronted by a random customer. At first, I was going to have Sal look stunned and that was what Peg comments on, but it seemed unnatural - Sal doesn't get stunned by customers other than Peg.

All in all, I like this one, but I'm worried that the flow of panel #5 is a little awkward with the two different conversations in the same scene. The only way that I could think of not confusing people was the use of the arrow connecting panels #5 and #6. I just hope it didn't look like I gave up.

Cheers!

Johnny

The Dregs #60

Hey, everybody. It's Friday and it's time for a new episode of the Dregs. In this episode, I was obviously poking fun at how people speak "text", saying things like "L-O-L!", or "L-M-F-A-O!" Hell, there's even a group with that latter text speak name. It's all just stupid and I mean that literally. But, before I go off on a rant on how people are becoming stupider, I really like the second panel where Onions is replying to Sal's question over his shoulder. It's a simple panel, but I like the folds in his neck skin. I think it just came out well. I did, on the other hand, have the hardest time with the last panel (#5) and how to make Sal's angle original. I think it worked out, but I erased so much and so frequently, I almost had to finish this panel on another piece of bristol board because I was starting to raise the tooth. Thankfully, it never came to that. Paper ain't cheap!

Cheers!

Johnny

The Dregs #59

Hey, everybody. I seem to keep apologizing to you all for not producing more comics than I have been. I'm going to continue to try to keep my promise to you all and have at least one a month. They're probably going to continue to be more adult, like this episode, so I hope you all still enjoy the "charm". I feel that these characters need to more deeply explore their vulgarity/depravity to truly speak from their stony hearts.

Cheers.

Johnny

The Dregs #58 and MGI News

This episode's dialogue actually did not come from working at the bar. This is purely my pet peeve and how I feel a lot of other cultures feel about Americans. I don't know about any of you, but I hate bad grammar. So, who better than these ignorant, smart-ass characters to deliver my judgement? Bolek, being able to give my view of foreign opinion, made this one easy to write, other than the Polish translation. Thanks again for that, Delilah!

On a technical note, I drew this one on a larger bristol board (11"x14") and had to scale it down after scanning individual panels. I hope everything looks right to you all (especially the legibility of the dialogue). I do have to say, it was a hell of a lot easier to draw the details vs on the 9"x11" boards.

On to the news - I'm sorry that I haven't been able to keep up with The Dregs with the weekly schedule I hoped to publish, but for good reason. I am in the early stages of working on illustrating a children's book as well as working on a personal poster project (enjoy the alliteration), so my time has been more limited than usual. But, rest assured that I'll keep punching them out even if you stop reading them.

Cheers!

Johnny

The Dregs #57

A couple I know invited me over to watch the Bears game and one of the other guests just got back from running a half marathon that morning. I have never been a fan of running. I don't think I'd do it if someone was trying to chase me. But. we all talked about this woman's athletic feat and how great it is to be fit, I couldn't help but write down retorts to everything she was saying. These were the best two.

Cheers.

Dregs #56

Sooo... here's another episode. I don't have anything to say about it, really. I hope you liked the panel of Peg dressed in a prostitute's uniform. And I don't care what anyone says. Making fart sounds with your armpit will always be funny.

Cheers.

Johnny

the dregs #55

To quote my inner Biff Tannen, "Well, looky what we have here...". Bolek, the man with the best hair in cartoons, drops some philosophy/theology on your asses! And Peg has multiple facial expressions! I was sure her face was going to crumble when she squinted, but she's a tough old broad and doesn't take crap from cartoonists like me (or so she tells me). Now that we have a new character, albeit, possibly an unrelatable one, but I'm excited about the possiblilities and I already have some ideas for him in future episodes.

I hope you're all enjoying the increasing detail that's going into these newer episodes. I guess I feel like I have to mention it as a pat on the back to myself because, not only do I love how they're coming together and really accenting the characters and overall style of the comic, but (believe it or not) it takes a long time to do if they're not going to look like shit. So, love it. I said LOVE IT!

Cheers.

Johnny

The Dregs #54

So, it's been 2 months since my last Dregs post. Believe it or not, cartoonist writer's block had struck again and I was helpless against it. Well, maybe not the helpless part, but I couldn't come up with anything funny. Thankfully, that has passed and I have a few more funny ideas I plan to draw this week before I have to come up with something new again. Let's hope this creative streak lasts!

As for this week's strip, I've introduced a new character named "Bolek". He's a one eyed, philosophical/brooding Polish character that, as far as we know, doesn't speak English (there will be translations). He doesn't have any lines this week, but that will soon change. I hope you like him.

Anyway, I hope you like this episode.

Cheers.

The Dregs #53

I know it's been a while since Dregs episode, so I hope this one makes up for the time. In my defense, I've been pretty busy. For instance, you can now buy my book(let), Not Just A Coaster on Lulu.com! I've been needing to put something like that together for quite some time and, thanks to my friend Kyra, I had to create one for her art show. Here's the link, if you're interested.

http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/not-just-a-coaster/15982642?productTrackingContext=search_results%2Fsearch_shelf%2Fcenter%2F1

Anyway, the punchline for this episode I got from one of my fellow bartenders, but it ended up changing along the way, as most of my jokes do. In the end, I came back to the original idea when my girlfriend didn't get it the way it was originally modified. I was almost in trouble when I had to rewrite the banter between Peg and Sal because it was already drawn, so space was definitely an issue. I think it all worked out.

Also, I'm fishing around for elegant script/handwritten fonts for the title. I'm trying something new this episode, so I hope you like it.

Cheers.

John

The Dregs #52

Let's see... I reached back into my old book of ideas and pulled out this pearl. Originally, the joke was someone saying, "Are we going to do a shot before we go?" Someone else would then reply, "We'd better. You're driving." Not funny and I don't remember why I thought it was in the first place, let alone why I decided to write it down and save it for later. I was, and hopefully you agree with my use of past tense here, very good at writing confusing dialogue.Thankfully, I've been getting better at not doing that anymore. But I welcome the challenge of going back through these bad joke ideas and doing something with them after having given up on them years ago. It's fun reading the original ideas and saying to myself, "what was I thinking?" Hopefully, you're finding the effort worthwhile too.

I'm sure you've all noticed the addition of the title to the new format. I think it'll give each edition a more professional look and, once I come up with a signature font to use for it, I'll replace the one I'll be using for the time being.

Cheers.

John

The Dregs #51

This episode was just finished (3/16/11). A friend of mine had just gotten back from Florida and I instantly thought of those awfully funny "... and all I got was this lousy t-shirt" t-shirts people get, or used to get, and tried to make a joke about it. It just seemed to fit, but I thought it was time Peg got zinged instead of Sal and/or Onions. And there you have it.

Cheers.

John

The Dregs Turns 50 (episodes)!!!

Hello, dear friends. It seems just like yesterday when my first comic, The Science Project, turned 50 (episodes) and now my second group of misfits, The Dregs, have reached this milestone. As I'm sure my mother will say when I finally get married and have kids, I never thought I'd live long enough to see the day.

As I write this, I look back over the course of the past 50 episodes and I see how Sal, Peg, and Onions have grown up - their look, voice, etc. Even I grew up while drawing this comic and I'm truly proud of how everything has turned out. If you get the time, take a walk down memory lane and remember some funny, and not so funny, moments. Hopefully, there will be more of the prior than the latter.

All nostalgia aside, this episode is basically a play on the "I like my coffee like I like my women" comment. Adam, customer of mine, came up with the "cold and bitter" bit and I had to use it because it fit so well, but it took a bit of messing around to get the joke to play. I think it works well.

Cheers!

Johnny