Free Comics

It’s amazing to stop and think about how many free comics there are online. We’re kind of spoiled. But that goes with the cartooning territory. I’m very fortunate to make a living drawing comics. The weird thing is, is that even before I was making a living drawing comics, or even if I wasn’t, I’d still make comics.

Case in point, this Primordial Syrup thing I’ve been doing. It started the same way all my comics did. I had to do it. Same with “Dog eat Doug”. I had to make it. This is true for most cartoonists. We’re constantly making cartoons. Now obviously, there is that part of your brain that says “hey, doofus, what if you turned this into a living?”, which is of course, the same part of your brain that over-complicates everything.

Thank goodness that part of gray matter exists. Of course it does make on heckuva bumpy ride when you do try and make cartooning a living. Which is why it’s important to separate that part from the creating part every now and then. Once you do start making a living, it can become all consuming. You get a tincy-wincy check from a magazine for a comic and bammo, that capitalist part of your brain goes into overdrive.

However, you have to treat it like a Tesla sometimes. Let the AI drive for a while and get back to making comics for the sake of making comics. When the syndication offer came in for Dog eat Doug, understandably, that became my entire world. Every other project, and even my daily doodles, got shoved into the back of the closet behind the five year old New Balance running shoes (which till this day I don’t know why I kept them).

This ultimately hurts the very thing you are so focused on improving. I learned the hard way that it was the seemingly superficial, waste of time things like doodling, or working on random ideas for comics and books, that keep that main project fresh. That crazy stream of consciousness, where bills don;t exist, is the very thing that helps sharpen the ideas you are trying to create.

Hence the reason I no longer scold myself for mindlessly doodling for an hour or two, or starting a single panel comic like “Primordial Syrup” for no logical reason other than to get the ideas out of that stream an onto paper. Or creating the Conjurers webcomic while trying to write and illustrate three books. Logically, it’s not a smart thing to do. In the long run, it’s the very thing that keeps your creative engine charged. Sometimes you have to let the crazy out.

More Single Panel Silliness - Shank Monkey

For starters, Shank Monkey would make an awesome name for a band. This one began with a bunch of monkey doodles in which the monkeys performed all sorts of menial tasks such as grooming mustaches or applying make-up. And then boom, a little monkey showed up with a knife and shank monkey was born.

Before you ask, yes, there are t-shirts. I had to. Don’t know if they’ll sell or not, but shank monkey t-shirts needed to be a thing. You can get one by clicking here.

Onto the next! I’ll post another Primordial Syrup shortly. In the meantime, back to illustrating “The Conjurers, Book Two”.

Singe Panel Cartoons - Shopping List

This idea lived in my notebook for quite sometime. Finally got around to sketching it up. Originally, it was a little demon-like creature running up to the lady to make his requests. Then I had the idea of not being able to see the creature, which, many times is a bit spookier. Has a bit of an “Evil Dead” vibe.

Lots more of these to come. I have a notebook full of roughed out comics. And I’m constantly doodling more. Drawing these weird strips has always been my default mode. It also helps to give your mind a break from regular projects, and I never really found a home for the weird stuff. Truthfully, I do them because this stuff clutters my head. Best to get them out.
For now, I plan on drawing one a week, although I write a bunch during the week. Maybe a collection in the future? We’ll see. What would you think about making prints available? And since I’m asking, would you wear one of these comics on a t-shirt?

Single Panel Cartoons

Where the weird things are. I’ve always done single panel comics. The earliest ones I remember were in fourth grade. It was always the best way to get the weird images in my head out. They also made me infamous in high school. First time I got called to the headmaster’s office was over a single panel comic.

The comic, like most of my single panels, was only a fleeting, strange thought. No deeper meaning, just something that struck me as funny. This comic featured an average tree-lined street in an average neighborhood. Except an enormous soap on a rope had smashed one car parked on the road.

Long story short, they called me to the headmaster’s office after the comic ran in the school paper. I spent half an hour reassuring him that there was no deep religious connotations implying that god had dropped his soap-on-a-rope. 

Despite the momentary apprehension of a week’s worth of detention, I realized why I had always loved off-beat, bizarre comics. The sheer fun of seeing the hundreds of different interpretations over a bit of nonsense. With no effort of creating something that contained a profound statement or some worldly truth, it could inspire deeper thought unique to every reader. 

So ya, Primordial Syrup is the ongoing stream of strange that runs through my brain. I have notebooks full of ideas. I plan on rendering them into reality once a week. Let me know what you think in the comments. I’m always interested in what people think they mean.