Comic: Pekar

I admit that it was a fantasy of mine to illustrate a story for Harvey Pekar... Obviously, that will never happen, but much worse than that- we will never have any more American Splendor or any new Pekar comics.

I didn't know the man (or "our man") personally, so I can't claim the sadness that his loved ones must feel, but like any other fan, I wish he could've stuck around a lot longer.. 70... That's too young, especially for someone who would've provided us with what he did best for decades to come. Selfish, I know...

Whatever he lacked in eloquence he made up for with honesty, and his lowest points as a writer are higher than what I could ever hope to accomplish. Harvey Pekar was strange, wonderful and imperfect, just like the best of 'em.

Click to enlarge-


For those interested, the artists I've attempted to imitate in panels 2-6 are: 70's R. Crumb, 70's Greg Budgett/Gary Dumm, Gerry Shamray, Josh Neufeld, Frank Stack, and the stick figures of the man himself. "Attempted" is the key word.

Redo: Is that good?

If all goes well, my zine will physically exist within a month, printed in glorious black and white and in the hands of whoever's interested... In addition to some brand new material, I've also been redoing some older comics, in cases where I still like the idea but the bears don't look right to me anymore. I used to make them much thicker, and though that's probably more bear-like, they don't really match the rest of the material, and plus I thought it would just be fun to redraw them. Here, in part to prove that I am in fact, like, doing stuff, is one of the redos, alongside the original. I'm not sure that it really looks all that much better, but I'm happier with the new look.

Click to enlarge the newly slim, lipo'd version-


..and here we have the old version from a couple years ago-


They kinda look more like mice now, or at least less like bears.. Maybe dog-bear-mice.

Comic: What to do if you find a cockroach in your bathroom

Originally drawn as two separate pages, but I think it looks better as one big square..

Click to enlarge.. and you might need to magnify again if you're using a browser that resizes images (it's kind of big)-

Maybe I should have put "gigantic cockroach" in the title instead... Based on true events, and that thing was HUGE.

Comics: Ziegfeld

Doing a G*rfield parody is pretty old hat by now I guess.. I'm aware that it's been done in several ways, but just let me get this out of my system.

Click to enlarge, bringing this grand idea to life-


Perhaps I could make a plush one for your van window, with a suction cup at the end of a little noose. Adorable!

Comic: Bowl for fun and health

Here's a comic I did today.. actually it was yesterday, now that the midnight hour is upon us.

Click to moisten eyes up to four times daily-

..Featuring a hat and facial hair.

Comic: How are ya?

Click to ENLARGE, making the pain all too real-


Dogs are great. I don't have one. I want to pet yours.

Comic: Albear Camus?

Click to ENLARGE and reveal the possible nature of your existence-

Not my favorite. Oh well. And for the record: just because I'm on the balcony, it doesn't mean I'm wallowing... I'm usually venting.

I think I may have painted myself into a creative corner with these bears. They're not supposed to specifically be me, i.e. based on real events all of the time, but now I pretty much keep making comics where I (or the bear-version of me) am the central focus. Am I the bear? The answer is usually yes and no, to varying degrees.

Tiny Comic - Cute things

Here's a very quick one that I cranked out today. I said that I wanted to get a comic posted before the holiday week, and so that's what I've done.

Click to enlarge and get your heart so warmed that it might be unhealthy-

Comic revision: Pygmy Hippo with color

Not exactly a new post, but I thought it would be fun to throw a little color on the pygmy hippo comic. I love black and white, but this comic in particular seemed to be begging for some sprucing up, and if nothing else that "leader" panel looks more fully realized.

Click to enlarge and enter a colorful world of hippo-related fancy-


I want to do a quick new comic in the next day or two and get it posted before the holiday week.. If I don't make time, I think my parents have a decent scanner back home so I can at least get it up sometime before Christmas day. We shall see.

Comic: Can I Interest You in a Pygmy Hippo?

A few weeks ago, the world fell in love with Monifa, the pygmy hippo baby born at the Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia.. So let's start breeding these things faster and in bulk, because we all want one.

CLICK to make the tiny hippos grow up too fast-

Comic: Comic

I made a comic today. I still do that.

Click to enlarge-

I've been pursuing other creative endeavors lately, though there should be more here soon. I don't want this blog to be about how little I'm blogging.

Tiny Comic: Soy Milk

Been a while.. Here's a wee little comic that might just add a small touch of joy to your day. Like a tiny scented candle implanted beside your heart.

CLICK so you don't have to strain your eyes so much-

If I find myself getting upset about something stupid, I think that the best course of action is to make a comic about it in which I make myself look ridiculous (see last post too). Perspective!

Comic: Road rage is sexy

After far too long without one (though I guess that's a matter of opinion), here's another comic, done today.

CLICK to expose your innocent mind to the salty language within (not for the young ones)-

Remember: You shouldn't get angry about that which you can not control or influence.. Some unsolicited therapy for you.

Comic: Owls doing stuff

I was going to post this in the morning, but I got back from the Mike Bertino show at Secret Headquarters and I'm awake/inspired, so why not scan this bastard and move onto the next one?

Click to ENLARGE, making the owls so big and lifelike that you may feel them flapping around your room-

I guess I missed my self-imposed deadline by a few days, but the great thing about self-imposed deadlines is that failing to meet them only results in a nagging feeling of self-hatred, and nothing worse.

Comic: It's a tasty treat

Bears! Comic! Done today, just for you. Perhaps you'd like to print it out and tape it up somewhere in your workspace. Let everyone share the laughter. Maybe you could staple it onto your shirt.

Click to experience life at its fullest-

The average adult male thinks about it once every 7 seconds.

Comic: Productivity is relative

I seem to recall a time, not so long ago, when I would draw and post quick, simple comics about bears.. Let's revisit that time, shall we?

Clicking the image will allow you to see it larger and all proper-like -


Ahh.. A nice change of pace after all of the real humans lately. It's always easier with bears.

Comic: Goldblummates

Jeff Goldblum and Jeff Goldblum.

Click/Enlarge to receive maximum Goldblum-


The dialogue consists of quotes from the man himself (and not characters he has played), which I found online and arranged. I can't say for sure that the lines are entirely accurate as I didn't compile them, but I seem to remember him saying such things on Letterman or Conan some years ago. Who cares, anyway? The words themselves are clearly somewhat inane, but the magic is that they are from the mouth of Goldblum. I do not appreciate Jeff Goldblum in an ironic way; He is a fine actor and one of my all-time favorite talk show guests. Remember those Apple commercials? I want to have a conversation with this man.

As for me completing the redo of what I set out to do last week, I am not thrilled with each depiction seen here, but I feel that overall it's Goldblumy enough, at least compared to the failures as described in my previous post.

Comic: This wheelin' ain't free

Comic! ..Done today.

Click the image for maximum enjoyment-

Has "pimp" ever been on one of Groening's "Forbidden Words of.." lists? If not, it should be. Not only is it kind of a stupid word to use for anything other than an actual pimp, but by now it's also terribly antiquated. Rappers and whoever else may continue to use it to describe themselves should it apply, that is if they wish to repeat the same things many of them have been saying since 1992, but neither objects such as cars nor elderly folksmen are "pimp."

Comic: onyd!

Clicking this image will make it oh so much better (and somewhat bigger)-


..I used different paper this time and suffered for it. My pen line was quite bloody, though it doesn't look much different than usual when shrunk down a bit.

Comic: Gull

No gag, just some sketchbook fun.. I haven't had a great deal of free time lately thanks to work, but today wasn't so bad; hence this comic's existence. Click to enlarge-