Sometimes it takes a few extra panels to get a joke across. I’ve been reading a lot of Calvin and Hobbes lately, and I’ve been inspired by Watterson’s unique panel layouts for Sunday comics. Part of what made his cartoon so successful, I believe, is the amount of space he gave his characters to have dialogue. After all, it’s hard to consistently come up with four-panel gags.
This cartoon was actually inspired by a “conversation” I had the other day.
This comic was inspired by one of the guys who lives at my college coop. As a matter of fact, most engineers I know have a strange fascination with LEDs.
Incidentally, this is the first strip I’ve inked using a brush. If you look closely, you can see the difference in line work. I’m new to this method, so I’ve got a few kinks to work out. Still, I’m pretty happy with the results. Keep your eyes peeled for a comic in full color — one of these days, that is.
*see appendix β for the calendar used on the back side of the page.
**Constantly Electrocuted Organisms
***A cobbler is basically a pie that is square, thus π2 = Cobbler.
After a long 3 month conflict (it started on Estándo Biéndolos 3rd and ended on the 54th of Appothymer)*, the War of The Farmers finally ended at the battle of fertilizer hill.
The War of the Farmers was started when two farmers go into an argument about what vegetables kids hate the most. The House of Pork was losing the battle due to the lack of food (their pigs were too useful in battle for them to be eaten) and the constant bombardment of giant cucumbers from the opposing side, the House of Lamb Castles. The giant cucumbers could be used for food but it was too dangerous to harvest them because of the threat of being squashed by cucumbers from the sky. The turning point in the wars was when the radioactive tsetse flies were found to be indestructible, and were sent out to retrieve the cucumbers form the battle grounds and forced to work in pickle factories making rations for the soldiers (radioactive flies were not used as soldiers because of there tendency to be easily distracted by all the garbage and debris on the battlefield). Problems arose when it was discovered that the tsetse flies had been using cheap tiny plastic imitation cucumbers because they would get very bad headaches when they were hit from the giant falling cucumbers. This caused an outrage from the soldiers, not because they didn’t like the plastic pickles (they were actually much better tasting than the alternative, a synthetic polymer version of a brine and vinegar treated fruit form the Cucumis Sativus plant) but because an unknown third party promised to give them a bunch of free candy if they protested against the tsetse flies and their nefarious cost cutting schemes.
The House of York revoked the pickle pickling license form the tsetse flies and had the “Candy Store and Pickle Factory that Definitely Doesn’t Secretly use Tsetse Fly Slave Labor” produce their pickle products. This further caused the flies to become oppressed because in reality the “Candy Store…” place actually did secretly uses tsetse fly for slave labor (except for their Canadian subsidiary that used them for slave labour). The only other jobs available for large radioactive flies were even worse than slave labor, like being crash-test dummies, cleaning dorms or being CEO’s** of multi billion dollar corporations.
One of the worst off tsetse flies was Radium Enriched Tsetse Fly Number 9.8696044… (often shortened to Rad Rich Fly num. ππ [usually further shortened to RaEF #π^2 {shortened even further to Cobbler*** (which is not usually shortened to Cob)}]). One of the problems Cobbler had that even though he was rather large for a tsetse fly he was rather small for a radioactive tsetse fly. He also had a very hard time filling out official paperwork because it took a very long time to write out his full official name due to the fact that it had 29 characters followed by an infinite series of numbers after it. The worst problem Cobbler had was that he was a Sus scrofa biting amplification, intensification and weaponization tester, so he basically spent his time being bitten by angry pigs with various types of dentures designed to maximize damage done per bite as well as the BPM (bites per minute).Cobbler was one of best employees at the testing facility, mostly because he got laryngitis and thus couldn’t scream very loud, and was rewarded by being the only tester they kept after the War of the Farmers was over.
Sadly Cobbler’s life was going to get even worse, for he had dared to argue against the Narrator, a most foolish and…
“Wait!” cried Cobbler, “I never argued with the narrator, I heard what happened to that poor fool, Joe. I would never argue with the almighty Narrator”
Suddenly Cobbler realized that he had in fact argued with the Narrator about arguing with the Narrator, and thus the Narrator was right when he said the Cobbler had argued with him, the Narrator.
“That’s not fair, you tricked me! I’ll report you to the Writer!”
Sadly Cobbler didn’t realize that the writer is probably the same person and thus will probably take the side of the Narrator, and thus the Narrator will unleash horrible doom upon the argumentative Cobbler.
(Luckily for Cobbler the Writer is slightly annoyed at the Narrator and thus will only allow the Narrator to give Cobbler Joe’s blue afro.)
Pow? Blueafaummmm!!!
Chapter 9
A large fat squirrel named Chernobyl ate a vat of radium making him very radioactive.
Chapter 10
Because of poor sanitation a large number of tsetse flies appeared and started tickling people, but were stopped because they were easily squished.
Chapter 11
The radioactive squirrel Chernobyl is abandoned by everyone he ever knew, but he meets some tsetse flies and makes them radioactive as well, causing them to grow large in size and to become indestructible, because of their previous reign of terror the tsetse flies are oppressed are forced into pickle making causing them to subsequently lose their little possessions in the great pickle market crash.
The radioactive squirrel, Chernobyl is totally alone
Everyone has abandoned him, his friends, family, and even his clone
He went out to search the whole land for people that could be his new friends
He gave people prizes, like automobiles and personalized pens
He found some nice friendly trolls, but sadly they had been turned into stone
A fly looked for food
He met a squirrel who’s rude
The squirrel had a nasty green glow
It made flies shine bright as snow
Radiation spewed
Tsetse flies
Become oversize
fly fast
They’re unsurpassed
Covered skies
The tsetse flies are now radioactive flying machines of doom
No mere mortal or earthbound foe can force them into an early tomb
They fear no swatters made of human hands nor the hammer of great Thor
Stone walls cannot stop them, neither can wood floors, hard ceilings, or big doors
There’s nothing found in all the earth that can make the tsetse flies go BOOM!
Luckily for mankind
Tsetse flies are very kind
They do not remember the tickle
They’re busy making pickles
They can be confined
They get no respect
Everything’s wrecked
Destroyed
Annoyed
Far from perfect
The radioactive tsetse flies are now though of as second-class
They get to receive nothing first, they are always given their pick last
Flies have no money, status, authority, wealth, riches or power
They have not strength, friends, wellbeing, associates, or even good health
Their one day goal is to be considered citizens that’s middle-class
Pickle get recalled
Prices for fly pickles fall
They lost their jobs, and all their profit
This wasn’t seen by the prophet
Flies have lost it all
Flies are mistreated
They feel cheated
Oppressed
Depressed
Flies are defeated
No sanitation
Rotting garbage everywhere
KABLAM! Plague o’ flies
Genus Glossina
A creature that flies around
It’s a tsetse fly
Flies in your coffee
Swimming in all the caffeine
Hyper tsetse flies
Zipping here and there
Moving too fast to be caught
Beware tsetse flies
Flies with little wings
Wings that flutter and tickle
Hee hee hohuhap
It makes people laugh
Laughing so hard that they cry
Side aches hurt a lot
Luckily they’re small
Tsetse flies squish easily
Troubles averted
Tickle is no more
The flies now fear getting squished
The whole world is saved
For this year’s Spring Break, I went on a road trip with a friend of mine down to my uncle’s cabin in Northern California. We stayed there for three days and drove back up along the coast (through the Redwoods). This comic was partially inspired by conversations we had in the car during the trip.
I decided to try experimenting a little with panel layout in this one. The silhouetted panel was fun to draw and nicely mixes up the visual rhythm.
