#16: Delicious!

If you realize just how free you are...what will you DO with that freedom? I would imagine that in most most responses, ice cream would be involved.

Thus ends my comic buffer. Craaaaaap.

I need motivation.



Albums during drawing:
"Silent Alarm" - Bloc Party
"Led Zeppelin III" - Led Zeppelin
"461 Ocean Blvd" - Eric Clapton

#15: That Makes Me a Saaaad Panda

When you take our secret recipe, that makes me a saaaad panda.

Also, I hate the art in panel 4. The End.




Albums during drawing:
(Half of) "Sound of Silver" - LCD Soundsystem
"Either/Or" - Elliott Smith + "Miss Misery"
"Daydream Nation" - Sonic Youth

#14: I Hope You Like Text

This is, without a doubt, my favorite comic I've done so far. I can never look at panel 3 without giggling uncontrollably. If you didn't know (and you probably didn't), I ripped off was inspired by this comic from Penny Arcade (I'm pretty sure I don't even need to link the site, but whatever). There is no doubt in my mind that Tycho (Jerry Holkins) is one of THE BEST writers in all of webcomics.

A side note for all you non-ND kids: each dorm is divided by gender, and "parietals" is a designated time at night when a person of the opposite gender is not allowed to be in that dorm, and is punishable by...something...I don't know. What can I say, we're Catholics.



Albums during drawing:
"Enema of the State" - Blink-182
"Dude Ranch" - Blink-182
"OK Computer" - Radiohead
"Pablo Honey" - Radiohead

#13: Kool Kids

This is the first one-shot comic, meaning it's not attached to a story arc. There are many more, I assure you.

For all of you non-ND kids, Keough is the dorm I live in. I pass by that sign every day, and what you see from this strip is all I think of when I do. The other posters around it are also little jokes that I think only ND students would understand. Except for the last flier, which is a reference to Hemingway (which I'm sure almost no one will understand).

Also, Joey has slender, girly wrists, apparently.



Albums during drawing:
"Summerteeth" - Wilco
"No Matter Where We Go..!" - Latterman

#12: Give Me a Reason (Just One)

Guys, never give crap like that to a girl.

Girls, never take crap like that from a guy.

Have I established Brian as a maelstrom of asshole-ery yet, or what? I swear, the real Brian is NOTHING like this...unless there's something he's not telling me...

And so ends the "Introductions" story arc. When I wrote those comics, I didn't think it would go on so long...or that they would all string together. Though this arc is over, there will (eventually) be more characters entering the fray.



Albums during drawing:
"Greatest Hits" - The Cure
"Disintegration" - The Cure
"XO" - Elliott Smith

#11: Scrabulous

As an English major, I am quite good at Scrabble. Though, I'm not nerdy enough to study a dictionary. Also, has anyone seen all the volumes of the Oxford English Dictionary in one place? It's not quite as big as I make it here, but still, IT'S HUGE!

Also, the background of panel one bugs me like no other. I made it TOTALLY wrong, and now it looks like some weird optical illusion. Either that, or Joey is now a giant.



Albums during drawing:
"Scary Monsters" - David Bowie
"Hunky Dory" - David Bowie
"The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars" - David Bowie
"Heroes" - David Bowie
(...it was a Bowie kind of day, I guess)

#10: Your Problems Are Better Than Mine

And so the comic enters the double digits. Truly a milestone.

I actually wrote up this strip and "Hardcore Nudity" JUST to explain why Joey's pants fell in "First Impressions."

THESE COMICS ARE MULTIPLYING LIKE RABBITS



Albums during drawing:
"Figure 8" - Elliott Smith
"You Forgot It in People" - Broken Social Scene
"Don't Turn Away" - Face to Face

#9: First Impressions

HIS PANTS FELL DOWN!!!! LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

Truly, I am among the sharpest wits of my generation

You might notice something funny about the speech bubbles. That's because I used a thin permanent marker to ink them. I'm pretty sure I'll never do that again.



Albums during drawing:
"Summerteeth" - Wilco
"Either/Or" - Elliott Smith
"Young Team" - Mogwai
"Sound of Silver" - LCD Soundsystem

#8: Stop That

Gosh Joey! Everyone knows that girls don't like to be complimented! AMIRITE???

And so, Paula enters the fray. She's pretty awesome!



Albums during drawing:
"Our Endless Numbered Days" - Iron & Wine
"Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" - Wilco
"Number of the Beast" - Iron Maiden
"Sound of Silver" - LCD Soundsystem

#7: Not a Word

Anyone else feel this way after their first class? I did! I did!



Albums during drawing:
"Neon Bible" - The Arcade Fire
"What's Going On" - Marvin Gaye
"Whatever People Say I Am, That's what I Am Not" - Arctic Monkeys
"Favourite Worst Nightmare" - Arctic Monkeys

#6: Totally Lost

This particular incident has never happened to me, but I wouldn't be surprised if someone told me they'd experienced personally.


Albums while drawing:
"Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" - Wilco
"The Creek Drank the Cradle" - Iron & Wine

...I guess this one was pretty quick to draw

#5: HARDCORE NUDITY!

You wanted it, you got it. [implied] HARDCORE NUDITY!

Officially, this is comic #5, and is also officially my favorite as of now. I cannot stop giggling at panel 1 and panel 4.

Please ignore the weird bed.

...please?




Albums during drawing:
"We Are Still Alive" - Latterman
"Broken Social Scene" - Broken Social Scene
"Led Zeppelin" - Led Zeppelin (thus the poster)
"Led Zeppelin II" - Led Zeppelin

#4: The Hunt

Fourth comic woooooooo

I really have horrible handwriting in this, but on the plus side it's been getting better with each comic I do. I am so pleased with how that guard came out that I want to make him a reoccurring character. We shall see.

Albums during drawing:
"Blonde On Blonde" - Bob Dylan
"Neon Bible" - Arcade Fire
"In Rainbows" - Radiohead
"What's Going On" - Marvin Gaye

#3: Anchorman

Third comic wooooooo

I'll stop writing "wooooo" when I stop being mildly excited. Should be soon.

This is only the second time I've drawn this strip, so I guess it's getting better? You'll probably notice the lines are thinner. That's because this is when I started drawing with larger panels and scaling them down when I scan them. Looks kinda weird...


Since I don't really time myself when I draw these things, I started to write down the albums I listen to while drawing each strip. It gives me a rough estimate on how long it took me. For this particular one:
"Blue Screen Life" - Pinback
"Bat Out of Hell" - Meatloaf
"Turn Up the Punk, We'll be Singing" - Latterman
"No Matter Where We Go..." - Latterman

#2: He Has the Keys

Second comic woooooo. The madness continues.

This is another one of those comics I've done and redone 3 or 4 times. Unlike the first one, this came out better and better each time, so I guess that's a good thing.

Brian gets weirder and weirder as I draw him.

#1: Sketchy Beginnings

First comic wooooo

...and it's over before it began.

This is the beginning of a comic that I hope will be featured in The Observer. Whether or not that actually happens, I'll try to keep the comic updated on a regular basis, pending on school/my interest.

This must be the 3rd or 4th iteration of this particular strip, which was done and redone for several reasons. But at least it's here! (and the first panel looks like crap!)