Posts Tagged ‘weird’
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This comic is a true story, though an abbreviated one. When I was a wee lad I jumped in a puddle during a rain storm and fell into an aquatic world of magic and mystery. The mer-people that inhabited the strange underworld I found myself in needed my assistance in slaying a particularly ornery sludge monster that threatened their homes and livelihoods. I wondered what a nine year old boy could do that fully grown merfolk couldn’t, but, wrapped up in the majesty of it all I resolved to try my best. It was about this time that I drowned, having forgotten that I was under the water.
After drowning, I woke up from the fever dream I was having. A few days later, the rather nasty disease boiling my brain away abated and I went on to live a healthy and semi-productive life into my 20′s.
True story.
Imagination is a strange and powerful thing. When you actively utilize your imagination, everything has significance in some fashion or other. Every tree could have a life of its own, every toy has a history, and every star harbors incredible alien life the likes of which have never been seen on this planet. Writing comics has forced me to engage my imagination, to grapple with it in a difficult way. When non-artists see comics or art, they are often impressed with the imagination that it takes to create the things they see and read. There is a mystique associated with creativity that most people fall prey to (I do at times, when I see artists I’m impressed by) that makes us think, “Wow, how did they do that?”. We often consider ourselves inferior in those moments, thinking it impossible that we could ever match what these individuals have accomplished. This is, in a way, our own imaginations at work.
The reality is that imagination and creativity are tools. Creativity is as much work as any other, though often more mental work than it is physical. We all have the capacity to create and conceptualize but it requires time and effort as adults. As children, our minds are free from the limitations of the physical and social world allowing us to come up with the most outrageous concepts. Part of being an artist (professional or otherwise) is getting in touch with that side of your mind again and it can be a struggle.
As for me, I find solace in imagination. Stories and concepts allow me to explore other worlds and people while I sit bored in class or at work. That’s a powerful thing. Having the ability to conceptualize the unknown is what has set humanity apart from animals and given us everything we’ve got. Admittedly, some of that has run out of our control to some degree, but it has, for the most part, been positive for us as a species. With a more responsible long term approach to our imaginations, life on this planet could be pretty swell.
At least we don’t have to worry about drowning on the sidewalk.
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We tell children that anyone can grow up to be president or the CEO of a successful company or amazing painters, but the truth is that most people enter their cocoons and come out as regular ol’ caterpillars. I guess the truth isn’t always very appealing.
Honestly though, I personally see potential in everybody. We all have the ability to do these things, it is just a lack of will and dedication to what you do that stunts the growth of some people. There are others that choose an easier existence because that is just what they prefer, and that’s okay too. The fact is, while we all have potential to be amazing and live out the dreams we have, not everyone wants to or sees how.
For me, I’m starting to realize my dream of being a comic artist and that is thanks to you, the awesome people that visit the site and comment, send emails, and tell your friends. I always appreciate how many people stop by and check the site, its a wonderful feeling. I work hard, for sure. I don’t screw around when it comes to art and writing and I always push myself to do better partly for myself and partly for all of you. I realize that I have a ways to go, to keep pushing the art and the jokes, but its a process that will never stop.
That’s the only way to be if you dream of being good at something, I think. You’re always in a state of transition and growth.
Another God strip! Hooray!
An all powerful deity with human emotions was always something I found particularly funny in the Bible. There are many times where God is described as being angry or jealous or (as in the case of the New Testament) loving. I’ve talked about this before, but I find it hard to believe that a being with the power to create, animate, and infuse spirit into his creation would ever feel as we do. It just doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. In the Old Testament, you get this sense that God is essentially a kid with an ant hill and a magnifying glass, just tormenting people for the fun of it. I mean, the Book of Job? What’s that all about?
I don’t think it’s wrong to believe in a God or anything like that, but ascribing such incredible flaws to a being we probably wouldn’t be able to comprehend is a bit myopic. Sure, it’s nice to think that he’s just like us, but that’s also really silly.
That said, that sort of God does make for an excellent comic character. Especially when he’s sulky and draping himself over things.
This is a weird strip, I’m not sure what to say about it specifically, really.
The problem with Modern Art is that most people don’t understand what the fuck is going on half the time. The idea here is that you make something so inexplicable that people are forced out of their daily routine and given something to think about. Unfortunately, this practice turns most people off to the idea of art as these sorts of things tend to be really weird. We, as a culture and seemingly as a species, no longer prize execution. We have narrowed the beam of our artistic focus and that beam shines almost exclusively these days on such idiotic ventures as Damien Hirst’s Shark in a Box; AKA The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living.
This sort of art isn’t for me, I am a storyteller and a comedian at heart and my art is, more or less, the art of words and human experience. I am able to step back from my personal opinions and look at this objectively, even though it seems completely ridiculous. People are and should be allowed to pursue various artistic mediums. My problem is that this is what’s big right now and that we are not celebrating things that deserve to be celebrated in the way we should be. So-called “low art” (that is, comics, cartoons, animation in general, any art that relies on story rather than pure visuals) is spoken of pejoratively and with a sneer of disgust in art communities and schools. Meanwhile, people are paying millions for a preserved shark in a box. Seems a bit…strange doesn’t it?
The best part about this comic is that it is mostly true, minus the Sasquatch and deity disguised as a common household feline. My brother saw this very installation at the Philly Museum of Art and was appalled. When he told me about his experience in this white room filled with white panels hung from the walls and ceiling I was taken aback. He went on to explain that a strange hippie was sitting on one of the stools and listening to various voices robotically naming the days of the week in no particular order. It got me thinking…maybe that guy was the art!
Apparently he had come to the same conclusion independently. What can I say? We are brothers.
This points me to my main problem with Modern Art: people are no longer sure what art is and are, essentially, having to be told by gallery coordinators and school professors what does and doesn’t qualify. It’s a hilarious system but a shitty one at the same time.
Personally, all I want to see is some more diversity.
This comic is fast degenerating into a vehicle for my peculiar owl obsession. For some reason, I find these animals fascinating and entirely ridiculous. There is a plaque that was in my brother’s workshop for some time that featured a preposterous photo of an owl glazed onto it. When I moved into my new apartment, he delivered it to me as a house-warming gift, albeit with some modifications. I think this story starts to hit upon my particular illness.
I believe this particular strip truly illustrates the life and times of today’s owl population. I see them up there, sitting, watching, lurking. Why do they not, as the saying goes, get a job?
A valid question and one I will be sure to investigate next time I see an owl.
Anyway, Tuesday will be the last part of this mini story, then back to our regularly scheduled weirdness.
Pro tip: Do not tell people about your dreams. If there is no sex or if I am not in them, I do not want to hear about them!
That is a joke.
But really, it is funny when we tell others our dreams as they can often be very strange indeed. Dreams obviously are not controllable so you can’t be held accountable, but they can give us some small insight into the unique and disturbed psyche of individuals.
Sometimes it is best not to bring these things up.
As for me, I do not often dream. I have a tendency to get my personal oddities out on paper, often in strip format. The evidence of my own lunatic brain is before you.
When I do dream, I have a tendency to dream in animation or even comic page format. Do not ask me how that works, I cannot explain it.
…Maybe she has a great personality?
I hope everyone liked Sweet Will’s contribution on Friday. We are now back to our regularly scheduled Happle Tea updates, however! Tuesdays and Fridays are feeling pretty good so this may be what we end up with for the year.
I went through the archives earlier and organized everything a little more neatly. All comics done beforethe site was actually up are now archived in May, 2009. Everything after that is automatically archived on the appropriate day. This makes it easier to browse the older, more shoddy comics.
I’m working on a few things right now that I’m hoping everyone will like. First, I’m writing a graphic novel and doing some concept sketches for it that I’ll probably be sharing soon to get some feedback. That’s the big one at the moment. Second, I’m working on a personal gallery website that I can post REALLY good things that I’ve done as a sort of online portfolio. I’m planning to put some of the things I’ve done in school up there as well as some really finalized drawings I’ll be working on. I’ll probably have a section for sketches as well. Finally, I’m getting a donation button that doesn’t look horrible put up. If people would like to contribute to my groceries and rent, it will be there. If not, no biggie, I do these comics because they are fun and I just hope people like them.
I’m also waiting for approval from Project Wonderful so I can put up some advertisements for other comics here. Once I start getting some better traffic, it could really help me out.
Oh, and I just picked up a couple of volumes of a comic called Mouse Guard that is absolutely fantastic. Beautiful artwork, interesting story, and smoothly written dialogue make it one of my favourite things ever. Maybe you should check it out?
-K