Bob the Hamma-Stoppa

Addendum: "classic"

This enduring character is Bob, the Hamma-Stoppa. Ironically enough, he himself is shaped like a human-sized sqiuggly hammer that talks like Mr. T. In later comics, I would prove that for Bob, form equals function. At the bottom left of the page is another glimpse of internet-speak, this time from the misunderstood masterpiece The End of The World. At the top right is a spanglish statement that reads, "Paul likes el pene bomberos," or, roughly translated, "Paul likes fireman penis." It was hastily crossed out, and I decided that I would have to be more careful to whom I would show my drawings in the future.

Salad Fingers

Addendum: "Phailiure To Spell"

This was my attempt to render the wonderful, surreal flash animation salad fingers on some fancy heavy drawing paper. I'd say it came out pretty well. I took my time, drew light enough to erase without leaving dark marks on the page, and the source content was simple enough (keep in mind simplicity does not imply ineffective) for me to copy without feeling overwhelmed. Shown here is (right to left) Huber Cumberdale, Majory Stewart-Baxter, Jeremy Fisher, and half of the face of Salad Fingers himself.

ROFL. BE QUIET!

Addendum: None

Two characters. The top one I'm pretty sure I copied from a book or traced, because it is far too cute (and detailed, and well drawn, and thought-out) to be one of my own creations. The bottom one was an exercise in Scary Faces and Semi-Horrifying creatures (which would later turn into Actually Pretty Cool Creatures with A Lot Of Blood). An abandoned Scary Face can be seen between these two characters. To try out my bubble lettering (which I still have difficulty with) I picked a humorous catchall  - "ROFL" which ensured that: 1. If I messed up, it wouldn't say anything important anyways, 2. If I did a good job, it wouldn't say anything important anyways.

The Road to Nowhere

Addendum: None

This is one of my first "perspective" drawings (the former being akin to Egyptian hieroglyphs where everybody is pressed flat against a page) as well as one of my more existential pieces. Although titled "The Road to Nowhere," a sign points that reads "Somewhere" that aligns the two seemingly contradictory ideas of something and nothing. Also shown is a victim of life's rapid journey: a bug, most likely crushed underneath the wheels of a speeding car. S/he cries out, but is unheard, the only living creature depicted in this desolate place.

Jim and Jeff

Addendum: None

This appears to be an extremely hastily drawn picture of Jim and Jeff. Their alliterative names do not necessarily make them related. Jim is somewhat of  a sociopath; Jeff is a quiet introvert. They are both very special. I think that the purpose of putting "Yeah! Yay!" is twofold: 1. to express just how special Jeff and Jim both are, and 2. to test the waters of wordplay between "yeah," "yay," and "yea".

SUPER SPECIAL TRIPLE HEADER INCLUDING: SOMETHING I DIDN'T DRAW AND TWO (2) SFD4 CONCEPT PAGES!!!

Addendum for picture I didn't draw: "what the hell dude"
Addenda for SFD4 concept pages: None

Anyways. The SFD4 concept pages show Mighty Stick in a variety of poses, including but not limited to: killing people with a chair, killing people with other stick-people, just walking (y'know?), falling, being half-drawn, getting his face tattooed with an enormous "x", admiring the color of blood, kicking his own giant head, and of course having fun with his trusty murder stick. Also visible is my experimentation with the arrangement of the title, which would I thought was critical for the success of further comics. If you look at the top left corner of one of the concept pages, you can see me trying to imitate the headshot icon from "Counter Strike: Source" which had recently come out and which I thought was really nifty (ran fine on my 5200FX, albeit at 800x600). The beautifully drawn picture that I had NO PART IN appears to be a banal rendering of a man on a dock with a definite horizon and a tree/shrubs for perspective. It is the result of my asking of an adult friend for drawing advice and receiving a picture instead. I had written "AWWW FUCK" but crossed out "FUCK" when I thought that that seemed too extreme.

KeKo "Concept Art"

Addendum: None

This was a page I intended to use for ideas for future KeKo comics that I could draw. As you can see, I did not get very far. At the top is a shot of the man himself. He is a sunglass-wearing, gun-toting, bandanna-wrapping (this implies no connection with any sort of extremist sect) clown killer. Below that is a diabolical invention used by a clown to try to usurp our hero's fortitude: a homing rocket launcher that does not home in in a straight path, but that takes a circuitous course so as to confuse the target. I think KeKo is pictured shooting the device so it explodes, killing the operator and causing the homing rocket en-route to fall dormant. Apparently there was to be one final stick figure, but the world will never its nature.

Dear Valued Customer

Addendum: None, save for some algebra scribbled on the back

When I drew this, I don't think I was old enough to own a product that would merit a call to a customer support line, I just think I was toying with the idea of verbal irony (not that I was identifying it as such at the time). The four words at the bottom made the reader unknowingly sound out the word "penis" when they were read quickly.

Baseball

Apologies for the unannounced vacation. Michigan called, I responded.

Addendum: None

This was part of my transition away from lined paper ripped out of notebooks to white computer paper that I 3 hole punched and put in the back of my notebooks (see "DIVIDE HERE" and "X-tra Paper"). I don't think that this is an autobiographical work, but if it is, it's only partially accurate. Although I played baseball through middle school, I would inevitably be stuck in right field (for those of you unfamiliar with baseball, this is the position that sandlot teams everywhere will leave empty if there are too few people). While this was demoralizing, I still enjoyed batting, but the thrill lasted so briefly that it was rarely worth the wait (I'm told that it is similar to being involved in a war). Also evident in this work is the budding self-referentialism that would only intensify in later pieces.

KeKo the Clown Killer

Addendum: "holy shit I was violent"

This spiky-haired character's name is KeKo. He murders clowns for a living. He wears sunglasses, a holster, and a bandanna. Do not worry: the clowns that he murders are usually quite malicious (just look at his expression in panel one). In this strip, the anonymous clown attempts to surprise KeKo with a pointy triangle (perhaps stolen from a poor faceless stick figure) whilst loudly announcing his intent. However, K is able to deliver a stunning blow, and while the clown mopes on the ground with a foot on his head, KeKo loads his weapon and messily dispatches the unfortunate circus-dweller. The omniscient narrator makes a guest appearance in the final panel as KeKo raises the nose of the murdered clown to the heavens like an ancient Aztec priest.