no name comics (1991-1992)

When I was an undergrad at University of Waterloo, there was the student paper called The Imprint which had comics drawn by students and I thought to myself, “I could do that!” So in 1991 I drew comics for the paper. However, the editor at the time didn’t think my work was good enough, so only like four strips made it into press. I don’t remember how many I did, but I only a handful of these survived being in my possession since then (a lot of my early artwork disappeared), and here they are. Looking at these now I’ve come a long way thankfully.

These were done on normal copy paper and a marker. I think the absolute unprofessionalism I had when doing these was a point against these getting published. I also changed the title with every strip as well as the by-line. I *think* this is the order they were done but I’m not sure. The first one, “no name comics” is forever lost and I don’t remember what it was about. But I know it didn’t get published.

If I recall correctly this was the second strip that I had done. A number of strips had the same pattern — someone would go off on a co-op assignment and die somehow. I was a co-op student myself and I had a lot of trouble in it. I could not meet the demands of the coursework and get my shit together enough to do all the stuff required for co-op. I ended up dropping out of the co-op program. I think I ripped off the hitchhiker at the crash test site joke from somewhere. Probably because there was no real internet at the time I probably thought I could get away with it.

The worst part of this was my awful attempt to try to ape “The Little Mermaid” with the style. Embarrassing. Also too many words. I’d use “the cup that talks” gag in Sexy Losers later on. The look of Henry Atkins is based loosely on my first year philosophy professor. This one was pretty dark but it DID get published.

This is actually the best one. I had a part time job in rental formal wear when I was in high school, so that experience informs this one. 99% of the rentals were for weddings but occasionally I’d get the really weird rental. Nothing like this though. The art is still a bit primitive but it works and all the dialogue is actually necessary. It also has a good vague title and byline. I wish all the comics were at least this quality.

There’s a lot to unpack in this comic. I always enjoyed Ambush Bug so it was time I made an outright copy of it. So here is my attempt at a funny superhero comic. I think the whole thing I was trying to get at was trying to make being a hypocrite funny. Oddly enough, this one got published, so I was pretty happy about that. Imagine reading a Don Knotts reference in 2024.

Because the last one saw print it was time to make a sequel! Despite the fact I was teribble at drawing superheroes I decided to do it again and for the last time. The first panel is a crack at the “student voluntary contribution” in which you will billed an extra fifty bucks and if you wanted it back you had to do some paperwork and wait a couple of months. The second panel is just an ignorant joke I made because a friend of mine was taking Japanese and there were many Asian students who knew kanji better than he did because of their background. The moral poem is really small, I’m surprised anyone could read it. This one got published too, which surprised me, but I never ever brought this character up again who still didn’t have a name, keeping in line with the nature of the comic.

This is one of the last comics I made, probably the very last. I thought that if I made the comic shorter it would get published, but alas, it wasn’t the size that was the problem. In this case, the joke is rather convoluted and I probably needed to think this one out more. Also the art is kind of scratchy and not clear which doesn’t help the punchline too much. For example, the guy in the last panel at the bottom is being bitten by spiders and the person next to him has his head in a plastic bag, but you can’t tell.

Welp, I tried. There were a number of strips I made but I just no longer have in my possession anymore, possibly because I forgot to bring them to Japan or something and are now lost to the ravages of time. I kept a few, I don’t know why I don’t have them all.

There was one in particular I remember drawing but no longer have. It was a comic of a student who got a Co-Op assignment doing therapy. Her first patient was a sex offender named Ray Ping [that was considered humor in 1991) who attacks her but is held back by the orderlies. Shaken, she buys a gun to protect herself, and out of the shower she mistakes the gun for the hair dryer (the gag would be resused in Sexy Losers). Now dead, she lies in her grave being thankful at least she got out of the job, but Ray is there in his new job as gravedigger, saying “Thank God for work release programs!” I wish I still had this one because it really is a precursor to the kind of stuff Sexy Losers would be about.

But anyways, this is my really early stuff. I don’t know if it’s all that enjoyable but at least it shows evidence of growth. My panels have a LOT less words nowadays.