John Thorn

A texas illustration

2011-10-19T11:49:00.000-07:00

Snot

2011-10-10T10:22:00.001-07:00

Bam

2011-07-27T12:28:00.000-07:00

Bootstraps

2011-07-27T12:16:00.000-07:00

You know what you can have?

2011-07-22T16:36:00.001-07:00

Harry Potter

2011-07-13T13:41:00.000-07:00

A piece I did for the Daily Texan. I was told it had to be colored when I turned it in, so I colored this with a mouse.

Letter Grades

2011-07-09T13:50:00.000-07:00

Big JT is such an irresponsible dad. That kid is gonna be a brat when he grows up.

Generational Gap in Maturity Nonexistent

2011-07-01T21:18:00.000-07:00

This is one version of a comic I had in mind. Hopefully, I'll get the other up soon-ish.

Missing

2011-06-27T20:50:00.000-07:00

Yup. When John gets too drunk he thinks he has lost his clitoris and unknowingly recites the Vagina Monologues

Childood Memories

2011-06-23T16:53:00.000-07:00

A year late

2011-06-18T14:21:00.000-07:00

Ok this here comic was a comic meant to be drawn like a year ago for switcheroo with Nam Nguyen's "Psychobevo" (facebook.com/psychobevo). The one I *did* do for switcheroo was pretty terrible so here is one that is not as bad.

Upon inspection

2011-06-13T23:42:00.000-07:00

Stay Optimistic

2011-06-02T17:03:00.001-07:00

sketches

2011-01-31T16:34:00.001-08:00

mo mucha

2011-01-31T16:18:00.000-08:00

two sketches

2011-01-28T20:17:00.001-08:00

stupid sketch

2011-01-24T15:42:00.000-08:00

hey look a dumb sketch I didnt feel like finishing.

Another Mucha ripoff

2011-01-24T10:50:00.000-08:00

After Mucha

2011-01-15T17:12:00.000-08:00

This is me ripping off another artist.

Better late than never ( A post about the DT Comics Murder Mystery)

2010-06-09T11:12:00.001-07:00

This is the end, my beautiful friend.

2010-05-11T09:49:00.000-07:00

There is one more JT comic I have to do out of a promise, but this is how John Thorn ends. I don't think Ill ever write and draw about his life past college, but if you're slightly curious, I always thought he'd get a normal 9-5 job, hate it, quit, become a fireman, travel the world for a month every year before eventually settling down and becoming a teacher and a father.

It is interesting to me. I have had this ending planned pretty much since I started this series so it ends exactly as I expected. A quiet little comic in which a picture is taken and one too many cheesy lines are delivered. The series started with JT not knowing what to do and ended up very much the same, but the whole middle is so much different than I expected. I started simply. Simple style. The characters were only cardboard cutout deep in my head. The comic was not ambitious in spirit at the beginning so I wouldn't make a mistake which may have been my first mistake.

I look at the first 50 or so comics I made and can't believe I let myself draw something that was below my ability. I was always able to draw better than what was shown back then. If I had tried as hard as I do now, they probably would have looked just a bit worse than they do now. But I knew I was gonna make mistakes. I just wish I had made these mistakes going for it all like I have more recently.

I also felt like I've cheated John Thorn and Weeaboo Girl/Stephanie and Lu and Travis a few times. It is a strange feeling. I remember, a few years ago I went to see a movie, the Nines (?), at the Alamo Drafthouse on South Lamar and the director and Ryan Reynolds were there for a Q&A afterward. At one point in the session, the director talked about how the movie was a product of him wondering what were his responsibilities to his creations. Of course, at the time I did not understand what he meant, but I do now. I feel like I've gotta apologize to JT and WG because I always had to make their relationship a joke. Apologies to Lu because he never got much time to be much. A sorry out to Travis since I never finished his story. I understand that these are comic strips and that jokes are expected, I just wish I could do more with it. Sometimes, I felt like I had to force a joke and take away from the fact that JT was in fact growing up.

I thought this was most evident in the Albino Squirrel Saga. The albino squirrel is killed by JT when he pigheadedly sets it free by throwing it out the window. Haha Funny end chuckle smile and on to the next comic. The joke diverts the attention from the fact that JT decides to forgo the easy route and becomes a bit more responsible. I felt like I had to sneak in his growth every time I wanted to do it. Hopefully, people will also look at the stylistic differences between now and the beginning and see some sort of growth beyond the superficial.

I also wish that I had decided to be as ambitious as I have been for the past 8 months since the beginning. My plan for the last 8 months was to be the creator of the most visually arresting comic in the history of the Daily Texan. I pretty high goal considering Chris Ware got his start here. I don't know if I have gotten anywhere near that point. That's hardly for me to judge. But in the end, I understand that I was not ever going to be flawless and that I was going to make many mistakes. Looking back at them all, I am OK with the mistakes I made. I was a stupid 20 year old then. Im a stupid 21 year old now, but a slightly better artist. I have John Thorn to thank for that. I had no idea that you were gonna shape so much of what I would become. I remember thinking you up. Average college student and lazy with a name that rhymes with longhorn who would occasionally serve as my mouthpiece of criticism but refused to do so and compelled me to write you differently.

Thank you so very much for everything JT

-Edgar

Something important

2010-05-09T16:23:00.000-07:00

Its the penultimate John Thorn. Le sigh. Lets just pretend JT isnt a total douchebag and instead thinks that the time they can spend before they break up is what is important. Or something like that

Eh

2010-05-06T10:49:00.000-07:00

I very clearly could not think of anything to draw

dirty apartments

2010-05-06T10:48:00.000-07:00

Color Me Bad

2010-04-23T13:13:00.000-07:00

Ooooh a flatly colored JT strip!

Albino Squirrel Saga

2010-04-22T10:02:00.001-07:00

This was a storyline I wanted to do for a long time actually and now that I have just a few comics to do left I figured I had to do it really soon and compress it since I only had two comics. Read this comic like a book as if the first column of panels is a page. Its the only way I could fit the story into two comics strips when I originally planned it as a 5 or 6 part storyline.

Bromance and switcheroo shenanigans

2010-04-15T14:17:00.000-07:00

Ill explain why this comic had to be done later

I Had a Dream

2010-04-15T14:14:00.000-07:00

Job Fairs

2010-04-12T15:16:00.000-07:00

Insomnia

2010-04-07T14:53:00.000-07:00

Say it backwards

2010-04-06T09:23:00.000-07:00

Hey, so maybe my comics arent so funny, but at least theyre pretty from time to time and occasionally well designed

Not breaking up

2010-04-05T10:33:00.000-07:00

You know how I can make JT look so douchy sometimes? I use Cristiano Ronaldo as photo reference.

A Day in the life of a Weeaboo

2010-04-05T10:31:00.000-07:00

I tried to make my style manga like to go along with the story but man it did not turn out so well

Hello Mother

2010-04-05T10:29:00.000-07:00

Oh god why did I put so much random crosshatching on the couch? Man, I dont know.

Spring Break Memories

2010-04-05T10:27:00.000-07:00

I was a bit worried that people might not get the idea that John Thorn's speech bubble was him explaining his mostly blacked out spring break memories but it seems people got it. yay

F*ck

2010-04-05T10:24:00.000-07:00

Diverted Attention

2010-03-09T17:26:00.000-08:00

Channeling Steranko or something. Craziest panel design I've made

Are you ready for this?

2010-03-03T15:19:00.000-08:00

Knowledge

2010-03-03T15:18:00.000-08:00

naps on the grass

2010-02-25T16:15:00.001-08:00

Check the fridge

2010-02-25T15:53:00.000-08:00

We have to talk

2010-02-18T16:00:00.000-08:00

Distractions

2010-02-17T15:36:00.000-08:00

Exes

2010-02-17T15:29:00.000-08:00

A Valentine's Day Special

2010-02-11T09:12:00.000-08:00

Quite possibly my favorite John Thorn comic. I love it so. Its pretty!

Paper Towels

2010-02-09T17:23:00.000-08:00

Hate the cold

2010-02-02T16:20:00.000-08:00

The original punchline was "God, I hate the cold. It makes my sphincter act up." Which I thought was a brilliant punchline, but as expected, it was turned down out of vulgarity. The published punchline is acceptable though not quite as good I think.

Holy Crap

2010-01-29T10:33:00.000-08:00

UGH.....AHHH....UGH

2010-01-27T16:08:00.001-08:00

Paranormal Activity

2010-01-27T16:07:00.001-08:00

Warring Wills

2010-01-20T13:31:00.000-08:00

I had totally forgotten to upload the last comic from last semester. Here you go

Championship Games

2010-01-17T16:56:00.000-08:00

AAAAAND WE BEGIN ONCE MORE. Volume 4, John Thorn's Rabbit Run to Graduation, is here! ...And it is depressing. Oh god. I care about sports too much. Nothing has been as depressing as that game was.

Very Special Level of Hell

2009-12-02T11:57:00.000-08:00

A level they reserve for child molesters and people who talk at the theater.

Unfortunate News

2009-12-02T11:55:00.000-08:00

Fuck twilight

Comics of the Decade

2009-11-20T14:16:00.000-08:00

So, we are a month or so away from a new decade. I asked myself, what have been some of the best comics of the past decade? Its almost unfair to ask someone to compile such a list. I've been reading comics for about 7 years now, and I know that my list would be incomplete and bias. I couldn't possibly account for European or Asian comics, but I have done my best to make a good list. Here are my personal top 10 comics of the decade

10. The Walking Dead
The Walking Dead is everything you would want in a zombie comic. Danger is always creeping, no character is safe from death or insanity, and no one is all that likable. Like all great zombie stories, the emphasis is on the human condition in the event of chaos. This series is brutal and is like crack. An absolute page turner. One of my favorite scenes is when you find out who the Walking Dead are. Go ahead and get yourself the compendium.

9. Fables
I read this only recently, but most certainly wanted to include it in this list. I don't think I ever found Fables to be really imaginative and the first two volumes didn't convince me that it was at the level of quality I had been told of. I only bought the first two volumes, but one of my friends let me borrow some other volumes and now I've read up to issue 75. Having all of the fantasy literary characters in one story is nothing new, but Im not certain it has been done this well. Few comics have characters with this much depth and evolution. Prince Charming goes from a womanizer to heroic and the change feels so natural. The Frog Prince and Boy Blue go through trials and tribulations I will read over and over. Fables is here because of its superb characterization.

8. Daredevil
I actually haven't read all of Bendis's run on Daredevil, but one arc convinced me to have DD on the list. Out. Basically, Daredevil's identity is released to the public in a newspaper. Bendis's roots in crime noir shine in this book, and the legal battle over an unlucky superhero who seemingly commited a crime is an excellent example of Bendis playing to his own strengths. Bendis puts DD through a storm of problems and the result is magnificent. This comic is motherfucking tense and by the end, you completely understand who Daredevil and Matt Murdock are. Combined with Maleev's down and gritty art, there is no denying its place.

7. New X-Men
Imaginative and gripping, Grant Morrison's X-Men is everything X-Men needed to be to become the best comic of its time. The drama was turned up a notch, the concepts were high, the villains terrifying, and the costumes gone in favor of black leather. This run could have easily been the best run of the decade and the best X-Men run ever. So why isn't this up higher on the list? The art ranges from good to awfully rushed. Frank Quitely can't do a monthly comic to save his life so when he fell behind, Ethan van Sciver as brought in as a fill in either. Too bad Ethan van Sciver is also a slow artist because they also had to bring in Igor Kordey to do some very very quick work. All three are good artists. Quitely is a top 5 artist, van Sciver is the definition of a detailing superhero comic book artist, and Kordey is good on his own. Half of New X-Men should be redrawn seeing how hastily some of it was drawn. The story also began to drop in quality when Marc Silvestri came along. Unfortunately, by the end, New X-Men was a paler version of its earlier self. Still, "E is for Extinction" and "Riot at Xavier's" are two of the best X-Men arcs of all time.

6. Astonishing X-Men
While Grant Morrison deconstructed X-Men in a way, Whedon built them back up in their classic manner. Astonishing X-Men is one big love letter to the classic Claremont and Byrne days. The spotlight of the series is on Kitty Pride as she returns to the team, and if theres one thing Whedon does better than nearly all other writers is his ability to write female characters. John Cassaday draws the X-Men more human than super and it works really well when the focus is on Kitty. The dialogue is always spot and it shines most when it is between Kitty Pryde and the resurrected Colossus. Bringing characters back from the dead has always been a tricky situation with many problems often ignored, but it is handled deftly here. Whedon takes his time on the impact of the return of Colossus and how it changes relationships, most notably between Kitty and Peter. This is the perfect X-Men book with a perfect, bittersweet ending.

5. Ultimate Spider-Man
Possibly the most consistent comic of the decade. Bendis, Bagley and Immonen tell the tale of the teenage Spider-Man. The angst, the girls, the tragedy and insecurity of those early years all here. Bendis is often criticized for his dialogue, but coming from the mouths of teenagers here, it comes off pretty natural. 133 issues of being consistently one of the best 15 books month in and out. Possibly my favorite issue is #13, where Peter decides to tell MJ he is Spider-Man. Issues like that make USM for me.

4. All Star Superman

Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely are the best writer and artist duo in comics. Here, they take all that is awesome about Superman and make it shine. Everything that should be about Superman should be here. Up there with "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?" and Action Comics 775 as one of the best Superman stories ever.

3. Planetary
Planetary has probably the coolest and best premise of all comics this decade. Three archeologists uncover the secret fantastical history of the world. Ellis not only delivers on the premise but does even more. Planetary also features the best covers of the decade. Cassaday has an excellent design sense and his interior work never disappoints. A must read for anybody who likes comics no matter the taste.

2. The Ultimates
Essentially the opposite of what All Star Superman is, Ultimates is what the Avengers would be if they were much more realistic and all assholes. No book has ever felt bigger or badder than this one. Pretty much the best thing Mark Millar has ever written, and his anti American undertones rub some readers the wrong way, but I personally always found it well done. There are so many parts that are so badass I can't kick just pick five to name. At sometimes crushing ("You shouldn't have made me feel so small, Jan") and at others ridiculous ("Surrender? Surrender? You think this letter on my head stands for France?), Ultimates delivers like few comics ever have. Not only does it deliver in plot and characterization, but it is one of the best looking comics of the past 20 years. Bryan Hitch was born to do this comic. Ultimates #5 and Ultimates 2 #13 are probably on par with Miracleman #15 for the most epically drawn comics in existence.

1. Y the Last Man
I had a lot of trouble deciding where all these comics should be ranked except for Y the Last Man. No comic from this decade has quite gripped me as Y the Last Man did. I think I stayed up all night reading all the issues I could once I got a hold of the series. Impossible to put down. Few things, comics or otherwise, have left me so satisfied. If you haven't read it already, do that NOW.

Glee

2009-11-20T14:12:00.000-08:00

Glee seems to be the hot new thing, so I used it. I've watched it once but thats it. Also, Weeaboo Girl is missing....

Weeababy

2009-11-20T14:06:00.000-08:00

I feel so proud of myself for thinking up "weeababy." Im sure someone else has thought of it before, but I don't care. It's mine.

Keep them on

2009-11-11T11:27:00.000-08:00

Weeaboo Girl is back. Thats right. I have plans for her.

Smile

2009-11-09T10:31:00.000-08:00

A bit rushed when I drew it so Im mildly disappointed in how it turned out. Still, gets me out of the spot Connor Shea put me in!

Like a trainwreck

2009-11-05T13:30:00.000-08:00

Its funny how ideas can come back around and be useful. I've had an idea for months in which a girl had such a muffintop that it created shade. We've been short some comics lately at the DT Comics Page and Carolynn asked me to make a bigger comic. Thats an offer I could never turn down. I still wanted to only do a three panel comic so vertically long panels would be used. Thinking of a joke that could make use of such panels, I remembered the muffintop idea. I had to reshape it, but it worked out well. The vertical panels allowed for the last image to include the fattiness of the girl, the background, and the dialogue with no problem.

2009-11-02T12:00:00.000-08:00

Not a funny comic, but one I enjoyed doing.

Halloween Treats

2009-11-02T11:45:00.000-08:00

So, every Halloween and April Fools, the Daily Texan comics page has a little event we call Switcheroo. Basically, one comics artist/team teams up switches comics with another. In my case, I decided to switched up Connor Shea, artist of Shea's Rebellion (infinitekick.blogspot.com).

Connor doesn't really have a small set of character he sticks with like I do but he did have some recurring characters and had a string of pie jokes where he only used two characters. I decided to have my own pie joke in a style that was very like his.

This joke actually came about from thinking about the meat pies from Sweeney Todd and wondering if I could incorporate into the comic. I didn't find a way but my mind wandered into the idea that Jesus could have been made into a meat pie, and that after three days he would resurrect. I found the idea funny enough and easy enough to incorporate it into the comic.

Here is Connor's comic btw:

Now I have to deal with an Aids-ridden John. Thanks Connor!

Halloween Parties

2009-10-28T14:24:00.000-07:00

One Halloween night, a few years ago, I was walking down the street headed off somewhere when I saw a guy dressed up as Quailman from childhood-fave cartoon Doug. What a great idea for a costume I thought. I went to some party or some downtown thing when I saw two or three more Quailman costumes. Hah. That was the inspiration for this comic.

shake it

2009-10-21T10:55:00.000-07:00

Weeaboo

2009-10-20T15:00:00.000-07:00

One of the first things I ever came up with as I started doing John Thorn was a joke about a japanese person or an anime fan being drawn as an anime character. I guess it was about time to actually use that idea in combination with my general dislike of annoying weeaboos. This comic is the result

Not just a 5th year senior

2009-10-15T09:56:00.000-07:00

I wanna change my style a bit. Im getting bored drawing nothing but circles for eyes. So most likely, you will see me draw normal eyes from now on

One of those tests...

2009-10-15T09:55:00.000-07:00

We've all had tests that have raped us. Its not a pleasant experience

ACL Pt 2

2009-10-08T13:32:00.000-07:00

I would let Dave Grohl have His way with me. He's a damn awesome man and Them Crooked Vultures is the newest thing that proves it.

Austin City Limits

2009-10-08T13:29:00.000-07:00

Whats real

2009-10-01T10:51:00.000-07:00

I dont believe it

2009-10-01T10:28:00.000-07:00

Another Daily Texan Illustration

2009-09-23T11:11:00.000-07:00

This one is a bit different from the one published. Obviously the colors are brighter here than in the paper but the one published was also cropped down some. I dont like the girls hand but thats about it for this piece. Its a generally good piece

Meticulous notes

2009-09-23T11:06:00.000-07:00

Peter Pan

2009-09-23T11:03:00.000-07:00

Nothing much to say about this. John is still an adolescent at heart and will likely never change

Boo

2009-09-23T11:00:00.000-07:00

This comic comes out of my boredom with the style of these comics. I need to break the style from time to time. Thats why the fist panel looks so different than almost every other John Thorn panel. I thought I would make it so that all media in the John Thorn world looks closer to this world than John Thorn's world. Also, I like doing my comics in Spanish.

Viva Mexico Cabrones

2009-09-16T14:18:00.000-07:00

Viva Mexico. Hice este comic con Raquel y Jonathan de Seis Dolares, Porfavor. Jonathan es mexicano tambien y queria hacer un comic en espanol juntos. Este dia fue una oportunidad para hacer esto. Feliz dia de independecia

Celebrations in the Night

2009-09-08T15:57:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday John Thorn. Its not really his birthday in any sense. I just decided I wanted to do a happy birthday comic and so John is now 21. I didn't wanna do another alcohol centric comic even if it would be really appropriate.

Other Daily Texan Illustrations

2009-09-01T11:32:00.000-07:00

Occasionally, I get commissioned to do some illustrations for the DT. I figured you guys might like to see them.

its not just a damn game

2009-09-01T11:26:00.000-07:00

Generally, I try to be funny to a wide university audience, but I had my fantasy draft yesterday so I thought I would do one for my fellow fantasy football brethren.

Unconquerable Obstacles

2009-09-01T11:24:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I find myself having to use one of those old sharpeners when I've forgotten to sharpen my dull dull pencils before a test. They are awful.

Spanish Boys

2009-09-01T11:22:00.000-07:00

Theres been so many people I've known who go abroad and break up with their boyfriend when they get back. I just had to do a comic about it

The Fiftieth is the Sweetest

2009-09-01T11:17:00.000-07:00

Ok, finally, here it is. Presented to blog-readers late. Theres much I could say at this point, but Ill keep it short. I have had much fun, relative success and frustration creating these comics and Im glad that I now have a small library of work with one singular premise.

Freshman Circus

2009-09-01T11:10:00.000-07:00

So I was actually unable to print my 50th John Thorn during the summer due to space concerns and the comics fight, so I asked Carolynn to print it the first day of class. However, the Daily Texan does print before classes start meaning I still needed to turn in something anyway. Necessity is the mother of invention and so was born "Freshman Circus," my hate letter to freshman. Originally a three parter, it turned into only a two parter. However, it is one of those comics that is essentially a page so it is not small. I hope you guys enjoy the melodramatic stylings of it.

Busy Busy Times

2009-08-18T19:22:00.000-07:00

I apologize to all three people that read this blog for not posting any new material. Things have been hectic these last few weeks. I have now done my 50th john thorn but I do not have the image here at my place, so I can not put it up until I get back to the Daily Texan office. However, I do have many things to talk about! Im essentially gonna have to copy what 6dollarsplease of 6dollarsplease.com has done in this summary of what has happened. May I present to you, the great Comics Fight 2009!

So, let us preface this event with an explanation. Whenever I first met the imaginative Jonathan and Rachel (creators of 6dollarsplease) at the comics page orientation for the summer, they brought up an event they had in mind for the page. They wanted to have a fight on the comics page. In my mind, I imagined a free for all brawl with panels breaking between comics and just madness. Jonathan had a grander scope in mind but it would not be realized until later. The first summer session went by and things went great. The comics page had been looking good, and I imagine has regained some past luster. Comics like 6 dollars, please, o shea's rebellion and bottlecaps were all well crafted and humorous with unique voices. I certainly felt we had validated our space in the Daily Texan.

At a party with a majority of the comics artists, we set a date when we would meet so we could do the comics fight. But trouble brew, the editors had decided to cut some of our space from the page away. No real problem. We understand we are considered a luxury and quite expendable, and if space is scarce, then we must give up our space. However, the first time it happened. A large, large picture of a hamburger replace most of it. Now, I dont mean to bash the article, the photographer, or the editors but I doubt a large, large picture was really all that necessary. What especially angered me was that my own comic had suffered. I had put in a lot of work to create "My Night," and whether you think it is funny or not, it is hard to say it is not a well crafted comic. So, my comic was displaced and put away for later use.

In the meanwhile, I had figured that my next comic, my 50th john thorn, had to be special. I needed space to make this one my best, at least on a technical level, and certainly an inventive one and possibly trippy one. Im not sure how much space it actually takes up, but it would be better defined as a comic page rather than a comic strip. I think it may take up the space of 4 or 5 regular comic strips. But thanks to continued space cuts, it was not printed during this summer. I was not the only angered one. When you, as a group, are told you must make room for pictures of hamburgers and iphones, then you cannot help but feel slighted and disrespected.

I had planned to make a comic addressing the space eating and I convinced Jonathan and Rachel to do a collaboration. The comic:

We were not sure how this would be taken by editorial. But it passed without complaint from them. We were not the only ones that made comics in response to the space eating. Jeremy Johnson, creator of Hell, Inc and Invertebrate Junction, made these two.

And then there was this, Jeremy's pseudo attack on the paper.

Alex's The Devil You Know, also reacted.

We set up a teaser and some creators set up the fight

And we were off! The page had fought back and we were now going to do the comics fight with conviction. I do not think we had in mind what the fight would be over, but now we did. The comics were going to address their place in the Daily Texan. Things went smoothly when we explained what we wanted to do with one editor and we had to do a little more tap dancing with another. They are the ones in power, after all, and we could not just do whatever we wanted. In the end, we were given the go ahead to do the fight. I think some of that lies with what happened that same day we got the go ahead.

I was in the office with Carolynn, Rachel and Jonathan, fleshing out some of the fight. We explained to one of the editors what we wanted to do, and that was it for that bit of time. Some dozens of minutes later, we are approached by one of the editors and he asked if we would do some illustrations. This isn't something thats new. I've done some illustrations for the life and arts page and editorial cartoons, Carolynn did weekly illustrations for "Hump Day," and Rachel had just done an Andy Warhol illustration the day before for the paper. The article which our illustrations would accompany was an article over John Hughes, who had just passed away that day or the day before. So, five illustrations were commissioned and we accepted the task. Carolynn would do one, Rachel would do two, and I would do two. Normally, we get notification with enough time to complete the task comfortably, but since the article must have been just assembled, the idea to have commissioned illustrations were given out later than usual. Not only that, but these illustrations were to be done in color. We were all working until past midnight to get those drawings done in a race against deadline. I think the end result earned us some respect as artists that we had not had before. We turned in quality work before deadline when the editor knew we were working hard. And I think we owe some of our backing to that day.

So began our ambitious project the next day. We assembled the troops to outline and script the first portion of the fight that Friday. If I recall correctly, those that were there in the first meeting were Carolynn (comics editor), Jonathan($6dp), Rachel ($6dp), Alex Diamond (The Devil You Know), NK Kim(untitled), Michael Bowman (Raj and Boris), Dom Jursic (Bottlecaps), Gabe Alvarez (Ben the Box Boy), Jeremy Johnson (Invertebrate Junction) and myself. Rachel, Jonathan, Amelia Giller (Mipsters) and I met again the next day to out line the latter portion of the fight. We sent out assignments to artists, and on Sunday, we would put the page together.

We were so not prepared for this at first. We had not envisioned the amount of work photoshopping all those characters together. We made it work, but it took a lot out of us. Although I was very happy that we had completed the first part of this project, I was not satisfied

We would be better the next day, but coupled with finals and too much stress, we were at times overwhelmed and tired by this undertaking. Carolynn, Jonathan, Rachel, and I stayed late to finish the initial pages. We wouldn't get home until past midnight on some nights. However, day two was so much better in quality than the first that I did not mind. I felt like we just hitting our stride in production.

Then came the third day. When the project was beginning, I begged to do a big splash panel that allowed me to draw nearly everyones character in one big fight. However, when it came to crunch time, I was not sure if I was going to be able to do it. It was finals week, I had family in town, and my sister's birthday was the next day meaning I had to Thursday's work Tuesday as well as Wednesday. Carolynn pushed me to do the splash panel and so I caved. I would do the big fight and would only pencil my work for Tuesday trusting Rachel to ink my work. It came out great, and in my opinion, this page came out the best out of all them.

Nam Nguyen, creator of Psychobevo, a definite favorite amongst many, was not working the comics page during the summer but we had wanted to use his character in our story, and he graciously allowed us to use his baby. Now, if you have ever read Psychobevo, you know it to be awesome madness. I craved the chance to give it my own sleek bryan hitch-influenced style. I was happy to receive the work, and I crafted a sleek, fearsome Psychobevo with a tower for a sword

Unfortunately, the day it was all put together, Rachel and I were missing so the office was lacking in manpower and it seems rushed and somewhat jumbled at times. I hope to personally rework some of it.

The fifth day was pretty calm in comparison. Jeremy had taken the time and drive to essentially do the whole page. He only asked that we send in to him dead bodies and spectator characters. Ryohei Yatsu (Summer Job Chronicles) came into the office and supplied many props and items to be scattered over the page. I cannot thank Jeremy enough for doing all that work. He saved us so much headache. His clean style gave the whole page a unified look not present in the previous days.

Ryohei added one more comic for a bit of summary on the whole thing. The page had gotten more attention than it had before (101x, the local rock station, covered us for a bit thanks to Alex) and we were given mostly free reign by the editors and we were even accommodated in the paper so we kept or space. I think we ended up getting what we wanted in the end.

Thank you list and credits

-Carolynn Calabrese (Comics editor, Hump Day)
-Michael Bowman (Raj & Boris)
-NaKyung Kim (Untitled)
-Rachel Weiss & Jonathan Barcelo-Iniguez (6 dollars, please)
-Domagoj Jursic (Bottlecaps)
-Edgar Vega (The summer school misadventures of John Thorn)
-Katie Smith (I'm too skinny)
-Amellia Giller (Mipsters)
-Ryohei Yatsu (The summer job chronicle)
-Monica Tseng (Run cupcake, RUN!)
-Gabe Alvarez (Ben the Box Boy)
-Jeremy Johnson (Hell INC., Invertebrate junction, The kitchen sink, META)
-Alex Diamond (The devil you know)
-Connor Shea (Shea's rebellion)

Special thanks to the following for lending their characters for the fight:
-Nam Nguyen (PsychoBEVO) . . . . Comics Fight Art by Edgar Vega
-Ryan Hailey (Memphis) . . . . Photoshoped from existing comics

Also, thanks to the Daily Texan and editors for letting us have this crazy event.

My Night

2009-07-28T11:37:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, I like to enjoy my lonely nights, no matter how depressing it may seem to others

Im an adult, mofo

2009-07-27T10:06:00.000-07:00

My dad has told me he would rip out any piercing I ever got and remove any tattoos I ever got too, most likely with a cheese grater. I actually never really wanted to show John's dad but my hand was forced for this comic, but I think he came out well

A different type of tool

2009-07-27T10:04:00.000-07:00

I surprise myself sometimes. I can't believe I haven't bashed religion before in my comics. Not only that, but I'm very gentle in doing so. I even took out a part that hinted John paid the preacher to bless his test.

You know what this is good for?

2009-07-27T09:44:00.000-07:00

You can clearly see my hate for keystone light in this comic. That english major is only loosely based on Carolynn, but just because shes an english major and a girl. All english majors talk like that anyway

Theres a reason for that

2009-07-16T17:53:00.000-07:00

The caption was originally handwritten but my scanner at home is too small. A special thanks to Carolynn for adding in the caption.

The Fix

2009-07-16T17:47:00.000-07:00

Yes, that is Cloud's buster sword. <3
I think now that I am more comfortable drawing and storytelling, I try to experiment with presentation of story. Even though I usually have a limited amount of space to work with, I try to vary the way the panels are arranged or to control the way the comic is read so I don't get bored my own work. Hopefully, I can come up with some inventive way to present a comic in a limited space.

The Hangover

2009-07-16T17:45:00.001-07:00

The most interesting part about this comic? I drew it hungover. Im impressed by myself.

Activate!

2009-07-10T20:18:00.000-07:00

Love love love this comic
I consider it my best though most likely not one of the most humorous.

Let sleeping dogs lie

2009-07-07T18:14:00.000-07:00

Strange way to set up a five panel comic. One big panel and 4 little ones. Still, I think it worked

ZZZ

2009-07-06T14:16:00.000-07:00

No punchline and no story. I originally wanted to make this comic into one of two jokes but as I started drawing it, it did not feel right making it into either one. It took its own path.

Pop!

2009-07-06T14:13:00.000-07:00

I think this comic may be hard to get since popcorn has such an irregular shape that may be hard to recognize without other indicators. The last two lines are heavily influenced, if not directly taken, from what would appear in pokemon games when one of your pokemon would evolve

No, Mr Thorn,

2009-06-30T14:13:00.000-07:00

My current economics teacher reminds me a bit of Bond villains. She has a thick Russian accent and at times seems cruel and unusual in her grading. I wanted to adapt the idea of a professor who is a bond villain into my comic. I quickly realized Bond and Thorn are similar and remembered the famous line. I watched the scene on Youtube and decide I had to have the professor walking upstairs at some point so the direction of action was pretty much set for me.

Let the annual ***bucket competition commence

2009-06-30T14:03:00.000-07:00

Something seems off about this comic doesn't it? Thats because this one was censored. The titular character is a rather juvenile boy and I thought a competition in which the goal would be to fill a bucket with male ejaculate would be one he would participate in. The first panel remained unchanged. The team names were originally Team Red Balls and Team Minutemen. The name of the competition was originally Annual Cumbucket Competition and those streams were originally just little squirts. The managing editor and editor of the Daily Texan asked me to tone it down so it was brought down. Unlike the last comic, I felt this one was affected by the changes made. The joke was in part a play on the word cumbucket. The word cumbucket is used to describe slut and not to be taken literally. That part of the joke was completely lost at the time of change.

My Censored and Uncensored Comic

2009-06-29T18:13:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I live in an area where Greenpeace members recruit rather strongly and often. The morning I drew this comic, I was harassed by a Greenpeace member once more. I told her, "you know, I've talked to you Greenpeace people like 20 times." "Oh, so you're a member then!" This pissed me off. Not sure why. It may be a combination of many things. Though they are individually nice people who do care about the environment, they have asked me with too much gusto pretending to care about my day too many times. "No," I told the girl. "Why not?" she replied with too much enthusiasm. I shook my head at her for a few seconds. "Just leave me alone." She was nice enough to stop. These nice assholes have made me hate the environment. So I decided to take my sometimes passive aggressive nature and apply it in my comics platform to make what I considered one of my best comics. That is the pure unedited version of what I came up with

Satirical of vengeance movies and adopting a different, gritty style, I produced everything I could have wanted. Carolynn, my editor, is extremely supportive of me so when I asked for extra space, she was nice enough to give it to me. The space allowed me for more cautious pacing with a build up of three panels and even allowed me to split the joke into two panels. The second to last panel reveals the satirical spirit of the comic while setting up a bombastic last line. I did not think that last line was all that strong. The gun and gear were obviously for paintballing purposes and the line is a play on one Greenpeace's questions to draw you in. The fire only added more ridiculousness. Sure, it was violent, but Psychobevo (another comic printed in the Daily Texan) was just as violent sometimes if not more. Carolynn likes it and will put it on the page. Things were fine.

Some hours later, Carolynn calls me to tell me theres some trouble with the comic and asks me to come by the office. As it turned out, the managing editor thought the comic was too strong. Some of the language was too much for him and I found his request to change some of the language, particularly the last line, to be reasonable. I had not remembered the topic of someone snapping and gearing up to be a touchy subject given the somewhat recent Virginia Tech incident. I changed the last line to "Have you ever been paintballin, bitch?" Still snappy and more clear of John's intent, the line had the same impact as before without being as so malicious towards Greenpeace. The comic was censored/edited, but I did not feel it had been neutered. However, the next comic would be a bit different.

Here is the censored version

There Was an Incident

2009-06-29T18:07:00.000-07:00

I started becoming more vulgar with this comic leading to other thing the next day or two. I always felt motherfucker was a weird insult. Anyone who is a dad is technically one so whats so bad? I used that idea here with the maturity of a 12 year old. The second panel is based on a funny little scene in a trailer I saw for Italian Spider-Man.

Unofficial dorms

2009-06-29T18:04:00.000-07:00

Homework and deadlines sometimes leads to unimaginative comics without buildup or punchlines!