Life With Death - Fall 2009

Here's last semester's Life With Death strips. Enjoy.

Members on staff of the paper told me they loved this comic because it's so hard to convey tone in writing - they liked that I felt the same way and decided to rectify it(if only for one strip.)

This was another strip that came out of testing the limits of Death's cruelty. I never try to offend or make anybody think of Death as a killing machine. I try to make Death the get ahead by doing nothing cynic that is in all of our lives. This strip is testing the waters - I still think it's not so bad.

Fish Oil is smelly. Anything fish has a bit of odor to it.

I try not to take listen to suggestions about ideas for the strip because I like to see what I can come up with and therapeutically (is that a word? if it is it's not a correctly spelt one) get my snarky thoughts out in some way. But at the paper's end of the year party right before the summer, I was talking to one of the staff members about the comic - she liked it very much and had a lot of kind words. She seemed to be really attached to it and since she was graduating she really wanted to know what was going to happen next in the strip in the fall. I told her I didn't know because I haven't written it yet! She said something that resinated with me for a while. She said "I would love to see Death get a girlfriend or just a girl that won't leave him alone, like a Death Groupie Stalker!" I laughed at the idea but thought, hmmm... I always kept the idea in the back of my mind and decided to use it but make it my own in a series of comics. I knew I wanted to make her more love sick than crazy closet shrine with locks of hair and chewed gum in it stalker. First, thing that makes her crazy and harmful to society is purchasing and distributing hawaiian shirts. No no.

I liked the rhyming in this strip and knew I wanted to give her a name but nothing ordinary so after coming up with three - I knew Daisy the Crazy was the winner. Plus I liked the idea that Roger got a list from the creator (ME) with options. I'm in the strip but never present. In an arrogant, self righteous way, I'm GOD (heard of but never seen.)

This made me laugh that a horrible disguised Death fooled the frantic stalker. I thought she would have known everything about Death and not get fooled by a mop with a sign taped to it saying "Death." Also this worked in demonstrating how lazy and thoughtless Death is solving a serious problem.

This strip came on Wednesday night. I need to write an idea and saw a commercial for the DVD release of the movie "The Proposal" with Sandra Bullock. It boasted of an alternate ending as if you would want to see more of that movie, but I saw Ryan Reynolds on a plane getting tasered and I knew I had to use tasering in the strip. The idea flowed fast after that.

This came from elementary school. Something that always stayed with me. My writing teacher always told us never to use the word "nice" because it said nothing and it was just used as a buffer when you don't like something and want to be nice to the person's face. And I remember showing her a poem I did for homework and after reading it telling me it was "nice." Even as a third grader at the time, I told her point blank I thought you should never say something is nice and she couldn't believe she said it and I figured it out. After that I was a giant pain in the ass to her and she took everything and walked on eggshells around me. I'm a somewhat a professional writer and you're a writing teacher - whose better now? AWESOME

This started a series of personal ads for Death that would give him horrible results due to the wording of the ad. This one gave him a luchador (wrestler). I remember trying to hold off on this idea so I can do more strips next semester but I had nothing else flowing in my head at the time. Also I didn't think of enough for a big series. Plus I felt it was a one note joke over and over again as if it was a formula for three or four strips. In the long run, I wouldn't have been happy. Also look for the nod to the kingsman (queensman.)

Here's the other one in the series. Just another play on words. I like that a baby reads and answers personal ads. She's already desperate before getting out of diapers.

The last stitch filler towards the end of the semester. Not my favorite but it was all I had after being fried from the semester, physically and emotionally. I did a lot of work that semester to fill a void in my life and help me forget and not deal with life. Thats why I put my body through hell doing so much work in all my classes and outside of school. I realized no matter how productive I was it was going to get to me anyway.

Life With Death in color?

This was the last Life With Death comic for the Spring 2009 semester. At that time, I was super organized when it came to the strip, I would write and draw them in advance so not to get stressed out any week to write or draw a new strip. Wow how the times have changed significantly! I used all of the strips in my archive and had nothing going in my head Monday that I seriously wanted to make into a strip. On Tuesday, I got an email from the editor of The Kingsman at the time, Rimma Kats asking me if it was possible if I can submit this week's comic in color because they had extra money alotted to them and were printing the whole issue in GLORIOUS COLOR. Of course I can! Right as I read the email, I knew I had to do a strip about the strip being in color. I love when cartoon characters are self-aware and react to their surroundings. The idea came instantly to me. I knew I can have a little jab at the city and their budget since it's always non-existent. So I proposed the fact that the city was so cheap that they only paid for color in two out of the three panels of the comic. This worked in three ways - a witty jab at the city/school budget and funds, a some-what funny strip and I only had to color two out of the three panels. Comedy and Laziness sometimes go hand and hand.

Life With Death - Spring 2009

Here are some Life With Death strips from a year ago. It's amazing to see what I did back then and how I cringe at some of the art as well as the poor writing. This was when I just started to use archival materials like india ink, pen nibs and brush to make the strip. Enjoy.



I still like this strip and remember writing it during a big break between classes in the middle of the day when I would sit in a vacant corner of the library bored out of my mind. I remember saying I need to write a strip but I'll never think of anything in the library but I did and wrote my snarky thoughts about libraries through death. It also served as a little zinger to my brother who is a librarian.

I love this strip and the writing came in a minute. This is from real life experience. I had a core teacher for "Literature and Film" that was HORRIBLE. He had things going on in his personal life (he informed us at the end of the semester) but the whole semester was quite interesting. I remember him saying to talk and write simply and not to go on and on in our papers and he never taught anything because he would go on and on about how we shouldn't ramble on and on. Since we were "reading" Romeo and Juliet, the puncline was easy. Irony, thy name is Professor. This is really to date the only strip that has entirely come from real life everything else might be based on a snarky thought I've had but I've always changed the situation a bit to accomodate the punchline. Thanks again Professor! Comedic Gold!

Word of the Day - April 26

First - How did the Polar Bear get the money to purchase a Hummer?
Second - What kind of person would sell a Hummer to a polar bear?
Third - How does he know how to drive it?
Fourth - Where did the Polar Bear on the floating glacier get the materials to write that sign?
Fifth - How did he write a protest sign? He has no thumb.
Sixth - Does he have the right tires to drive on ice?
Seventh - Why am I pointing out all the inaccuracies in my cartoon?

quisling\KWIZ-ling\ , noun;
1.Someone who collaborates with an enemy occupying his or her country; a traitor.

Word of the Day - April 25

I've stuck clear of dirty jokes but this isn't so much dirty as it is outlandish since the guy has the audacity to have an electronic board on the wall to remind and taunt him wife. Somewhere a supermarket deli counter is in disarray.

sough\SAU; SUHF\ , verb;
1.To make a soft, low sighing or rustling sound, as the wind.noun: 1.A soft, low rustling or sighing sound.

Life With Death - April 26

Here's this week's "Life With Death" comic strip that's published in The Brooklyn College Kingsman. This is a stand alone strip meaning it doesn't really follow any particular strip or need another strip behind it to finish the story. This is the essence of a comic strip, set up, story, conflict, punchline. Only three more comics left for the semester. Anything can happen next mostly because I haven't written them yet!

Life with Death - April 19

Here's this week's "Life With Death" strip from The Brooklyn College Kingsman. This was a late edition to the storyline. Yes, I like that I've given Roger a girlfriend but I wanted to make a strip that wasn't Roger and Abbey together since I've had too like that in a row without Death. I wanted to get Death in there to make some snarky commments. I knew I wanted to do a drawing of Roger happy and strutting since he is rarely happy. I also thought I would make an iPad joke here too since geeks of the world are going insane. Yes iPads, to some, might be awesome and if they change a bunch of things would probably be AMAZING for artists but I'm not too impressed yet. Geeks of the world hang in there, I'm sure they will come out with a girlfriend app. soon. I'm sure more than one person is working on it. Enjoy the comic.

Word of the Day - April 24

When I penciled this drawing up, I had the shelves filled with antacid bottles and the joke was going to be that he was hurting too much to reach any of them. Though when I was inking it, I didn't want to draw a million (well not a million but a lot) of bottles in a row. Nothing more boring than drawing something that has to look identical like that over and over again, especially if one is a little different than it pops out to the viewer. So I decided to leave the shelves empty to make it a real tragedy and have the guy suffer because the store is completely sold out. Sometimes enhancing a joke or premise helps when you're lazy.

perforce\pur-FORS\ , adverb;
1.By necessity; by force of circumstance.

Word of the Day - April 23

I am of course more like the guy on the right. But in reality, I would lift weights if they weren't so damn heavy.

moil\MOYL\ , verb;
1.To work with painful effort; to labor; to toil; to drudge.2.To churn or swirl about continuously.noun: 1.Toil; hard work; drudgery.2.Confusion; turmoil.

Word of the Day - April 22

That money better be counterfeit.

wastrel\WAY-struhl\ , noun;
1.A person who wastes, especially one who squanders money; a spendthrift.2.An idler; a loafer; a good-for-nothing.

Word of the Day - April 21

I like this image because I feel it can stand alone as something funny without pertaining to a specific word. It's funny but it's not as cutesy as some other angel cartoons I've seen. Even in heaven, sports are important.

empyrean\em-py-REE-uhn; -PEER-ee-\ , noun;
1.The highest heaven, in ancient belief usually thought to be a realm of pure fire or light.2.Heaven; paradise.3.The heavens; the sky.adjective: 1.Of or pertaining to the empyrean of ancient belief.

Word of the Day - April 20

Some pigs have a touch of class.

agrestic\uh-GRES-tik\ , adjective;
1.Pertaining to fields or the country; rural; rustic.

Word of the Day - April 19

Hmmm...let me think. Yeah, this seems safe. Anybody up for a game of "Extreme Pin the Tail on the Donkey?"

scapegrace\SKAYP-grayss\ , noun;
1.A reckless, unprincipled person; one who is wild and reckless; a rascal; a scoundrel.

Word of the Day - April 18

If only I had money this is how I would amuse myself. Though it's not truly impressive unless the chainsaws are on fire.

disport\dis-PORT\ , verb;
1.To amuse oneself in light or lively manner; to frolic.transitive verb: 1.To divert or amuse.2.To display.

Word of the Day - April 17

Great word. I've actually heard of this word before and from comics no less. Thanks Calvin and Hobbes. If you've never read that series of comics, you should. Calvin gets a transmogrifier gun and Hobbes and him keep turning each other into different animals and things. Right when they are able to turn Calvin back to a boy, the gun runs out of juice. Classic.

transmogrify\trans-MOG-ruh-fy\ , verb;
1.To change into a different shape or to transform, often with bizarre or humorous effect.

Word of the Day - April 16

I've always liked the idea of sheep counting humans to fall asleep and for some reason started to draw it here and I had an awesome drawing of a sleeping sheep dreaming of counting humans. But that's not right! You count sheep (or for all you sheeps out there, humans) TO fall asleep. So I was mad because I had this awesome drawing that I can't use for this word. So to salvage the work I woke up the sheep and but everything inside a dream of a crazy human that sleeps standing up. So it's a thought within a thought.

oneiric\oh-NY-rik\ , noun;
1.Of, pertaining to, or suggestive of dreams; dreamy.

Word of the Day - April 15

I always wanted to go scrooge mcduck and dive into a big pile of money like in Ducktails but alas that dream and my dream of being an artist don't go together.

pelf\PELF\ , noun;
1.Money; riches; gain; -- generally conveying the idea of something ill-gotten.

Word of the Day - April 14

Just to clarify it's great to recycle, drive a hybrid and do charity work but it's pompous people that do that just to tell every man and his brother about it. The kind of person that would stand on a pedestal all day long as a living monument. I can not defend $500 pants.

bloviate\BLOH-vee-ayt\ , verb;
1.To speak or write at length in a pompous or boastful manner.

Word of the Day - April 13

Another phrase instead of a word but what can I do. I just use what I've given. That pick ax is going to be "Exhibit A."

ne plus ultra\nee-plus-UL-truh; nay-\ , noun;
1.The highest point, as of excellence or achievement; the acme; the pinnacle; the ultimate.2.The most profound degree of a quality or condition.

Word of the Day - April 12

This is the first time I had someone talking in the word of the day comics. I really couldn't avoid it. It doesn't fall into the category that I want to say away from which is making the dialogue carry the story, even in this comic, the art carries it. Fladinkle is a great work and very versatile. "Fladinkle, indeed." "Fladinkle to you, sir." "Hand me that Fladinkle." "You got some fladinkle on your face." "Watch out, it's a fladinkle." And "I've never in my life seen such a huge fladinkle."

neologism\nee-OLL-uh-jiz-um\ , noun;
1.A new word or expression.2.A new use of a word or expression.3.The use or creation of new words or expressions.4.(Psychiatry) An invented, meaningless word used by a person with a psychiatric disorder.5.(Theology) A new view or interpretation of a scripture.

Word of the Day - April 11

If you're hungry and thirsty enough, it doesn't matter if you're in a towel. Enough said.

dishabille\dis-uh-BEEL\ , noun;
1.The state of being carelessly or partially dressed.2.Casual or lounging attire.3.An intentionally careless or casual manner.

Life With Death - April 12th

This strip ends Roger's courtship of Abbey in successful fashion. I wanted to see Roger in a new light this semester by making him the focus and evolving his character. Roger getting the girl of his dreams to be his girlfriend does just that. Now Roger can try to figure out the dating world and the etiquette that goes along with it. Come on, who doesn't have a nose bleed when they set a date with their dream girl?!

Life With Death - March 22nd

Here is the next "Life with Death" strip that was published in the March 22nd issue of The Brooklyn College Kingsman. This continues the storyline of Roger's embarrassing, fumbling courtship of Abbey. This strip was really fun to draw since it had the comedic fall that takes up most of the strip after he tries to make up for Death embarrassing him in the last strip. Everyone has that one person you they want to look perfect in front of but it's because of that you act like a complete idiot and say and do all the wrong things which give them the wrong idea about who you really are. This story arc makes it more about Roger who always played second fiddle to Death in a way and now Death is just adding snarky comments here and there, like I tend to do sometimes(involuntary or not). This story arc seems to rely on physical comedy and not just word play or outlandish situations.

Word of the Day - April 10

We finish up the week's worth of comics with today's! Yet another phrase of the day not really a single word but I'm not going to complain because it's another great one. Always examine the finish line because this could happen. Those boxes are way too similar. I'm more interested in whether he gets two medals now, since he's half the man he used to be.

Pyrrhic victory\PIR-ik\ , noun;
1.A victory achieved at great or excessive cost; a ruinous victory.

Word of the Day - April 9

First, how are these guys in the same weight class?! Second, how did the vultures get in?! The vultures are making their second appearance and I really like to add them in the background because they just know when someone's doomed and that big dude is toeing the line. I always feel like I'll see vultures outside of a hospital or a nursing home but I haven't spotted one yet. Very disappointing.

indefatigable\in-dih-FAT-ih-guh-bul\ , adjective;
1.Incapable of being fatigued; not readily exhausted; untiring; unwearying; not yielding to fatigue.

Word of the Day - April 8

I always liked the idea of a police line up in which everyone looked the same, like penguins (though for comic reasons I drew a variation of penguins.) I also like that they have to hold a number up, the indignity.

interlard\in-tuhr-LARD\ , verb;
1.To insert between; to mix or mingle; especially, to introduce something foreign or irrelevant into; as, "to interlard a conversation with oaths or allusions."

Word of the Day - April 7

This was one in the week that I was really happy with. Cymbal monkeys are amazing but not if you have a pounding migraine. The knife is justified.

megrim\MEE-grim\ , noun;
1.A migraine.2.A fancy; a whim.3.In the plural: lowness of spirits -- often with 'the'.

Word of the Day - April 6

This isn't really a word, more of a phrase. Though the phrase of the day is awesome. This one was a little hard because I didn't feel good this day and finally came up with something. I would dream of a giant cheeseburger if I dreamed anything.

land of Nod\land-uhv-NOD\ , noun;
1.A mythical land of sleep.

Word of the Day - April 5

Skateboarders always think that the ramp is big enough to get them to the other side but it never is. Most of time they don't have a chance. Take a physics course, skateboarders.

grok\GRAWK\ , verb;
1.To understand, especially in a profound and intimate way. Slang.

Word of the Day - April 4

Why would a prison have a sign that shows where freedom is? Not too smart even for a groundhog prison.

manumit\man-yuh-MIT\ , verb;
1.To free from slavery or servitude.

Word of the Day - April 3

Today's cartoon came easy. I was going to have a bunch of mobsters behind the curtain handing over the money but I decided to put a little pun into this cartoon by making it a mobster shark. Get it? No?! He's a loan shark. (Collective Sigh)

malversation\mal-vur-SAY-shun\ , noun;
1.Misconduct, corruption, or extortion in public office.

Word of the Day - April 2

I can't tell you how many friends I have lost because of this very thing. That is why there needs to be stricter disintegration gun laws.

slake\SLAYK\ , verb;
1.To satisfy; to quench; to extinguish; as, to slake thirst.2.To cause to lessen; to make less active or intense; to moderate; as, slaking his anger.3.To cause (as lime) to heat and crumble by treatment with water.intransitive verb: 1.To become slaked; to crumble or disintegrate, as lime.

Word of the Day - April 1

A word that even before reading the definition, I was in love with. What a horrible April Fool's joke to play on that little boy! I'm sure he'll make a therapist's wallet really happy one day.

hugger-mugger\HUH-guhr-muh-guhr\ , noun;
1.A disorderly jumble; muddle; confusion.2.Secrecy; concealment.adjective: 1.Confused; muddled; disorderly.2.Secret.adverb: 1.In a muddle or confusion.2.Secretly.transitive verb: 1.To keep secret.intransitive verb: 1.To act in a secretive manner.

Word of the Day - March 31

Las Vegas showgirl anywhere other than Vegas is gaudy and obviously funny to the guy on the right.

bedizen\bih-DY-zuhn\ , transitive verb;
1.To dress or adorn in gaudy manner.

Word of the Day - March 30

That guy on the right looks miserable - Fantastic. Those posed pictures really put it over the top. Popinjay is an amazing word - fun to say and fun to use. I'll be using in everyday conversation much more just to confuse people.

popinjay\POP-in-jay\ , noun;
1.A vain and talkative person.

Word of the Day - March 29

I'm sure cowboys have to go through a course on how to properly ride a horse. If I meet a cowboy, I will ask them. They can't just know it.

neophyte\NEE-uh-fyt\ , noun;
1.A new convert or proselyte.2.A novice; a beginner in anything.

Word of the Day - March 28

I like it when everyone is in on the joke except one or two people. It happens here and the cartoon before. This is why I don't walk in the desert along - always have a buddy.

portentous\por-TEN-tus\ , adjective;
1.Foreboding; foreshadowing, especially foreshadowing ill; ominous.2.Marvelous; prodigious; wonderful; as, a beast of portentous size.3.Pompous.