(Note: Sorry I haven’t yet gotten back to my comments from Monday. My son has woke up 3 nights in a row for 3-4 hours at a clip, refusing to go back to sleep until he has exhausted the clock and me. I expect to get to the comments Wednesday afternoon. Please keep them coming, I appreciate the feedback immensely. And thank you for the large show of support for the Blogger Dad comic.)
(Another note: Remember right before the election I teased that my next post would make half of you leave? Well, the election post was actually a way of introducing THIS post, which was supposed to be part of it. THIS is the post I figured would likely cause half of you to leave. You’ve been warned.)
How do you pick which dream to follow?
I’ve got a bucket overflowing with dreams. Inside you will see a series of children’s books, this blog, a regular column, a syndicated comic strip, a horror novel or two, and another two blogging projects on the horizon (one of which will be unveiled this week).
The only problem is that I haven’t got time to make them all come true.
Since starting Blogger Dad a couple of months ago, this blog has opened up new worlds or possibility to me. I’ve met a lot of great people and potential collaborators. This blog has also come at the expense of something, and that something is my comics.
Since I’ve used a lot of time once devoted to comics and turned it over to blogging, I figured I would return the favor and spend some of my blogging time to speak of the comics. I hope you will indulge me.
My main gig for the past eight years has been as a webcomic artist (kind of like a newspaper artist, except you usually don’t make any money at it). I draw a couple of them, the cute and family-friendly Todd and Penguin and the less family-friendly, not as cute, Taking Up Space. The two are as different as night and day as are their audiences. Unfortunately, I don’t have time to draw every comic I’d like to. Truth be told, since I’ve been blogging regularly here, I’ve had trouble working on any of my other comics.
And I miss drawing them.
While Todd and Penguin has been with me longer – since November 2000, to be specific, it isn’t the comic I think about when my pencil finds way to paper lately.
Todd and Penguin has always been my MAIN comic, the one for which I am most known, the one which has the most readers and I get the most email about. Taking Up Space has been sort of the black sheep. I started it in 2002. It was my first published comic, appearing in The Stanford Daily ( Stanford University’s paper for you non-U.S. readers). It’s left of center politically (which drew me some hate mail from some of my regular readers who didn’t like that I hold an opinion different than theirs) and it’s sometimes dark. It has been described by another comic artist as “Peanuts for the new millennium”.
I kind of like that description because Peanuts was a dark comic in its early days. It spoke to the insecurities of its artist, Charles Schulz. It spoke to millions of readers. It conveyed volumes with themes that betrayed the simplicity of the form. As a child, I got lost in the world created by Schulz. As I grew older, I found deeper meaning, and solace, in my collection of old Peanuts comics.
I believe Peanuts was cathartic for Schulz. That’s how I feel about Taking Up Space.
I recently read an old interview with Chuck Palahniuk who advised if you’re going to write, write about the things that piss you off. Those are things which you will write best about. Those are the things which mean something. In other words, that is where your passion is at.
The comic’s tag line is “Unhappy comics for unhappy people.”
The two main characters in Taking Up Space are Jessika, the angry gothy elementary school student (who is also in Todd and Penguin) and her brother, Bobby, a hopelessly optimistic (though unlucky) sort. While Jessika rants and raves at the injustices of the world (from a myopic point of view) and the basic inherent flaws in people, Bobby is more thoughtful and prone to believe in the good of people.
The comic oftentimes makes fun of pop culture though it is just as often likely to explore some of the issues and themes which bother me – those who persecute, those who exploit, and hypocrisy. While the comic leans left, the attacks aren’t on a particular political system but rather specific types of people.
Below are a few examples:
Exploitation by fear mongering politicians and media.
Exploitation by hucksters looking to sell the latest and greatest snake oil. (This should get me some nasty comments given my readership is made up of some of self-help type bloggers.) Let me preface this by saying that this is not a blanket assault on the entire industry (and certainly not MY readers who are among the most honorable people to ever grace the planet!). Hell, I even have a few such books myself (shh, don’t tell anyone). However, I defy anyone to say the industry is not full of sharks and con men looking to exploit people’s weaknesses.
Exploitation by religious leaders who preach hate and take money from those who can afford least to give. The second one earned me the biggest look of disgust from a former co-worker who didn’t at all get the point.
These are the comics from my pissed off inner child.
But there are also elements of love, sincerity, friendship and faith. Take Alexander Rabbit, a naive, happy-go-lucky bunny who checks his mailbox for letters everyday in hopes that someone, anyone will talk to him.
And sometimes, the comics are just plain goofy (or mean, I guess it depends on how you look at it).
And of course I wouldn’t be fair if I didn’t point out the hypocrisy or angst of my own characters.
Taking Up Space is cynical, make no mistake, but at its core beats the heart of a guarded but hopeful romantic. Which is why when I look back on the archives of the strip, I wish I had devoted more time to getting this comic right. Looking back, I can see the days where I was rushing things. I can see the stories which I meant to write but didn’t because I was too tied up in my other comic or work-related stuff. I see a lot of potential not yet realized.
And it pains me greatly that I never gave the time to make it what it could be.
The comic has been very much living up to its name, Taking Up Space.
But with little time, I can’t do it all.I have a hope that all of these dreams I am pursuing, all of this work I am doing and blind faith I have in myself is rewarded and something clicks. If just one of my dreams comes true, then I wouldn’t mind continuing to do the others for no money. But I need to find a way to make a living again at doing what I love.
So I have decided to take a shot at the syndicates for both of my comics. See if anyone wants to buy them. If not, I will likely stop drawing them with any regularity.
I hope this post isn’t as self indulgent as I fear it might be.
as always, thanks for reading.
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Dave, let me be the first to say….
Bwaaaaaa hahahahahahaha
Hoooooo hooo hooo hooo
I loved those comics.
As for the snake oil theme… if you don’t mind I’m going to refer to those as a ‘How To’ manual and make some serious wonga.
Not at all self-indulgent. It’s actually great to get a closer look at the monster err I mean ‘man’ that you really are.
It takes stones to put your persona out here like this.
I hope with all sincerity you get the syndication you’re looking for. What you produce here is far better than half the crap they serve up in the daily papers here in the UK.
Great post Dave. Possibly my favourite of yours so far.
Dave Fowlers last blog post..Why Cleaning Your Toilet Could Be Bad For Your Children’s Health
I love these! I love that crabby little girl!
Say, we have a widget with our friend Paul Durban’s Bolofeesh comic on our site. If you make one of yours at http://www.widgetbox.com/ we’d happily display it in our sidebar. Then, you’d have literally tens more (well, maybe less with crossover, but still) readers. Might be a way to self-syndicate at first? Paul might be able to offer some guidance, as he’s just revving up after a period of doing other stuff, too.
Betsys last blog post..REMEMBER
As you know, I’ve read Taking Up Space from start to finish – and I’m currently in year 2003 for Todd and Penguin. You’re a fucking comic genius.
I remember when I first came to your blog – I thought you were just a guy who got a ‘puter for Christmas! (Hah, how stupid I was.) I’ve learned so much about you just from going through your comic archives – it’s quite an amazing journey.
Also, your Wikipedia page for Todd and Penguin is pretty slick. Nice to have fans to do that for you.
Wow! Just wow. Have just popped over for a look while I want for my tardy colleague to make me a cup of tea, but will be back later for a good gander . . .
Taras last blog post..The business of blogging: Book deals? What a load of rubbish!
Love them! They’re much better comics than most of what I read in the papers around here.
Good luck in selling them to the syndicates! You deserve it.
GreenJellos last blog post..Wordless Wednesday
Matthew: Cool. I didn’t know BD drew adult comics. Where can I find those? LOL
Tara: Do you EVER make the tea?
Dave Fowlers last blog post..Why Cleaning Your Toilet Could Be Bad For Your Children’s Health
Dude, if you can’t be self indulgent on your blog, then what in the bejeezus are you giving dreamhost five bucks a month for? That was wonderful. I loved seeing all those comics. They were excellent, and the U.K. doesn’t have the market on mediocrity. We cover that well here too. Your faith in yourself isn’t blind, and certainly more than a single dream of yours is bound to come true. You’re awesome, Dave.
Writer Dads last blog post..Bright Ideas
those are great. I hope that it becomes everything that you want it to be.
jen, buried with childrens last blog post..Living with Paparazzi
Quite nice!
Now to try to find some time to look at some of your archives.
By the way, I generally avoid comics like the plague — no particular reason, just don’t take the time, even for the Sunday comics.
These are great!
Best of luck at syndication!
Mike Goads last blog post..Remembering
I liked Taking up Space! It’s better than a lot of what’s in the paper now. Good luck!
LizPs last blog post..04/05/08 Good Advice
Hey BD, you come over as a bit of a doofus what with your ‘I can’t do DIY’ and ‘baby car seats confuse me’ and look at that – you were a hugely talented guy under all that protesting.
I think it’s absolutely great that you are going for it. Don’t give up so easily or quickly though, the best things in life are a slow burn . . .
Tara@From Dawn Till Rusks last blog post..Wordless Wednesday: School photo. Of me!
Oh and Dave, I forgot to add. Of course I don’t make the tea. What’s the point of having a male colleague sat opposite me if he’s not going to move to my beck and call.
He actually made me 3 cups of tea today, god bless him, because I was so busy. I did supply the mince pies though (I know, I know, it’s a bit early for all that but what can I tell you? A cup of tea requires an edible companion. Fact)
Tara@From Dawn Till Rusks last blog post..Wordless Wednesday: School photo. Of me!
Dave – Thank you. Your favorite post? The one where I write the least? Hmm….
Betsy – Thank you. That widget looks cool. I will look into it and consider using it.
Matthew – Thank you. Wow, that was your first impression of me, that I just got a computer? Man, what the hell was I posting on here? And yeah, I’m surprised that some readers were kind enough to write such an informative wiki on Todd and Penguin. That was the second coolest thing to happen to Todd and Penguin (KeenSpot putting out a book of the strips being the first coolest thing).
Tara – I never said I was incompetent at EVERYTHING – just most things involving tools or anything which is useful around the house. However, if it involves electronics, drawing, comic books, video games, TIVO, or music (essentially anything involving some form of entertainment), then I’m your guy! Thank you.
GreenJello – Yes, the comics page is in sad shape save for a handful of good strips. There ARE a number of good comics out there, they just have a hard time finding a spot on the ever shrinking newspapers. The competition is fierce. You have your legacy comics which are more than 60 years old which papers keep around because they are safe and comforting for some readers; then you have cheaply made games taking up more and more space, and it is near impossible to find success as a comic strip artist in print. But I will try! Thank you.
Writer Dad – Thank you for the nice words.
Jen – Thank you!
Mike – Thank you. And for the record, I almost never read comic strips anymore.
LizP – thank you. I hope some syndicate people, and editors, agree with you.
Tara – Wow, I thought it was a myth that Brits sit around drinking tea all day. Hot tea at work? Is it a normal thing or is it cold out? People in the U.S. drink tons of coffee. I’m a soda guy, personally.
I love ‘em. (BTW, I take classes at Liberty, but am in no way a Jerry follower. Just the opposite.)
I agree with Betsy, make the widget and email me the details. I’ll help syndicate Blogger Dad. Because you’re that awesome….
Jamie Simmermans last blog post..Brain Picking Sean Platt, He’s Finally Up to Bat
“Holy crap” “Exactly”
Roll on floor laughing!!!! Go for the syndication. I LOVE Taking Up Space … cynical, warped, Panther that I am!
Urban Panthers last blog post..Grass and grubs
Dude, you should really be on the front page of the Sunday comics, right there beside Garfield. Those rock. They are edgy, well written, and the punchlines are classic. I know you need to chose what to do now, but just know that you will always have those to fall back on if needed.
Sals last blog post..I WIN
I love your comic. I love your writing. Even with my kids grown, I love all the stories you tell about E. Dave, you are already amazing. If you want a widget, you have space on my bog/website as well.