November 26, 2002 - Classic

November 26, 2002 - Click to embiggen

Another strip that is only funny if you have “been there.” Cameron is based on my old gaming buddy, Quentin, and the silent guy beside him was based on our friend, Sam. The days of the regular game group are long gone now. I miss them.

November 19, 2002 - Cheeky

November 19, 2002 - click to embiggen

I liked the idea of a goth girl being much less “gothy” than she let on. But it had been done by better folk than me (John Kovalic), so I left it at this cheap joke...

Also, love love love the name Obscura.

November 12, 2002 - Always Look on the...

November 12, 2002 - click to embiggen

Okay, when I wrote this, I thought the Ben Affleck joke worked on several levels. First was the absurdity that Affleck was ever chosen to play a character like Daredevil, when his face seems frozen in a perpetual grin. Second was the pure non-sequitor of Barry’s statement. And third was that the goth referred to seeing, but Daredevil is blind. No matter how I read it, Barry sent him back to the dark side.

November 5, 2002 - Be the Change You Want to See

November 5, 2002 - click to embiggen

To some people, “goth” is not a phase, but I wondered what that guy would be like without the mascara mask...

October 15, 2002 - Blink

October 15, 2002 - click to embiggen

Not sure where the idea for this one came, but it was good for a few strips.

October 8, 2002 - Fonder Hearts

October 8, 2002 - click to embiggen

Another mostly wordless one and the end of the Gentle origin story. Or is it? (Yes, it is.)

October 1, 2002 - Who Chose Whom?

October 1, 2002 - click to embiggen

I liked the idea of Gentle choosing who would adopt him. Not sure if anyone ever figured out that a young Maybel appears in the first panel.

September 24, 2002 - Wildlife

September 24, 2002 - click to embiggen

Gentle is supposed to be speaking in the Crocodile Hunter’s Aussie accent, but since I eschewed captions and didn’t want to write out phonetically, I left it to the reader to figure it out. Just realized the last line is a reference to the movie Aliens. “Was it an older model?”

September 17, 2002 - Handle with Care

September 17, 2002 - click to embiggen

An attempt to try a mini-joke each panel, with an end punchline based on the first panel. Just how snarky was “grown-up” Gentle? I never could quite decide...

September 10, 2002 - Origin Story

September 10, 2002 - click to embiggen

I don’t dislike cats personally, but Gentle does. I enjoyed this story arc--but I don’t know if it was a favorite with readers.

September 3, 2002 - Situation Normal

September 3, 2002 - click to embiggen

I can’t remember if this actually happened to me or if I imagined it while eating lunch alone one day. I began to write more pointed strips, weaving in the theme that we all have different values yet fail to see the inherent silliness in passing judgment on the ones that don’t line up with ours.

October 29, 2002 - The Light Flickers On

October 29, 2002 - click to embiggen

The old shtick of the consistent simpleton who suddenly talks in a profound manner doesn’t do much for me. Didn’t stop me from using it here, though!

October 22, 2002 - Sea Change

October 22, 2002 - click to embiggen

I enjoyed imagining the girl and Maybel overrunning the store and doing things their own way. Plus I was able to sneak in another Strangers in Paradise name drop.

July 30, 2002 - Bill the Cat

July 30, 2002 - click to embiggen

I wrote this just so I could try drawing with a different pen. I’m not happy with how it came out (drawing- or writing-wise). Oh well.

July 23, 2002 - Catatonic Stupor Returns!

July 23, 2002 - lick to embiggen

The roommate has a name! I thought it might be fun if Barry was as thrown by Sylvia as Jake was by the girl (at first). The differences being a) Barry would never get better and b) his meltdown would be total (as opposed to Jake’s early flop-sweats). 

July 16, 2002 - The Meek Shall Inherit

July 16, 2002 - click to embiggen

The punchline to Marty’s joke is completely made up - just some Star Trek geekness. I got a kick out of making them terrified of the girl’s roommate. The posters along the bottom highlighted my favorite comics from that time - Bone, Strangers in Paradise, Thieves & Kings, & Herobear and the Kid (with Gentle as Herobear).

July 9, 2002 - An Oldie but a Goodie

July 9, 2002 - click to embiggen

Okay, since this was intended to be a family-friendly stip, I tried to make sure that my female characters did not fall into too curvaceous a mode. As I brought the girl’s roommate into the picture, I realized I’d kinda drawn her “hot.” So I decided to use it. I was a sad, shallow man.

July 2, 2002 - Death of Art

July 2, 2002 - click to embiggen

I read a great line from a comic strip called “The Norm” by Michael Jantze. The gist of it was: “Great. You overthink it while I go marry her.” The idea for this gag popped right into my head. Also, remember this was all pre-"Big Bang Theory."

June 25, 2002 - And All I Have to Do Is...

June 25, 2002 - click to embiggen

It was time to get “the girl” back in the picture. Her face was tough to nail down, but I finally started to get a feel for her around this time.

June 18, 2002 - R to the E to the T to the...

June 18, 2002 - click to embiggen

Jake’s tastes don’t always run the same direction as the rest of the world (not sure where THAT comes from...). I tried to be as obscure as I could with each reference, but I’m sure there are geeks out there who could put me to shame.

June 11, 2002 - La la la la la la

June 11, 2002 - click to embiggen

I wanted to have the Smurfs in my strip at some point (in loving tribute to my wife), and this true trend in comics gave me the just set up i needed. Of course, little did I know the Smurfs would make their own comeback about 8 years later...

June 4, 2002 - What Lies Beneath

June 4, 2002 - click to embiggen

A big thank you to those of you popping over to read these. It is nice to be able to share them with the world again.

I couldn’t squeeze in all the dialogue I wanted, and in retrospect I would not have drawn the upper balloon line cutting off Gentle’s head, but otherwise I like the way this one came out. I love the punchline/threat - never make a ferret angry.

May 28, 2002 - Daddy's Home

May 28, 2002 - click to embiggen

This gag is completely dependent on knowing the storyline. (My friend asked me “why are they playing ‘toss the ferret’?” In retrospect I would've drawn Maybel with a different posture.)

May 21, 2002 - Odd Man Out

May 21, 2002 - click to embiggen

I discovered I didn’t have as much for the convention story as I’d imagined, so I was eager to wrap it up. I learned this truth myself during a solo convention outing, but had a better time than Jake did.

May 14, 2002 - Getting Meta

May 14, 2002 - click to embiggen

One of the things I liked about this storyline was that things were happening to Gentle while things were happening with Jake. For consistency and brevity I stayed with Jake’s point of view, but tried to show that Gentle was not exactly having the time of his life.

May 7, 2002 - Publishing

May 7, 2002 - click to embiggen

This is only slightly amusing to anyone who buys roleplaying games and know they are always incredibly late in coming out.

April 30, 2002 - First Things First

April 30, 2002 - click to embiggen

Another true-to-life experience. I realize now that in the first two strips of this arc, I created a little tension in never saying where exactly Jake was going. I don't remember doing that consciously. In the strip Jake only eats Lays potato chips - this is a tribute to my late grandfather who worked for Frito-Lay.

April 23, 2002 - Dressed for Success

April 23, 2002 - click to embiggen

My brother and his dog immortalized. I really hope he doesn’t mind. This is kinda based on a true story. I attended a gaming convention in Columbus, OH, and stayed with my brother and his wife while there.

April 16, 2002 - I'm On the Highway...

April 16, 2002 - click to embiggen

Another wordless strip! This one works for me, but requires a) the previous strip (to know Gentle is in the carry) and b) familiarity with the characters (i.e. Gentle’s aversion to Maybel).

April 9, 2002 - High Hopes

April 9, 2002 - click to embiggen

Itching to do another storyline instead of one-shot cartoons, I started here. I like the visuals in this one.

We didn't have our dog yet, but now she gets restless and excited when we pack. She definitely recognizes the change in routine.

April 2, 2002 - Fonder Hearts

April 2, 2002 - click to embiggen

I took a month off from creating the comic (once I knew I was behind). The above scene actually happened to me all the time while working at the comic store.

February 26, 2002 - Zing!

February 26, 2002 - click to embiggen

Because Jake is too timid to actually ask a girl out, Barry is there for the all-important putdown. I don't think of Barry as unattractive or ugly, but women seem to sense something about him that puts them off.

The previous strip was created entirely as a setup for this one.

February 19, 2002 - Cloaked in Tragedy

February 19, 2002 - click to embiggen

Barry was so much more fun to write than I ever thought he’d be. He just loves to barrel through life even though he seems to know it will only cause him pain.

February 12, 2002 - It Cannot Be Fathomed

February 12, 2002 - click to embiggen

I’ve long been removed from the dating scene, but there were times I was sure it had to be a super-power.

February 5, 2002 - Dumbfounded

February 5, 2002 - click to embiggen

This was originally a lame throwaway strip to round out a “book” I had put together for family and friends. But still, the sympathy for Q at the end came as a surprise. A fun part of the process was how the characters did seem to take on a life of their own.

January 29, 2002 - Desecration

January 29, 2002 - click to embiggen

My guilt over using Calvin’s image in the earlier strip (coupled with my personal pet peeve about unlicensed Calvin & Hobbes stuff) inspired this one. Is Jake speaking as a comic creator or a comic character? Hmmmm.

January 22, 2002 - Not Made in the Shade

January 22, 2002 - click to embiggen

I so badly wanted to do a wordless strip! It is very difficult to write one when you feel people don’t know the characters well enough. Hence the safe animal-behavior choice.

January 15, 2002 - Self-Evaluation

January 15, 2002 - click to embiggen

It was time to put the focus back on Jake for a while. This was me every time I made one of these.

January 8, 2002 - "I know people."

January 8, 2002 - click to embiggen

Instrumental in the way the girl would come to view Jake, Maybel also provided some light tension. A love triangle is born!

January 1, 2002 - Good for the Goose

January 1, 2002 - click to embiggen

A new year! And a reciprocal strip from three weeks earlier! I never really found out back then if people were “getting it.”