The Playground

Descent from Enlightenment

The Feud

These fine lyrics by The Mountain Goats were an inspiration for this week's cartoon.

Music for a Ridiculous Ensemble

This cartoon pays homage to one of the Top 25 Most Played songs on my iPod: "Music for a Large Ensemble" by Steve Reich. I can name every instrument in the drawing except for the fish-shaped-percussion-thing on the far right. A free burned Steve Reich sampler mix to the clever person who can tell me what that instrument is called.

The Jukebox

This comic was inspired by seeing an old jukebox inside a Waffle House. "Crystal Blue Persuasion" by Tommy James and the Shondells was one of the tracks. Unfortunately, I didn't have a quarter to play the song. But the waffles were delicious.

Monsters

There will be no encore.

The bold, ominous title of this strip had been buried in the pages of my sketchbook for months without any indication of how it should be turned into a comic. The solution: illustrated light verse.

So you want to be a writer?

Thunderheads

This comic was inspired by watching a massive cumulonimbus from the hill by my apartment. Also, George Clinton.

The University of Awesome

Time Machine

Epic Summer

Tired

Frustrated Artists Society

Apparently the society meets in an extravagant loft overlooking downtown Kansas City. They were originally called the "Frustrated Artists Guild," but changed due to the unfortunate acronym.

My Place

This is an elaborate doodle I passed off as a cartoon for the Star. See if you can spot nods to Tony Millionaire, George Herriman, Dr. Seuss, Tom Otterness, Chris Ware, Matt Groening, Charles Schulz, Bill Watterson, James Kochalka, Maurice Sendak, Jim Woodring, and coffee. Don't you wish your house had an escalator and an observatory?