Fucked!

Hey, whaddaya know, it's a photo-realistic self-portrait! It's me! I'm upset because I can't get any comics (or podcasts) done!

It's What's For Dinner

Edwin Finch

Here's yet another drawing that made me say to myself, "Ooh, maybe I should save this for something bigger instead of just posting it as a throw-away sketch on an unknown blog." Pfft. Whatever. Here it is and here it will likely remain.

Improv Comic

I've begun a dangerous experiment! I'm making up a comic as I go. I'm drawing it first, and then coming up with the dialogue afterwards. Check UltraCrispy.com regularly to see the comic develop. (I'm not going to post each update at this blog.)
Meanwhile, my graphic novel is also technically in progress, but I'm mostly putting it off. And believe it or not, I recorded some material for a podcast(!). I'll upload it as soon I can edit it into something presentable.

I Scowl At Your Sports

The above image is a dramatization of me (left) reacting to people at work (right) yapping endlessly about sports. Actually, it's a juxtaposition of two unrelated images that unintentionally tell a true story.

UltraCrispy collaborator Myles Matheson is responsible for today's amusing.org entry. Geez, give someone else a chance, "Crimeless Glenn."

I Got No Turntables and a Microphone

I bought a somewhat pricey microphone thanks to accumulated gift cards. So now the public may put pressure on me to actually do something with it, like podcasts and voice-acting for animation. Hopefully I can electronically process the nasal adolescent nerd out of my voice.

The Clenched Fists of Indignation

Sometimes I get really precious about some of my drawings. I'll draw something off the cuff and then figure that I need to build a comic around it in order to do it justice. Then I'll fruitlessly try to come up with such a comic, thereby keeping myself from working on something more worthwhile. Welcome to my dysfunctional creative process. Anyway, I've posted the drawing above so I can get it out of my system and forget it.

Idiotica Again

I found the above image lurking uselessly in the dusty corners of my hard drive. It was a potential logo for a never-to-be web site that I once considered. The style doesn't go with the name at all, but I like how it looks nonetheless. I documented other candidates for Idiotica logos here.

Amusing.org'ed

Well, looky looky. A submission of mine has been posted at amusing.org:

Coincidentally, UltraCrispy collaborator Myles Matheson lays claim to the entries for September 11 and 12. Go, us!

4 Ugly Mugs

I find drawing ugly characters to be infinitely more fun than drawing attractive characters. That's probably supposed to mean something, psychologically speaking.

I just discovered Jan Svankmajer and need to check out more of his work. A bunch of his films are on YouTube. You should check them out. Here's one I just viewed recently:

Opinion

Lovers

This has been the longest 4-day work week ever. The fact that I basically forgot how to sleep these last few weeks compounds the difficulty of staying awake at a job that holds no interest for me. When I go to bed, I often read until I start nodding off. But the second I set my book down and turn off the light, I'm wide awake until at least 2 AM. (My alarm is set for 5:45 AM.) What the FUCK, brain?!

Looks like I'll be sleeping in my car like a hobo during my lunch break.

The Odd Trio

It's funny how my own sketches remind me of people or things after I've made the sketch. For example, the figure in the middle reminds me of the alien depicted on the movie posters for District 9 (boo!). And the guy on the right reminds me of Terri Schiavo. Both unintentional resemblances.

I've been bitching a lot lately about things I don't like. Well, here are some things I've been enjoying lately (for a change):

• Joe Frank, known best for his often philosophical, humorous and sometimes absurd monologues and radio dramas. You can hear a bunch of clips for free in the podcasts section of iTunes. Or you can sign up as a member (for free) at his web site.
• Mew, a Danish alternatative prog-rock group (songs are in English). You can listen to their albums for free through the LaLa player here and here. I particularly liked their song "New Terrain" for it's odd-sounding effects. I later found out that it sounds a little weird because it was made so it can be played backwards as a different song ("Nervous") with its own lyrics and melodies. Man, that's just crazy.
• Infinite Jest, a novel that's over 1000 pages and contains a couple hundred pages of footnotes which in turn have their own foot notes. I haven't gotten too far into it yet but it involves ridiculously competitive tennis academies, drug addicts, and a video that entertains its viewers so thoroughly that it puts them into a catatonic state. The author has since killed himself. The author of the last book I enjoyed (A Confederacy of Dunces) also killed himself. I don't know what that says about me.
• Webcomics like Underworld, Gunshow, Forming, Maakies, and Johnny Ryan's comics.
  

The graphic novel Local is getting on my good side, but I just started it so I can't vouch for it yet. So far the art is excellent and the stories are compelling.

Finally, the upcoming graphic novel The Squirrel Machine could also be a winner. The artwork looks great and it has the weirdness and creepiness (and perhaps a touch of humor?) that is exactly what I had in mind for my own graphic novel.

Guess Who's Disgusted

I'm sick of looking at the clock and seeing nothing but a countdown until the next thing I don't feel like doing. I'm sick of killing myself to eat healthy food I don't like in order to make myself live longer so I can eat more food I don't like. I'm sick of paying for entertainment that does the exact opposite of entertaining me.

Plop!

I can't seem to write or draw anything that I don't passionately hate. Also, I've sucked the fun out of fun. Sob and whimper.

New pic on UC home page

I re-did the UltraCrispy home page for the moment. It's not a big deal but I like the new pic I added to it:

Smugly

I saw District 9 last night. What a corny-ass movie. Ugh, the main character was so irritating. He was like a bad version of Steve Carrell. You know, I think I would have liked it more if that character was played by Steve Carrell. As a comedic role.

Duh... Hi!

Today's Blecky Yuckerella and Underworld made me chuckle.

I guess I'm back, sort of

As I resume posting sketches here, I'll note that the character above ended up somewhat resembling KC Green's depiction of himself. The sketch is pretty old so I don't remember if that was intentional or not.

I started work on a graphic novel recently, which might prolong the lack of updates at UltraCrispy. I'm toying with the idea of posting a semi-daily, quickly-rendered, semi-autobiographical comic, mostly to combat my crippling, perfectionist tendencies. My last attempt to do so was unfulfilling, so maybe that's a bad idea. I'll see. You'll see. We'll see.