Scenes from a Summer Vacation

Celebrating my second full week of "Summer Vacation." But what has Monster been up to?

Monsters In the Wild

Monster sightings around Seattle.

Monster and Bunny seen browsing on an Ipad at the Mac Store. 

Monster and Bunny sighting in the ladies bathroom at the Latona Pub. Those sneaky guys.

Where will the next sighting be???

A Whole New World

Two big changes have hit Monster Barrel, the wonderful land of grumpy monsters, happy bunnies, and frustrated stick people.

1- I got a new laptop that has MS Paint 2010. To say that Paint 2010 is different from Paint XP is to say that...I don't know where I'm going with that. IT'S DIFFERENT. Probably better, although I'm just trying out the different pieces. Drawing with the wireless mouse isn't smooth yet, but maybe with more practice....

2- I'm out of work! That's right--due to sudden lay-offs and downsizing, MB finally meets the recession head on. (Because it was looking like that 47% had too few grumpy monsters in it. NOT ANY MORE!)

Does this mean more comics? Probably. Does this mean more references to hotty actor James McAvoy? Probably not since James-the-hole finally closed up in July after two long months and 23 doctor visits (!) (Thank god I was employed then and had health care!!) Any future appearances of McAvoy will be...just because I find him very attractive. Maybe I can work something in with him and Love Love Octopus, since that character basically embodies all that is love, romance, and inappropriate obsessive behavior.

So, it's a brand new day for Monster Barrel--one filled with possibilities like "What will I have for lunch?" and "When shall I take a nap?" and "What section can I put 'squinting" under in my resume?"

Plus lots of job searching, since Monster wants to keep Bunny happy, and that means a steady stream of hugs, tummy rubs, and carrots.

What job would best be enhanced by non-stop glaring? I'm thinking the Department of Licensing or the TSA.

Monsters FTW

Finishing up the last of the backlist Monster drarrings from Facebook.

Cherry blossom viewing with special guest Love Love Octopus

A friend of mine thought these were popcorn bags. I was all, "They're luminaries. LUMINARIES." You know, like the ones you float on lakes in the summer? Oh well...delicious delicious water popcorn.

And finally....

I'll be honest, I didn't know what FTW was for the longest time, so I was always severely confused by such gleeful responses following it. This was also the first cartoon that actively shows Shark's assholic nature. Up until now, the few times he has appeared, he's just been silently smiling in the background.

At the Movies with Monster Barrel

I love movies, and I love going to the movies. So, there will probably be a lot of movie comics showing up here...below are a few of "classic" MB that I'm migrating over. (Classic = "older" as opposed to "should be touched up and rereleased as part of the Criterion Collection.")

Drive wasn't terrible-terrible, but it's very over-deliberate, and not very good. The credits also used this throwback pink curly font that made me think of 80's movies like...Mannequin.

The women who walked out of the theater behind me were hilarious. "I hated it!" one ranted to the other. "Only a dumbass would like that movie!" On the flip-side, I haven't met a man who has seen this movie and didn't like it, so to each one's own.

Probably the most fun I had with this comic was trying to draw the terrible Valhalla Rising in three tiny pictures. If I did this again, I would try to work in the awful color filters in more.

True story. Us too cool for school got a bunch of booze and Twilight Eclipse and planned to have a fun movie night in. Lo-and-behold, this movie is awful but boring-awful. Thus not at all fun to watch.

After a while, I stopped drinking, lay on the floor, and just waiting for it to end. The only scene that was really amusing was when Jacob had to warm Bella with his super-high body heat while Edward looked on sourly.

War Horse was fine, but I didn't have a religious experience like my friends who have seen the play. It is oddly bloodless for a war movie, which made me think even more that this was a film that would be slapped into the school DVD player on those awkward afternoons right before a long holiday when no one wants to do anything.

Super 8 was pretty rad. A little heavy on the homage, but still a fun ride.

And finally...

I volunteered for three years at a local volunteer-run cinema. It was a fun gig. My favorite part was serving the movie patrons, since most people going to the movies are in a good mood, especially those going to a volunteer-run theater.

And one skill I took away was that to make really tasty popcorn in an old popcorn machine, you use A LOT of oil, in this case canola. I was taught to use a quarter to a third of a cup, but I usually used a half to 2/3, and you can really tell the difference. Your heart might not be thanking you, but trust me, it tastes way way better.

Origin Story

Here are a few more "back-images" of Monster and Bunny

This could be called an "origin story."

A lot of the early Monster drawings were all titled "Because I am a Monster." This was mostly because Monster saw himself as something scary and unwanted. He's a big green monster--he's had to deal with a lot of prejudice, and it's been hard to make friends. So he would blame everything on being a monster--People won't talk to me because I am a monster. I am treated poorly because I am a monster.

And just like anyone else, he gets lonely.

And then Bunny comes in. This is how they met.

My friend Anne asked one day if she could be in one of the "drarrings". It seemed like a fun challenge.

Monster's favorite face is to scowl--he's used to trying to keep people away from him--but even he couldn't help looking happy here.

Last year's Lunar New Year celebration -- the Year of the Rabbit. :D

Christmas Time

December 2010 was a tough time, which somehow erupted into a series of Winter/Christmas Monster drawings.

Since Seattle gets about enough snow to fill a fair-trade-shade-grown coffee bean can (from Trader Joe’s, natch), I was forced to drudge up fondish memories of bitterly cold winters in upstate New York, back in the Triassic period.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Mmmmm...Cookies.....
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Someday I totally want to see the Northern Lights. My guess is that they probably don't look like MS Paint spray-paint effects, but still would be cool to see.
 

Welcome to the Barrel

Sometime two years ago, there was a particularly bad day. It was one of those days that seemed especially irrational, so irrational that it didn't make sense anymore.

So my internal response was a wish to be absolutely irrational in return, and the only thing that came to mind was at every question that would come my way, I would yell, "Because I'm a Monster!"

In the middle of that day, I opened up the glory that is MS paint and drew my irrational insides. It probably took me just a couple minutes, and a majority of that time was most likely spent on what color to make his shoes.

Six months later, I came home from another “Because I’m a Monster” day. I wanted to look at something cute – anything cute – and ended up opening the Glory that is MS Paint and drew Monster again.

Monster in a boat. Monster on a camel. Monster on a hill.

I got so depressed partway through that I decided to throw in something – anything – to make the picture more cheery. So I gave the Monster a friend. Bunny.

So, Monster wasn’t alone on the boat, or on the hill.

By the fourth panel, he wasn’t even scowling anymore.

So, Monster might have started on a really bad day in May 2010, but I think it was when Bunny entered the picture that the whole barrel really started rolling.

Welcome to Monster Barrel. It's not all Monsters. Sometimes it's Irate Stick People. But hopefully some of it will be funny.