deebrisbyfish

[deebrisbyfish]

I've had JAWS on the brain this past week, with the 50th anniversary making it quite the online topic of discussion. We rewatched it over the weekend, and YEAH, it's still a functionally perfect masterpiece of a movie. So, OF COURSE I had to do an homage piece. This one, being a parody of the classic movie poster by Roger Kastel, with a bit more of a... personal angle.

[deebrisbyfish]

A couple of months ago, Heidi and I attended a comic con at Moore College of Art and Design in Philly. There, we had this encounter with fellow cartoonist and attendee at the show, Dawn Griffin! Dawn was nice enough to let me chronicle the fun interaction in the strip. :) You can check out her awesome work HERE! THANKS!

[deebrisbyfish]

It really doesn't matter HOW well prepared I think I am, I somehow ALWAYS miss SOMETHING. Thankfully, between Heidi and I combined, we usually can compensate for whatever either of us might miss.

[deebrisbyfish]

The conversation around the reemergence of cargo pants between Heidi and me happened, and it was what put THIS visual into my head. And once in there, I had to draw it up. lol Now, in regards to the source of the parody, I don't parody art that didn't have any influence on me. I was about 16 or so when I first discovered Rob Liefeld's work, and back then, I loved it. I was an angry little shit with a lot of bottled up angst and his chaotic, frenetic linework and posing and gritted teeth spoke to that for SURE! So, while it would be easy for me to lie and pretend otherwise, that's not me. Also, I KNOW the joke, but he does actually draw feet. Yeah, they're often little, and pointy, and obscured, but I did my homework to parody this CORRECTLY, thank you very much. lol

[deebrisbyfish]

The cats started doing this VERY shortly after we got them, and I stopped letting them in my office. (Shelves filled with action figures do not mix with curious, jump-happy kitties.) The first time it happened, I was TERRIFIED because they don't just tap on the knob. They legit rattle it, and it sounds like a PERSON is doing it. It doesn't terrify me like that anymore, but if I'm in the zone, I WILL jump a little while my imagination plays with me.

[deebrisbyfish]

There are a lot of influences in this gag that all occurred to me when trying to visualize the issues I have with my feet. I was torn between the Robert Crumb/Keep on Truckin' piece and a Rankin/Bass Bilbo Baggins, but I thought that THIS was more universally clear for the idea, particularly if you've not even SEEN the reference.

[deebrisbyfish]

A couple of strips ago, I added the classic comic book device of the asterisk as translation, and I LIKED It! I set a personal rule that my animals in the strip wouldn't talk, and while they have once or twice, that's usually in service of a parody. THIS, however, can allow me to have my cake and eat it too, and I think it makes this gag funnier for it.

[deebrisbyfish]

I was debating on making this a Kong parody or a Godzilla one, but goofing on this, specific scene just fit the theme of the idea better. I liked playing with the sepia toning and modeled the shadowing a little more than I usually do, which was also fun.

[deebrisbyfish]

This was something that really required more panels than my standard 6. As a general rule, on workdays, I'm up and out of bed well before Heidi. I feed the pets, get the coffee going, etc. (This is also largely motivated by my bladder waking me up earlier. lol) So, to summarize, YES. This basically DID all happen. Some of it was altered to make it PG, as the shirt that got caught on the door handle was IN MY HAND... because I don't actually sleep in a nightshirt. But this isn't THAT kind of strip. ;) The TITLE this week is a reference to the idea that NONE of this was funny at ALL when it was happening. In the real world, it triggered a panic attack and I freaked out hard afterwards. BUT, with time, I realized it was funny and decided to make it a strip.

[deebrisbyfish]

Yeaaaah, it was... FUN around the house for a little bit this last month. They have calmed down considerably since, but more often than not, Lucipurr is chilling down in the basement with Rick just in case. Nutbar cats. lol

[deebrisbyfish]

Somewhere around the end of March, the cats started going crazy. There's more to say on this, and the strip will cover that as well, but for now, let me say that this DID happen, aaaand I peed myself a little when it did. Wasn't gonna draw THAT, though. ;)

[deebrisbyfish]

In my defense, I REALLY thought that the spider had LET GO of its web. It LOOKED like it had, when I pulled my arm back in to the car. The spider flew back in... and I NEVER found it again. That was an anxiety-filled drive to work. lol

[deebrisbyfish]

All it takes is ONE little tweak to the routine I have for myself in the morning to utterly muck with my focus and ability to remember my own head. This is WAY worse when I am having to do something I DON'T have a routine or pattern for, but it's the most FUNNY to comment on in my morning routine. It's more detailed than THIS, but it served the format best to streamline it a smidge.

[deebrisbyfish]

Now, I KNOW we aren't the only folks who spend longer scrolling through streaming menus than we do actually watching stuff sometimes. It was a fairly straightforward concept for a strip, so with this one, I had a LOT of fun coming up with a little business for the scene. The bit with scritching Mewsikeen adds a bit of fun to the overall image, I think.

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That's RIGHT, folks! It's been a hell of a long road, but FINDING DEE will soon be in REAL WORLD BOOK SHOPS!!! But it will need your help to make it happen!

Contact your local comic shop and/or Barnes & Noble and let them know you WANT “FINDING DEE” from Laguna Studios!!! CLICK TO PRE-ORDER FROM B&N TODAY!!!!

ISBN: 978-1-964939-02-5

[deebrisbyfish]

For a while, I had considered trying to draw this IN the style of Voltron, but since my Anxiety Brigade are only occasionally recurring characters, I wanted to make sure they were recognizable. Well, at least to folks who read this comic regularly. I have no idea if this will make ANY sense to new readers. lol

[deebrisbyfish]

I know not everyone can swing regular PATREON payments or commissions, so one really cool way to say "THANKS" for hilarious comics every week and then some is with Ko-Fi! CLICK HERE TO TIP THE CARTOONIST TODAY! THANKS!