128. Operation: Rabbit Hole

Densetsu Main Spread

So this is my first entirely, 100% digital image. Even my layouts and sketches were done digitally, which is kinda bad because I'm still not super comfortable with the digital brushes. Still, I think it turned out pretty good!
The image is based off of one of my all time favorite DBZ cards.  I've inserted my own cast of characters from Densetsu as well as adding the two large figures entirely, but the smaller figures and background color scheme pay homage to that DBZ card.

Mm'kay?

Took me awhile to upload this one, but it's finally here!

The Associated Students of the University of Hawaii (ASUH) voted down the chancellor's proposed athletic fee last semester.

The chancellor has decided to put the matter before the Board of Regents (BOR), completely disregarding that previous ASUH vote.

Penny Arcade-style artwork.

It's always interesting to me to see how people react to emulation (not to be confused with immolation).  I've publicly acknowledged my appreciation for and idolization of Mike Krahulik's artwork (and Jerry Holkins' writing too) and have admitted openly that I'm influenced a lot by Penny Arcade in general to the point of emulating their style.

127. Like Children Again

Graduation has a funny way of making people happy and sad at the same time.
Most graduates are elated to have been deemed "successful" by what ever standards they had been judged for the past however many years.  At the same time, a graduation means a step up in the world.
"Bigger and better things" and with that, greater responsibility and a more difficult role in society.  It's actually rather terrifying; a theme any number of cartoonists have explored twice a year ever since I've been in the business.
In an effort to be as different as possible, but still retain something of the importance of the issue, I've decided to examine the sense of longing that accompanies this fear of moving up in the world.

Something else I've been thinking about...

The very day Joe Biden proclaimed U.S. support for Israel, the Israeli government announced the planned construction of new Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank (which goes against every joint report the U.N. has filed on the matter - good thing the Israeli's have the U.S. security council veto in their pocket).  If these settlements are to be built on land that was, before the 6-day war, Palestinian land, what has to happen first? Clearly the houses that are already there (the ones that, according to Israel do not have the proper zoned building permits - because they were built before Israel came up with that law) will be demolished.

Israel knows that if a two state solution ever happens (which it probably won't - not while the U.S. is stacking the deck in Israel's favor) the borders will be drawn based on who's actually living where.  So their strategy is to knock down Palestinian houses and put up their own as quickly as possible in order to "legitimize," in some bastardized sense, their claims to the land. The zoning laws and Israeli-only highways that divide the West Bank into segments are also part of this strategy.  It's a basic geopolitical strategy and the main reason it works is because the U.S. media reports it in a way that favors Israel.  Calling the illegal settlements "neighborhoods" evokes a totally different feel than "occupied territory" does. It's the same reason U.S. media reports of violence are always "Israeli retaliation" and never "aggression."

126. Meanwhile, In Arizona

We all know that illegal immigrants from Latin America wear burritos on their feet. Whereas legal immigrants from the same region wear enchiladas. Footwear isn't, like, a cultural thing, or an economic thing - it's an issue of legality.  The governor of Arizona (I think it was her) advised her police force to look out for “illegals” on this very premise! And everyone knows that she knows what the hell she's talking about.

As for smugglers, well they tend to masquerade as illegal immigrants in that they also wear burritos on their feet.  Hey, they're both doing something illegal right? One's trying to make a better future for themselves and for their families, and, you know, the other is pumping millions of dollars of illegal narcotics into our country, corrupting our youth and worsening an already bad poverty line.  Totally the same thing, guys.

5. QDC#5: May 8th, 2009 - "Loss"

The following is from the quarterdown.com article of the same name and can also be found here.

I feel it is in the interest of my reputation (whatever that’s worth) as an artist to say a little something about this comic. First of all, I did not have a seizure or a stroke of any kind that led me to draw and color in this manner, despite appearances to the contrary.