ESL Comics

ESL Comics Goes Interactive

2012-12-16T05:36:00.000-08:00

I'm branching out and creating an interactive PDF of ESLComics. With an interactive PDF, readers can not just read comics, but play them also. Interactive PDFs allow you to click on page, type, answer questions, and get feedback. This means games and puzzles. That help you learn English. I am currently seeking funds to make this happen. To learn more and get interactive comics in your ESL classroom, check out this site. I can use all of the support I can get. Support ESL Interactive Comics

P.S. Have you seen ESLComics.com? If not, you're missing cartoons that are not here on this blog.

ESL Comics has a New Website and a New Look

2012-08-13T10:10:00.000-07:00

Please visit my new site eslcomics.com. It has more of my homemade cartoons (I hope my talents have improved.) and a new interactive feature. Readers can get translations in up to ten different languages, something not possible on the blog. I will resume creating lesson material for the blog, so teachers can find topics for classroom use.
It's my hope that language learners and teachers find the blog and the website usefull as well as entertaining.

Sincerely,
Sterling Daniels
ESLComics.com

Dana's Tomato Caper - Part 4

2007-10-18T04:30:00.000-07:00

Did You Understand?
Who is helping Dana’s father?
What is Dana’s father’s name?
Why did Dana’s father get hurt?
Why is Dana trying to get away?

Summary
The ambulance has come to Dana’s house to help her father. The ambulance driver asks how he hurt himself this time. This means that he has hurt himself before. Dana’s father says that the roof was full of tomatoes. Dana realizes that it is her fault that he is hurt since she threw the tomatoes on the roof. Her father now knows that she must have put the tomatoes on the roof.

Words and Phrases - Use the translation button for these words
I don’t get it. – I don’t understand.
All over the roof – covering the entire roof

Dana's Tomato Caper - Part 3

2007-10-18T03:57:00.000-07:00

Did You Understand?
Why did Dana ask other children to meet with her?

What is Dana’s question?

What answer did the other children give her?

Summary
Dana still wants to know why tomatoes are considered fruit. She brings the other children in the neighborhood to help her. They have tried but have not been able to find the answer to her question. Their answer is “just because”. This means that there is no answer to the question. People should just accept that this is the way things are. Dana is satisfied with this answer and ends the meeting.

Words and Phrases - Use the translation button for these words
neighborhood
Kids
Help
Classify
Tomato
Teacher
Tell
Research
Data
Scientific
Religious
Philosophic
Just because
Conclusive
Meeting
Adjourned

A Hole in My Pocket

2007-10-18T02:51:00.001-07:00

Did You Understand?
1. The customer was trying to buy a _________?
a) pet dog b) a hot dog c) cat

2. The customer had a ________ in his pocket.
a) fish b) hot dog c) hole

3. Here impossible means _________.
a) That can't be true. b) Others can have it but not you. c)I want one also.

Summary:
A man walks up to a hot dog vendor to buy some food. The buyer keeps his money in a hole that he takes out of his pocket. The vendor doesn't believe that someone can pick up a hole. The buyer suggest that he will never know if it's possible unless he tries.

Words and Phrases:
How much for
single
dog (hot dog)
hole
keep
money
Where did you get
simply
found
I picked it up.
impossible
No one can
obviously
never tried

Dana's Tomato Caper - Part 2

2007-10-18T02:51:00.000-07:00

Did You Understand?
Why is Dana’s father on the roof?
What does Dana think her father is doing?
Who does Dana want to call on the telephone?
Why does Dana want to call for an ambulance?
How does Dana’s father hurt himself?

Summary
Dana asks her father why he is on the roof. He replies that he is fixing the antennae. Dana doesn’t understand him and thinks he is doing something to ants on the roof. The word ant is in the word antennae. Maybe she did not hear him correctly. Dana’s father is not hurt yet. Dana knows that her father is likely to get hurt and asks her mother if she should call for an ambulance. Dana’s mother also expects him to hurt himself but she thinks it is best to wait and see what happens. This tells us that he has tried to fix things before and has accidents very often.

Words and Phrases - Use the translation button for these words
What’re ya doin’– What are you doing?
Fix
Fixing
Antennae
Bothering
Ants
Roof
Ambulance
Hurt
Coffee

Dana's Tomato Caper - Part 1

2007-10-18T02:27:00.000-07:00

Did You Understand?
What is the girl on the right throwing?
Why is she throwing these things?
What is her friend's advice? What does this mean?

Summary
This cartoon is the beginning of a series of jokes involving a character I created called Daring Dana. Dana is the one on the right throwing tomatoes on the roof. Her friend asks her why she is doing this. She doesn't know why people consider tomatoes to be a fruit instead of a vegetable. She is throwing tomatoes on the roof of her house to see if there is something about the way they splatter that causes them to by classified as a fruit. Her friend tells her that she needs a hobby. This means that she should find better things to do with her time.

Words and Phrases
What'cha doin' - What are you doing. English speakers often blend their words together. It is common to hear the -ing ending reduced to just -in or what are you reduced to what'cha.

Use the translation button for these words
fruit
roof
splat
splatter
hobby

Caveman Ug

2007-10-17T17:52:00.001-07:00

Remember, click on the flag of your country to get a translation in your language.

Did you Understand?
What did Urg find?
Does Ug take Urg's gift?
Why is Urg lying on the ground?

Picture 1
Urg: I found these berries in the brush, Ug. Would you like some?
Ug: No thanks, Urg. I'm kind of busy now. Maybe later.

Picture 2
Ug's son: That's how you know which ones are poisonous, right Dad?
Ug: That's right son.
Urg: My stomach. It hurts!

Summary:
Caveman Ug is a simple joke that I though of while riding on a train and watching people buy food from a vendor. I wondered if the food people were buying was fresh. There's not much to understand here. Urg has some berries that he found and is willing to share. Ug suspects that it might not be safe but doesn't say this aloud. He waits until Urg eats it to see if it's safe. Ug's son has learned a valuable lesson, which is what Ug wanted. I often imagine that this must be how people in prehistoric times discovered which foods were poisonous.