Hey all. I know, it’s been a while since I’ve posted anything. I’ve been busy with a million different projects, it seems. I can’t stay away from Taking Up Space, though.

Even though I have a bunch of Taking Up Space comics scripted in advance, this one came to me, as many of my comics do, in the lingering moments between sleep and waking. The first three panels were written in the shower as I mulled word choice and such. The only thing that’s different is the ending. I must’ve written the last line 20 times, searching for the perfect punch line for Jessika.

And then, during the coloring process, just before I was going to hit save and call it a day, the last line came to me. A positive message in Jessika’s otherwise bleak worldview which seemed truer than any funny line I could’ve written.

Thanks to everybody who has been visiting and leaving comments or sending me emails on the comics. I appreciate the support.

We’ve got eight zillion social networking sites and apps all vying for our attention, connecting us to strangers around the world, and it’s a great thing. This is an age of instant and ideas and make no mistake, it’s nothing short of magical.

But how much of this comes at the expense of our connections to those around us?

How many couples sit in bed, each on their own computer, interacting with other people instead of one another? How many kids sit at the dinner table texting on their cell phones rather than talking with their families?

And at the end of the day, when we close our eyes, are we not just a little bit lonelier than we were before this age of connectivity?

I return from a hiatus with perhaps my most cynical comic yet.

I suppose there wouldn’t be much of a market for REALISTIC romance novels. Well, if her books don’t do well, there’s always greeting cards.

Thanks to everybody who posted comments on here. I appreciate it. If you enjoy Taking Up Space, please tweet it at Twitter and let others know.

Since I’m back, I figured I would direct you towards a few other things going on in the webcomic universe.

My other comic, Todd and Penguin is continuing it’s Mystery Guest Month (which is really going to be longer than a month) with some black and white comic goodness.

It’s been a long while since I’ve read any comics, what with all the blogs, comics and other stuff I have going on. However, this weekend, I got some extra freetime and caught up with some old favorites and discovered a new favorite.

I haven’t read Dog Eat Doug since before I had a son. While I always enjoyed the strip, having a child makes it even that much more enjoyable because you can relate on another level. The whimsical comic about a baby and a dog is so cute it should come with a warning label.

I was turned on to a cool comic this weekend, Cock N Bull. It’s got some foul language, so those of you who are offended by such, might want to take a pass. For everyone else, it’s an awesomely funny comic.

If you’re feeling creative, stop by and check out Monday’s Calamities of Nature and enter the caption contest for a chance to win a free book or custom art. I highly recommend the book; a signed copy sits on my bookshelf right next to my other great collections.

I need a few “Sunday-sized” strips for my syndication pack. I decided I would kick off with one of my favorite Taking Up Space strips, which was originally drawn as a very cramped four panel comic.

I love Bobby’s logic in this comic, it sums up both he and the strip very well.

Problem is, I’m not sure if the average person thinks like this, that they must open a “good fortune” if they opened one they didn’t like.

What about you? If you got a bad fortune, would you feel compelled to open more cookies until you find a good one?

as always, thanks for reading,

david

Sometimes these comics are more autobiographical than I should admit.

My wife makes me wear tape over my mouth whenever we watch game shows. Or most TV for that matter.

This is a new comic.

I had this memory of my original Burger Shack comics, being really funny. Well, I went back and re-read the early ones (written in 2002) and well, they weren’t as funny as I remember. So, I ditched them and wrote this one instead.

Funny how the memory works like that. Things you thought were great were less than.

Makes me wonder if I’ll look back on this in a few years and think, “What the hell was I thinking?!”

as always, thanks for reading,

david

Here is a new Todd and Penguin comic. Taking Up Space will return Wednesday.

Yes, there are such things a pancakes in a can.

Yes, I bought them.

Yes, I am that lazy.

This was one of the first storylines back when the strip made its debut in The Stanford Daily in 2002. It’s also one of  my favorites and perhaps the best balance of the caustic rants of Jessika and the innocence of Alexander Rabbit. This would be the second time I’ve redrawn this strip, each time making it a little better.

And yes, the initials for Burger Shack serve dual meaning. Subtle, eh?

Thanks to everyone who has commented, subscribed to the RSS feed or emailed me. I appreciate the feedback.

As always, thanks for reading,

david

This is one of the new comics which I did to introduce the fact that Bobby and Jessika are brother and sister. Of all the new comics, this is the one I am least confident in. I hope it’s not as bad as I think it is as it will be the second strip the syndicates see. Well, unless I get an overwhelming amount of comments or email telling me to lose this comic.

The topic is somewhat simple but it is something any of us with siblings, a car and a childhood have in common. We’ve all been on one side or the other of the “annoy the crap out of your sibling” game by whatever means necessary.

The goal of the game was of course to pester the other until:

• You got your brother or sister yelled at
• Mom or Dad’s face turned red with rage but stopping  just short of and their hand swinging blindly back.

See you on Friday!

As always, thanks for reading,

David

This is the new home for my comic-related projects, including my attempt to get Taking Up Space syndicated.

During the next few months, I will be posting new Taking Up Space comics each M,W,F.

While the comic dates back to March 2002, when it first appeared on Altbrand.com, it has suffered from being the less popular of my two comics and therefore never getting the full attention it deserved. Todd and Penguin took a bulk of the time. I have decided to give Taking Up Space my full attention (well as full as I can give it with my other projects - but this will get my full comic-creating attention for the next few months) as I attempt to fulfill the promise of what I think this comic can be.

I am rewriting and redrawing some of the best of the comics and also writing new ones. So even if you are a longtime fan of the comic, you will still be seeing something new here.

I’ve gone through the archives and written out what I think is a much better, more cohesive comic which will really rock. I’ve made minor changes. One is Jessika’s dress. I’ve given her sleeves, something which she’s never had before and which I modeled after another of my comic characters. I’ve also removed some of the political overtones to the comic. The original run leaned VERY liberal. And while I am not ashamed of anything I wrote, it does feel a bit grating when being pounded over the head with a particular message repeatedly.

Instead, I will rely on strong characterization and what this comic is really about, interaction between very different people.

Here are some quotes regarding the comic’s first run.

• ” …Peanuts for the new millenium.“–Phil Cho, Skinny Panda
• ” I like it a lot. This may sound inherently evil, but I like it more than Todd & Penguin. I think the cast is more diverse, more attractive, and you were successful in creating mounds of sympathy for these characters in such a short amount of time. The pathos they exude is boggling“--Case Yorke, Gluemeat

If you want to know a bit about the characters, check out the About page.

Blog posts at I Draw Comics are running on the ComicPress theme for Wordpress and I haven’t quite gotten around to a full customization of the site yet.

The way ComicPress is set up, it has two blog posts. One which accompanies each comic and then a more basic one which can be found below. So if you are checking out the comic, you will get a comic-related mini-post and sometimes a more extensive non-comic post below that post.

I know, it sounds confusing. Maybe the best thing is to just subscribe to the feed and you’ll get to see everything!

That’s it for now, see you all on Wednesday.

Let me know what you think.

And as always, thank you for reading.