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.

Late Night Regrets

You can find the backstory about why James McAvoy is attached to my chest here. (Just read the first panel if you want to avoid all the Prometheus movie spoilers.)

Ah the first comic to have an appearance of Beans. I want to do a series with him called "The Center of the Universe." Maybe that will be next....

Me and James Watch Prometheus - SPOILERS edition

Me and my gaping chest wound James McAvoy watched Prometheus last weekend. I overall enjoyed it, but it did leave a lot to think about it, especially for James. If you haven't seen it yet, and don't want any spoilers, you're better off visiting other MB comics like this or this.

I have done my due diligence. Prometheus spoilers ahoy!

Scenes from a Seattle Kung Fu Film

I was re-watching Iron Monkey sometime ago and started thinking how awesome it would be if our humdrum situations were broken up with spontaneous kung fu. 

Behold a true Seattle villain--a line budger.

For that Environment/Washpirg one, I almost made our chi-user shout "Kamehameha!" but then, only a small subset of extreme geekdom would get that anime reference....Oh, Dragonball Z....

Disappointed Dad

It took me a while to figure out Disappointed Dad people—people who automatically respond to someone else's success or improvement or good news with some kind of tear down. 

At first I was like that kid, wanting to do better because obviously, I wasn't doing a good enough job and that's why I wasn't getting a good response. But I finally figured out it wasn't about me, so now when it happens, I just think "Disappointed Dad is Disappointed," like some kind of sad LOL Cat mantra. 

But it makes me see the humor in it and take it less seriously. And every time it happens, it reminds me how I want to respond to others—to be positive back, because seriously, being Disappointed Dad is super lame.

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.

Traumatic Reading Experiences

Hipster Highlanders

Because who wants to live forever if you have to spend it with people who listen to the same bands as you?

This is actually one of my favorites from the Facebook stash. I won't talk about how much time I spent on that guy's hamburger hat.