This comic strip was originally drawn up as an assignment for my Honors English class. Sound weird?? Well, my teacher gave us this assignment to either write a parody or a satire--but said that if we approved it with him we could do something dramatic or visual. So, of course I jumped on that. I haven't had any time to work on The Comic, so I used the assignment as an excuse to get back into my characters. The strip took a lot longer than it would have taken me to write the essay, but by drawing it I could express myself and my ideas in a field where I have a strength. I used Blake and Dustin, as usual, and wrote about "tree-climbing insurance." I came up with the idea, sitting in my bedroom and brain-storming as usual, and spent my weekend inking and sketching it up. The comic is meant to satirize insurance policies, sueing, and liability charges; our society has gotten to a point where no one can do anything without signing papers or getting tied up in legal "mumbo jumbo." Portray these issues through the eyes of a child, and you have yourself one funny comic!

You might also notice the new comic layout that I'm experimenting with. It takes more time to plan out, but it gives me more freedom to express my ideas. Overlapping pannels give it more of a dramatic comic book touch. Note that I have scanned these images a tad bit larger, so you might have to adjust your navigator window to see the entire image.

Tree-Climbing Insurance

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