Fun_Headshout1

The following is a Headshout. I repeat, it is only a Headshout.

1. Hi's Zero! What are you being for tonight?

2. Did you hear the JE is has bathrobes?

3. Has you seen the Herald this week?

1. Same thing as always, Nyao. A suicidal emokid.

2. That's counterproductive--why would I want to take a shower, then dry off afterward in JE gear and immediately feel dirty again?

3. Yes. And by "yes," I mean "no."

The preceding has been a Headshout. Had this been an actual comic, it would have been accompanied with backgrounds, bodies, and bubbles.

Reuxben

Herald_zlm.Trick

We put the Boo! in "boo-hoo."

Zero Like Me #47
Zero Romance #8:
Trick
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Easter Eggs: Today's setting is outside Woolsey/Commons, and the references are to some Yale secret societies. The captions come from Mad Max movie posters and stuff.

Fun Facts: November 7, 2011, posted from Japan, this comic has finally been updated. Not my best work, but man, I was in one heck of a bind when I drew this (see the original post's text below for more). Alexis Blight is representing Skull and Bones and her design seemed to have gone over best.

Baa: I never wanted Skull and Bones, just Scroll and Key. But no dice. Ugh.

[update: final art, updated text, at top.]
Technically still haven't missed a deadline...right? And if this Frankensteinian comic isn't a horror, then what is? I hate you too.

They pushed my deadline up even earlier since a couple of them had a field trip to the New York Times early Friday morning, so I had a sinking suspicion I wasn't getting this comic done in time.

Knowing it was likely not going to be ready for print, as Herald Comics Editor, I got so depressed I wanted to cut myself. But then jack kelly showed up and figured out how I could make it to print after all.

Stupid midterm garbage is making it impossible to breathe/draw so I can't even finish pencils, but the real comic will appear prolly Thanksgiving week, so this failure will remain here until then...

Did I mention I hate you?

Reuxben

Penny_dm.MechsuitShuffle

This volume of The Penny Dreadful debuts my official entrance into the prose arena, featuring the first "deal" of my series Doggie Mojo, which will eventually be available here.

I couldn't afford time for two illustrations, not that I'm thrilled with this one, and I haven't even read the published version yet(!), but I wanted to take a moment to properly kick off this Dreadful art series.

Easter Eggs: Braille R. Design cues from Evangelion, Mobile Suit Gundam, and Pokemon.

Fun Facts: I wrote this series for my Writing Sci-Fi and Fantasy Class this past Summer Session, at first as a salute to my favorite gang, Team Rocket, and then it grew into a nod to all those inspirational Toonami shows that were just so phenomenally meaningful to me creatively.

Baa: Before writing, I would listen to these old Toonami hype clips to get in the zone, and even summarize the day's work in that excellent voice that I always associate with Toonami over Transformers. I would repeat in that husky voice, "Toonami is proud to present...Doggie Mojo...Saddle up." Or whatever, just thinking of cool, pithy taglines at the end. Man, I'm getting all inspired just thinking back!

A part of me wanted to write for narrative practice (since, as a literature major, merely reading stories can only do so much for you artistically), and a part of me just wanted to prove to myself and others that I am no one trick phony, I can draw and write, pure drawing and pure writing both co-mixed together, in fact.

Part 1 and its volume seem to have sold out, and parts 2 and 3 will be upon us soon enough, but until then, here's a snippet from part 1, "Mechsuit Shuffle":

"His powerful, meaty fingers hungered, tenderly caressing her soft, sumptiou--"
Wait a minute, WHAT?!

Reuxben

Fun_Roastmaster'sTea

In my comedy history class tonight, F-bombing Roastmaster General Jeffrey Ross visited and told stories from his life and from his excellent book, I Only Roast the Ones I Love.

Speaking from his own experience with hardship, in his unexpectedly quiet and relaxed off-stage demeanor, he encouraged me that comedy doesn't need to rely mostly on negative experiences; tragedy is just one aspect of comedy and it doesn't have to dominate inspiration. It's about diversifying, mixing experiences, good and bad.

"You don't draw comics about comics, you draw comics about life." -- Jeffrey Ross

So now I gotta go live life. Great.

Reuxben

YDN_zlm.Hips

Hipsters have such brave soles, because they aren't getting any circulation.

[Update: final art at top]

Zero Like Me #46
"Blight College Years Pt.3 - Hips"
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Easter Eggs: Harvard Crest, Yale in panel 1, I think...it's been 2 years since I made this, cut me a break.

Fun Facts: This comic was accomplished thanks to some research with some hipster-infiltrated allies: thanks to Joe S., Claire G. (the inspiration for Nyao's hair, by the way), and Scott H.W.S.

Baa: Hipsters were too easy in 2008, man!

[old text:]

Still busy.

Full update coming soon.

Until then, part one of the Alexis Blight intro story is here, and part two is here.

Reuxben

Record_SuperflatSpider

I did this for the inside cover of the Yale Record's Internet Issue, which has sold out everywhere.

It is my so-so attempt to mimic the superflat stylings of Takeshi Murakami, and it's my first time attempting real color for publication; the last time being way back when I was drawing depressing comics with references to rock music. How times have changed!

Reuxben

YDN_zlm.ChinUpperCut

Maybe next time you'll think twice before not getting into Harvard.

[Update: Final art at top.]

Zero Like Me #45
"Blight College Years Pt.2 - Chin Upper Cut"
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Easter Eggs: Harvard Crest, Yale in panel 1.

Fun Facts: The power of Harvard is a curious thing. Make one man weep, make another man sing...make a third draw comics.

Baa: Yes, I think these things to myself often.

Super busy, final artwork coming soon.

Reuxben

Herald_zlm.BlightFellowship

That baby-mama drama has got to stop.

Zero Like Me #44
Zero Romance #7:
Blight College Years Pt.1 -
Blight Fellowship
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Easter Eggs: Harvard Crest, Romance 7 on gate, lyrical homage to Christian Bale's uncensored techno rap.

Fun Facts: Today's setting is the Women's Table area outside BK and SML. Alexis Blight is named first for a girl I met once and second for an old professor I had--woulda been Gilmore, but Blight just sounds scary and powerful and cool; "Gilmore" has that whole Gilmore Girls at Yale connotation, unfortunately.

Baa: I saw Annie Hall for my comedy history class, and it got me right in the mood for this comic.

The Herald's print edition of this comic is excruciatingly white-spacey, so I won't be posting it.

I model some of my designs after real people. Nyao's main hairstyle was designed after a girl from my sitcom-writing class, I even saw and heard her screaming about bladderball (she is loud). Alexis' design is based on a composite of people, one is a current classmate, the other is the real deal.

Speaking of real deals, how about that phony fool, jack kelly? Today's raw fish is February's unused "granpappy," which look-a like-a dis:

And he leaves us begging for less with "photo," which appears after this colon:

BUT WAIT! There's more! Forget that crusty old jack kelly, I discovered the new hotness, a young, strapping lad-tino from Sudamerica, which I believe is hispaniard for "Mexicolumbriazil."

Introducing that fiery dynamo Latino, the one, the only, THE Gerardo Manera premiering his fabulous new series, Kill All Your Friends!

He debuts with a clever contrivance called "Justin," and I just can't wait to see more from this wise Latino.

So welcome to the Removal crew, Gerardo, and welcome to the Herald family.

Now get back in your cage before you taste the back of my hand, which I assure you is spicier than any chalupa you've ever had.

Reuxben

YDN_zlm.SubmitReports

I want a Dell that says "Reuxben" on it, with BOTH e's tilted, of course.

Zero Like Me #43
Submit Reports
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Easter Eggs: Believe it or not, you can actually find most of those hilarious posters around campus! "Her man," "43," and "Yale" in panel 1, plus 2D's second LP pose.

Fun Facts: Today's setting is Durfee's, (which 70s-era Yalies annoyingly still call "Durfee's Sweet Shoppe"), and Swing Space. Swing Space? Yeah. Swing Space. I clipped a picture from Temptations, JE's tabloid, back in swingphomore year and have finally found an opportunity to draw from it. Of course it doesn't really look like him, but that's okay since it was a blurry, two year old photo and I honestly don't remember exactly what he looks like today!

Baa: I don't dislike FroCos, I just want to dispel that magical aura I thought they had when I was a freshman. One of my wishlist items is to completely jack up a freshman's perception of Yale (I sometimes just want to freak out in front of pre-frosh recruits, just to see what would happen, but that's not nice), so instead I'd rather just make newly minted Yalies everywhere understand that they're being FroCo'd not by saints or machines, but by human beings.

When I found out that a certain three people were FroCos I instantly thought, Wow, how cool would it have been to have them as a FroCo? I don't want to jinx the present two as I did the first last year.

Reuxben

Record_SquidzillaRoboKilla

Today's Zero Like Me will run this Friday because I am a team player, and I care for the YDN's convenience and comfort. I'm sure the feeling is mutual of course!

So today's a double shot of Record interior art, both drawn over the summer, and previewed here.

At left is a higher concept piece from the Freshman Issue, where the artwork (pixelated as poop) was captioned with, "What a terrible calamity!" and then appeared later in the magazine, still pixelated, with the caption, "What a terrible calamari!"

The next piece comes from the freshly printed Internet Issue.

The caption reads: "Transformers 3: Beinecke"

Easter Eggs: Lux Et Veritas, 1701, Old Owl, and California-shaped squid marking.

Fun Facts: I feel weird about advertising this site on anything other than in my comics and on any site run by me, especially in magazines, where I feel it's a bit unprofessional, but I decided to just put a plug in this piece since another site inserted its URL into a few recent issues.

Baa: This one girl approached me one night at a rock show in TD but the music was so loud I wasn't able to catch her name and I'm not even sure I heard her correctly but I think she was trying to tell me she was a fan. I indicated I couldn't understand her, so she leaned in only to scream right into my ear, her voice landing like a punch, physically knocking me back. So all I got out of the exchange was a whole lot of temporary deafness. She seemed nice.

Reuxben

YDN_zlm.TwoPlease

If you need to make things disappear, cover them with shirts, natch.

Zero Like Me #42
Two Please
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Easter Eggs: "Yale" in panel 1, as well as "strife," which is actually printed above that sculpture guy.

Fun Facts: Today's setting is the Woolsey Hall slash Commons hallway war memorial.

Baa: While selling shirts apparently a female customer just up and tried on a shirt like that in the middle of the hall. It seems like this should have be more shocking than it was.

So...yeah.

Reuxben

YDN_sls.YYUR

Write your note in incomprehensibly cryptic installments mailed to a select 15 who will have to join forces in your childhood home to decode it all together, it's Sick Little Suicide #14, "YYUR," in which we see who's instincts reign supreme, the insider or the outsider.

It's like getting into Yale in Yale.

Easter Eggs: Google the shirts if you must (at which point hand in your Mensa membership cards and your Yale student IDs).

Fun Facts: Mensans include Steve Martin, James Woods, and WHAT THE?!

Baa: I can't be the best at academics at Yale, but I have a shot at being the best comicser, so I'd rather focus on that.

There's always one dumb guy, isn't there?

Reuxben

Herald_zlm.DoYouFeel

Do not waste Garry's time when he's sitting on Progenitus mana; he will have none of that.

Zero Like Me #41
Zero Romance #6:
Do You Feel
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Easter Eggs: Tokyo, romance 6, time don't wait, and keep it real in panel 1; Tenchi, apples, and oranges; Fair Haven Elementary; Magic: the Gathering; NorCal's 262 and 408 (old area code) and SoCal's 760 (current area code).

Fun Facts: I didn't know Garry was in this until late into the planning stage, but he allowed our main cast to do some acting; didn't know I'd go surreal in panel 5 until actually penciling it. I wanted to reference one of my absolute favorite romance sequences in panels 2 and 3, where Tenchi and Sakuya cross each other on the street before they actually meet. I absolutely love that concept of completely oblivious meetings before finding love, and I like to imagine that happens in real life, like whenever I'm in Grand Central Station, but it probably doesn't (maybe that's why trains are the most romantic form of transportation).

Baa: Actually, I think I saw someone across the street giving me a double take Thursday afternoon, believe it or freaking not. I had to fight cracking up because I thought of that Groucho Marx quote that goes something like, "I would never join any club that would have someone like me as a member." Same thing happens whenever I meet freshmen and they're talking to me like I'm not some socially inept idiot. In the back of my head I'm always cracking up thinking, Dude, didn't you get the memo?

So do you feel, like I do? No, you probably don't. You probably like the Beatles, and Bob Dylan, and Bruce Springsteen. And I pity you.

Today's celebrity birthday is the Tokyo Werewolf, which shares its birthday with Zero Like Me.

By the way, is the ZLM mourning glory banner too showy and obstructive? Good. Now get out of my face, you vampire.

Reuxben

YDN_zlm.YouGotMe

It's like de ja vu all over again.

Zero Like Me #40: You Got Me (Best Friends)
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Easter Eggs:"Yale" in panel 1, throwback to ZLM number one.

Fun Facts: ZLM first saw print 365 days ago! So in honor of the occasion, we're set back at JE, but rather than contemplating jumping, Z is now concerned, somewhat, about someone other than himself.

Baa: Birthday Blah details are here. But in reflecting on the year, as much as I hate giving names (skip this mushy part), I have to thank Ruth for encouraging me to go for YDN comics, Charles for actually getting me going (with SLS), Bonner and Kirk for making me feel like less of a loser, and last but never least, Reed for being an excellent editor slash human being--I threw a small party in my head the two times he admitted he actually liked at least two of them!

ZLM has been increasingly consuming my life, but I hope to continue playing Pagliacci for anyone who would give me the chance. You know that you got me.

Reuxben

Fun_ZLMPuppetPals

In honor of the one year Birthday Blah of Zero Like Me, I'm doing some special and weird things.

First, I randomly found this cute little paper puppet pal dealio, and decided to try it out, despite not having any time to spare.

I would strongly recommend using an art knife--one of those thin, pen-like knives--since scissors are actually quite cumbersome.

To make the thing at left, I cleaned up a template for another model, and then flipped the paper over so only white canvas shows. The plain template, which I found and cleaned up from here, is right below.

So, secondly, I used to give away spare Monster energy drinks last year, but since we lost our Law School swipes, I don't really have Monster to burn, but I do have Uncommon root beer stockpiled. So if you would like, please pick up a bottle (just one, to be fair), which I will hide near the JE Nagging Table some time before 5pm, just outside of the dining hall. My parents also left me cranberry juice, which I am eager to give away, too.

Ok. I hope today goes well.

Reuxben

YDN_zlm.HowWeDo

FOR THE HORDE!!

Zero Like Me #39: How We Do
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Easter Eggs: Really fun--I'll just give characters' names rather than who they're based on: (L-R) Justin, Arthur, Teddy, Dan, [negligible Calhoun girl], Iceman, Price. "Yale" in Panel 1.

Fun Facts: I proposed a hee-haw-larious (I mean that) script at the Herald but it got killed...but I finally crossed that item off my bucket list with this comic, so how do you like them apples, Herald? Also, I really think highly of everyone in this comic--in the off chance these people stop by, please know I think you all are great and I always get at least a little nervous if I see you walking around!

Baa: The dude on the far left can make you cry, I felt like dirt when I discovered I accidentally made the guy to his right feel bad and I may never feel like I've made it up to him, the guy to his right broke my book when I shared it with him during my graphic novels class but he never said a word about it(!), the guy to his right makes James Bond look like a dork, the guy to his right is just the kind of guy I'd want to lead me into battle, the guy to his right is probably neat but I've never really seen him before--I just wanted to let him get some revenge on Zero.

Also, I saw Stiles win bladderball! Who woulda thought? Also, also: does Calhoun even have students? What's up with that?

Final art coming soon,

Reuxben

YDN_sls.Yikes

Dive head first into a mosh pit, it's Sick Little Suicide #13 - "Yikes," in which I answer a call for a Bladderball themed suicide.

It's like going to a rock concert except more nerdy and more wholesome.

Easter Eggs: The guys are basically the same dude! I was drawing frantically when I realized this, so I began drawing more frantically to throw in enough tweaks to disguise them.

Fun Facts: I'm inking like mad an hour before my ZLM deadline, and I get a call asking if was up for a bladderball themed suicide! So...yes, this one was bit rushed, and I fear I may have committed the highest crime in my book: working for "free" (drawing something to completion only to never see it published) so in case it gets abandoned, the twelfth suicide is forever here. Anyway, I was drawing the dudes before I even had a script locked, and on the actual paper, you can see a bunch of potential lines scrawled everywhere.

Baa: It was so fun blitzing out this emergency assignment, I still can't even tell if the end product makes sense. I heard in my comedy class that alliteration is funny, and after trying it out, I was cracking up over the last speech bubble. Again, not sure how much sense that makes.

Ok...gotta finish a Record thing; Final art coming soon,

Reuxben

Herald_zlm.SamuOldStory

The finger trick only works when Nyao does it.

Zero Like Me #38
Zero Romance #5:
Samu Old Story
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Easter Eggs: Romance 5 in panel number 5. Zero's shirt reads さむっ, which I randomly learned means "that’s not funny; it leaves you so cold you shiver."

Fun Facts: I was planning on running a totally different comic for Parents' Weekend, but at the last minute I went with this idea, which I had like the night before deadline, so I'm not so sure if it hits the mark. The original idea could exist outside of Parents' Weekend, so I've slated it for later. Today's setting is the OC, around Lanman-Wright, or "L-Dub" as the kids call it.

Baa: This has been the most successful Parents' Weekend ever so far! It's gone incredibly smoothly, and I'm currently enjoying the use of some new headphones my mom got me after my old ones' packing tape clearly wasn't keeping them from crumbling apart anymore.

I hate spending money on stuff that can be salvaged, but gotta admit these are pretty cool. And they were cheap too.

In other Zero Like Me news, next Wednesday is the big day! One year to the day I made my first friends at Yale.

We don't have Law School swipes anymore, but fortunately Uncommon has some excellent Root Beer I've been stockpiling for a giveaway event akin to the old Monster giveaways from last year. I discovered something pretty neat I want to try, too. Pretty excited, man, a whole year...

At right is the "skeleton" draft, where it's pure outlines so I can get an idea of where everything goes. I'm swapping the "MO" tag for the full "Making Of," so that tag, as always, just means the post contains different phases of production. I always find it neat to open them in different tabs, and the flip between them fast to see the linework come to life.

Other things I'm excited for: new MCRMCS coming soon! I think I may be more eager to see what JP 'n' more gone done over my official favorite band, but we'll see. Both bands are undefeated in my eyes, so I'm scared a dud is due!

Speaking of duds...jack kelly's back for some reason.

That was "bicyle," which looks like it as drawn while riding one. That black and yellow ogre also presents "finaid" for you, and it looks like this:

So...yeah. Wednesday is when it all goes down. It's like there's a party in my mouth and nobody's invited.

Reuxben