Herald_QC.Beast

Last change: Frankie and Ben enjoy a quiet moment together.
Now change 9!

This one's our annual "scary" comic.

Easter Eggs: Change 9 in dust cloud.

Fun Facts: I panicked on creature design, which I scrambled through before my sitcom feedback meeting yesterday. While lettering the page, I thought, "Man, it's pretty lucky how in my 1.5 years comicsing, I haven't typo'd." Just as I thought that, I typo'd. So the printed version has a typo.

And back in black...it's jack kelly with "birthday."

It's kinda Oct. 31ish, I guess.

Reuxben

YDN_ZLM.Kiss

First kisses are strange things...

<- Previous Comic...Next Comic ->
-First Comic-
Easter Eggs: "Yale" in second panel.

Fun Facts: She was drunk. So was my roommate. They wanted our room for a while. I wanted to continue writing my paper in peace, as I had before they stumbled in. He tried to appeal to me to leave--"She isn't an athlete; she got in on brains." He sensed the statement was inappropriate. She tried to appeal to me to leave, offering at first to help me with my paper later. Then another offer. She and I were both shocked at the latter. The room stifled us with discomfort for a silent minute or two.

I focused on my writing and then felt something firm on my left cheek; I couldn't even tell you who she was, what she looked like--but that was it; I couldn't believe it. I wanted to cry, scream, disappear. Even she looked plagued over what just happened. My roommate realized the moment's gravity on me. They sobered up instantly and left. No one said a word.

They probably don't remember any of it. But I do.

Reuxben

Fun_SpoonyWill

This is a development sketch of Will Cutler.

I'm in this great class on writing half hour comedies for TV, where we'll pitch an original show and develop it to a full pilot script. So this is the main character from my show, "Blue Type: Society."

Fun facts: Admission to the class was based on a writing sample, and I used THIS as mine!

Reuxben

Herald_QC.Date

Last change: Frankie and Ben escape via subway and chat.
Now change 8!

So much mushier originally.

Easter Eggs: Yokohama-inspired carnival, Change 8 on the clock, Calvin and Hobbes' pose, Guile, shout out.

Fun Facts: I managed this after little sleep all week, on the same day as a math midterm and finishing a paper, leaving me 1 hour's sleep before a Spanish test this morning! Haven't sipped Monster in a while, so I'm all shaky.

And jack kelly got the week off. Goodness knows he works way too hard...

Reuxben

Record_Let'sGetWasted

This is my piece for the Yale Record for their political or "Vote Early, Vote Often Issue."

This is an important issue because it unveils our new 1913-inspired format. I couldn't say much about it in the planning stages since we were only dealing with the hypothetical, but now that we can look at a new issue in the new format, I guess it works, but there are a bunch of minor ticks that really get distracting. And as I feared, there is a stench in the air of "ripping off" the Harvard Lampoon. Yes we're older, and yes we're both based on the same magazine, Punch, but the Lampoon has retained its old-time feel for a long time, including during the Record's void years. As a result it feels as if the Lampoon owns these sorts of things. And it feels like we're ripping them off.

A minor complaint is the way too obvious parallel layouts of pages 7, 9, 11, and 19. They're the same exact layout! Did nobody notice this? Feels soooo bland. And the name thing...it's just stupid and pointless. Let's be real. It achieves nothing.

A bigger complaint is the use of photography. In our initial discussions over this, I remarked specifically that art is our trademark. Photos look cheap (see Temptations) and feel pedestrian since just anybody can take a picture, and most other college humor magazines do just this. The main issue is that, let's be frank the Record isn't too funny. So what's going to save a lame joke? Beautiful artwork. But if even that is removed, what is left? A sad waste of space. See page 8, 14, and 19 (especially). Lame, ugly stuff.

One chief complaint I have is the cover. I feel like we're supposed to automatically love it just because it's painted, but really, it's the colors that are blinding us. Why not have top notch lines with top notch colors? It is not illegal to have a penciler, and inker, and a colorist be three or more different people, believe it or not. I even teamed with a colorist for my cover last year and it came out great! Why couldn't we have gotten a more refined penciler with these excellent colors? This cover could have been excellent, but as is, it's just good. And it feels waaaay too close to a Lampoon cover. I loathe the Lampoon's ugly paintings; we can easily beat them by doing what they don't: mix excellent lines with excellent colors. But instead we get a needlessly sketchy base clogging beautiful colors.

In a related note, I find I'm not satisfied with the work I do for the Record, both in my quality, but also in the content itself. Thankfully there's the Penny Dreadful, new issue coming soon.

And in an unrelated note, I was grazed on the butt twice today...what's up with that? The first time was by the son of someone famous! Hahaha! I don't know if I want to use this for a comic...it's so incredibly tempting, man.

[UPDATE: THREE TIMES!! I was in Commons and this guy swiped passed me. Yeah, they've all been dudes, actually...Oh gosh, I don't need this.]

Reuxben

YDN_ZLM.Swing

Swing Space: great to visit, hate to live there.

<- Previous Comic...Next Comic ->
-First Comic-
Easter Eggs: "Yale" in last panel.

Fun Facts: Swing is my favorite place to scan, and was incredibly convenient last year. Also, I almost made Morse the punchline, but darn that Brian Williams for making people and me flock over there yesterday.

Reuxben

Herald_QC.Safety

Last change: Frankie rescues Ben from the Acolyte.
Now change 7!

Eat it, Stanford! ...kidding.

Easter Eggs: FB01, Dan + squareman, Change 7 on the train, Great Caesar and the Go Getters, the Sandy Gill Affair, and ZLM.

Fun Facts: This mall subway scene is based on photos and memories from Japan, including the Marunouchi Line homage. These 5 panels ended up taking just as long as any other page...!

And jack kelly lays another stinker: "concentration."

Ok, seriously? How old is this guy? ...moron.

Reuxben

YDN_ZLM.Friends

"This town deserves a better class of criminal, and I'm gonna give it to 'em." --The Joker
Here it is, my YDN comics section debut. The series is called Zero Like Me and it'll run Tuesdays. These are our two main characters, Zero and Nyao.

Easter Eggs: "Yale" and Nyao in panel 4.

Fun Facts: I auditioned these pieces for the job, so it'll get so much better once the exposition's through. I've never felt so nervous and scared about seeing my stuff published as when I saw this printed yesterday.

I'll be frank: I want to rectify the misrepresentation Yale comics have received, since the Herald is largely ignored, sadly. Maybe it won't always rock, but I'll try my hardest to make YDN Comics palatable. Let's see if I don't fail.

Next Comic ->
Reuxben

Fun_FranSpan

An old drawing of Frankie from Quarters Crisis, from some Spanish reading.

This week is going to be exhausting...I can tell.

[Update: And we're clear--Zero Like Me premieres Tuesday in the YDN! Let's GO!]

Reuxben

Herald_QC.Frankie

Last change: The Acolyte interrupts Dracht and Ben's reunion.
Now change 6!

And so begins adventure.

Easter Eggs: Change 6 in the plants.

Fun Facts: Frankie was my first QC design, drawn at a lonely Tokyo University social. Used my new 005. Panels 1, 2, and 5 took forever. The final right hand translated weirdly to ink.

So that curr, jack kelly, is stirring up all kinds of trouble. He didn't get his first stab at anorexia published, so why did he think "purge," another socially conscious cartoon would fly?

Here's the deal: jack kelly's trying to tap into the insanity of this whole eating disorder issue. He even got an appreciative comment from an actual anorexic person for his efforts last time. Revolutionary, I know, using dark humor to highlight an issue.

Didn't the YDN--and me, actually (printed on the same page, even)--just recently cover the relevancy of eating disorders? Clearly the issue is present at Yale; Master Haller even had to call out a purger last year who forgot to clean up afterward.

I'm usually fine with censorship, but even I think banning the above cartoon is a little much.

So instead, you get "naked."

I hope this hack gets his way.

Some day.

Reuxben

Fun_SixInJapanese

Continuing a veritable Rocktober, Sunday's Yale-A-Palooza yielded an incredible array of talented Yalies. The standout was without a doubt one Richard Miron. He sounds incredible live, like a youthful Death Cab for Cutie, packing a 90s nostalgia because of how closely he sounds like this guy. Everything's alright when he hits the mic.

Unfortunately, I missed most of the festival because I went apple-picking again this year, whose rain date landed right on the festival. I can't say those delicious apple donuts were worth it; I missed a bunch of bands I really wanted to see and sketch. The apples were huge though.

The day prior, I went to JE's Great Awakening and eagerly scarfed my kabobs and Klondike bar so I could sketch. This is the lead singer of Great Caesar and the Go Getters. Unfortunately it was only him and the saxophonist, but it was still a fine show.

The Sandy Gill Affair followed, but fell victim to its common curse: bad audio. The lead singer couldn't be heard, his accompanying vocalist blared, and none blasted louder than the piano. I really wish they had checked their sound better. Problems with audio killed them at Battle of the Bands last year, and allowed a mistake like the Laura Z. band to win.

You could be the greatest band on campus, but if no one can hear you, that's it.

Reuxben

Fun_RokSta

There's been a ton of rock recently, which means rock sketches.

To start, a couple Sundays ago,
Person L
Hit the Lights
Chiodos
and
MOTION CITY SOUNDTRACK
came to local club Toad's Place. I tore the shrinkwrap off of my new My Chemical Romance sketchbook, and this is the best I could muster in the murky mosh pit. This was my first time at Toad's, and the first thing I thought was: MAN this floor is sticky!

It was a great show all around. I'd never heard of the first band, only vaguely the second two, and was right at home with the headliner. But I couldn't recognize lead singer Justin Pierre, though! His hair was outrageous...ly kinda normal.

Anyway, each band put on an incredible live show, especially Hit the Lights, and I have acquired a taste for Chiodos, which sounds like what Pierce the Veil had hitherto owned in my ears.

So is that it?

No. So much more rock to come Wednesday as Yale-A-Palooza and JE's Great Awakening yield more rock-centric art, including this incredible jazz trio, above. I wish I had caught the band's name. Anyway, these guys rocked. And they are Yalies. So, ten kinds of insanity there.

Reuxben

Herald_QC.Acolyte

Last change: Dracht finally tracks down Ben.
Now change 5!

Now we get to the good stuff!!

Easter Eggs: Change 5 in the Acolyte's staff smoke.

Fun Facts: I created Quarters Crisis after being confused by Japanese TV, but rather than have suited villains, I thought secret society. Eisner inspired the shared panels. Also, I closed pencils at a record 12:30am! I don't know if I'm getting faster or what, but that's amazing for me.

Oh, right...jack kelly's "soccer" offends the international pastime.

My hatred for jack kelly is only eclipsed by my hatred of agreeing with him.

Reuxben

Fun_DosMujeresUnHombre

A Spanish homework sketch of Frankie from Quarters Crisis; she's only two weeks away!

In other news: I've finally broken into the YDN! I was blown away first just to see my artwork so huge on a page and then secondly, to see how perfectly it tied in with the article it shared space with. I don't know if that was planned, as this comic's been floating around for weeks now, but in any case, it was excellently juxtaposed. Seeing my name all huge wasn't too bad either.

This is the sketch that lead to this. I've been in print at the Herald for over a year, but seeing my stuff in the YDN gave me that giddiness I haven't felt in a long while.

Again, this opinion series, Sick Little Suicide, will aim for every other Wednesday.

Also, I just hit 200 here:


On top of the world,

Reuxben

Fun_Zero_Preview

I'm auditioning this to-be-named series for the YDN. [UPDATE: Got the job! Title's "Zero Like Me"] The guy's name is Zero and the girl's name is Nyao. She's a crash-landed alien.

This second one is based on a true thought. Enjoy the margin's scratch work.

Note: these are post-exposition samples, presented out of order just for the audition.

Reuxben

Herald_QC.Joytopia

Last change: Ben discovers the phony bill crumples out infinite quarters.
Now change 4!

Dracht's back and now things start to pick up.

Feedback: The upper right poll will gauge how we're doing.

Easter Eggs: Change 4 on screen, Triforce on deck.

Fun Facts: In Japan, we went to a Sega theme park/arcade called Joypolis, which I kept calling Joytopia.

They have excellent exit signs in Japan, and so does JE, actually.

Oh, and jack kelly grants us "awkward" this week.

jack kelly is a tactless idiot.

Reuxben

Fun_Bender

Bored at a meeting of the illustrious, crusty-ous Yale Record, I drew Ben from Quarters Crisis.

Honestly, I wanted to draw Frankie but I felt guilty ignoring the guy who's supposed to be the main character.

Frankie's more fun to draw, really.

Also, I noticed this over at deviantART the other day:

The search brings up exactly 1701 (our founding year) entries for Yale!

Boola boola,

Reuxben

Fun_Ponder

This is a stylistically experimental drawing of Frankie from Quarters Crisis.

I saw a photo on the plane to Yale of a singer and her stickered, beat up, well traveled luggage and thought, that's pretty cool. So that's this piece's theme: a break from the road.

Personal note: I have a cold, but fortunately, the worst of it passed this Saturday night.

Boogers,

Reuxben

Herald_QC.Quarters

Last change: Ben decides to lay low at the mall but bumps into a rude cloaked figure.
Now change 3!

Eleven panels penciled by 1 am. Yosh!

Feedback: You can now rate each week's Quarters Crisis in the upper sidebar.

Easter Eggs: DF stuff, Change 3 and "Yale" in bushes, plus plant monster returns.

Fun Facts: Sadly, I learned the cut off hand/coin technique from Tintin. The Darling Find stuff wasn't originally in. The currency's called Apples (not Berries).

SLS: I've learned my YDN debut's postponed, but I'm still excited.

And we close with jack kelly's "lol" for the lose.


The poor dope doesn't even know how email addresses work.

Reuxben

YDN_SLS.Eve

Why.
Dee.
Enn.

Yes.

I quit the Herald.*

Appropriately, Adam and Eve kick things off for my YDN comics, Sick Little Suicide. So welcome. The plan is alternate Wednesdays, but it's premiering this Friday because they need landscape on weekdays.

I got an email late Tuesday asking if I'd comics for today's paper so I blasted this one out, no time for jungle-y design. But they do have the original Red Bull.

And I'm finally qualified for IvyGate reviews beyond this, so we'll see what happens.

*Kidding.

Reuxben

Fun_TheProfessor

This is a drawing of Professor Gerow, who led that wonderful summer session in Japan, an experience of a lifetime.

I sketched him during our final class dinner, the night before flying back (the Olympics' opening day). I had the fish carcass. It wasn't as good as the fish at Nikko, or even at our first dinner at the restaurant, but still good. The meaty kabobs were great.

That night I opted out of karaoke to go buy some Maximum the Hormone.

I wish I could return.

Reuxben

Herald_QC.Bump

Last change: Ben finally stands up to bully Dracht but doesn't stick around to chat.
Now change 2!

This comic came into the office really late because those rats at JE ate up my comicsing time...

Easter Eggs: YOMM ads plus squared floors. Change 2 in panel one.

Fun Facts: The first panel's based on a picture I took in Tokyo after visiting NHK "Stajio Paak" but before eating at MOS Burger. Did you know that Kabuki onnagata bite their sleeves to indicate weeping?

Also: You can now rate each week's comic on the sidebar.

And speaking of rats, jack kelly offers "guess who" this week.

Reuxben

Fun_ShootMeInTheSmile

This is a quick drawing of Frankie Paupunk from Quarters Crisis.

I drew it during the Ex!t Players' recruitment show. They had not one, but TWO, recent grads perform. Meanwhile, the Purple Crayon's master, Benji, attended his own group's show, but didn't himself perform...What. A. Rip. As I walked to the Crayon's premiere, I kept thinking, Man, it sucks Benji's not around anymore. And then BAM! I see him at the door and think WOW! One last show! How cool! But no. No show. Dang.

At least my fears that this year's Crayon would, well...suck...have been assuaged. I'm glad my favorite improv group still owns the poop out of Ex!t, or anyone else (I saw the ending of Just Add Water, and it was sad).

Oh, this is also an experiment to see if I can post from a cluster, so hopefully there's an image here.

Reuxben

Fun_BulletsForChulaVista_Design

This is yet another futile T SHIRT design for that [wonderful] lump known as Jonathan Edwards College. Specifically, the students of that college.

I cannot fathom how much those people [rock]. These sacks of [smiles] robbed me of my time, my sleep, and my ink. As you can tell from my illustrious history designing shirts for these [people], I was stupid to try again, even after being specifically invited to apply before they even announced the design contest.

After conservatively sending just sketches for feedback on what they were looking for (and lobotomizing the part of my brain screaming, "Why the crack are you wasting your time on these [cool] people; have you not learned anything?!!"), I get an insulting email that refuses the sketches as if they are actual submissions. I guess it's easy to get confused, even after including a specific request for advice on which version I should pursue. This guy goes to Yale.

Cut to several hours laboring on this [happy] project, and not on homework or a comic, until 4 am, then sending an email asking if they'd extend the noon deadline for me to ink. I get an unqualified "that's fine" at nearly 10 in the morning (keep the timeline straight).

I get a few hours sleep since there's church. Afterward I scarf food as fast as I can, open the green light email, then ink for several hours straight. Just before I send the final, I think, you know what would be a wittily bitter message to accompany the image? "This is the part where you give the job to Chittenden."

I greatly respect his colors and whimsy, but the man does every single freaking shirt for JE. Even if he has million-dollar designs, which I frankly do not think is the case--The Game, Rise and Return--why the [joy] does he get every single design job for anything ever by what feels like default? He will probably punch through the hospital wall and name my firstborn child. And everyone will applaud him. So yes, he got the job, a decision which I learned was decided IN THE MORNING, the same time period where I was given the okay to begin inking, as if they were still considering other options. Before sending in the design, I figure I might as well go to dinner and even bump into one of the very chaps involved in the vote, who tries to hawk IMs of all things in my face. No, I don't want to join IMs, do I look athletic? Yes, this same guy goes to Yale.

Recap: the original deadline was noon; they decided "this [Sunday] morning," by definition before noon; that same morning they give me an extension; that evening I go to dinner and endure a frivolous chat with a known voter, submit the piece, and then read the email telling me I wasted my life, complete with cutesy diction as if that makes us square.

This is insane. First: why would you specifically lead me on that I even have a shot at winning these rigged contests--is it because you suspect I greatly dislike you "popular kids," whose names are plastered everywhere when there's some election going on? Second: I try to be as humble and unimposing as possible until I'm licking the grimy dirt off of your shoes, but what the crack (of his!) beat this design? Third: Gloves are off--this college's students have ruined my Yale experience in so many ways I can never forgive them. I don't have a list of people I hate, but if I did, it would now be populated (with asterisks because hate is a strong word).

But don't worry--I get my design used on a banner. YES! SWEET! THAT'S WHAT I SPECIFICALLY SPENT ALL MY TIME AND EFFORT ON. Screw a shirt that will be worn by everyone in the college for years, that will allow me to feel like I actually, tangibly contributed something substantial to this college, like I'm an actual college member, like I actually put aside my disgust enough to serve JE.

No, I won't get anything that I can look at later on to trick myself into thinking that maybe these were "bright college years" after all. "I" get a banner. It will probably get blown over and people will walk on it. It will wear out and join crumpled Heralds in a dingy alley.

Reuxben

Herald_QC.Bully

Welcome to Yale Herald Comics Series 3: Quarters Crisis.

While studying in Japan this past summer, I couldn't understand some TV show so I created my own plot after that first, curious episode. That story sprawled into Quarters Crisis.

Easter Eggs: Lang '51-'07 is my re-dedication to Mrs. Lang, my late AP physics teacher, one of the greatest human beings I've ever met.

Fun Facts: Okyto High is an anagram of Tokyo [University], where this story was born (and originally set). I pronounce "Dracht" Drawkt.

That rat, jack kelly, returns too, it seems, with "reroll." Does he really think that new signature is hip? Geez.

Well, thanks for visiting, and try the new poll feature I've added atop the sidebar; you can now rate the current week's comic. Pretty neat.

Reuxben

Fun_Intro2008

This is a preview panel from my upcoming comic, Quarters Crisis, debuting this Friday in the Yale Herald.

Now, some info:

Name: Reuxben
Stats: Yale, Literature, JE '10, California.
Updates: Friday, Monday, Wednesday
Inspiration: Rock, Eiichiro Oda, Toshihiro Ono, angst.

Namesake: An old high school academic team coach typo'd my name, then thought it funny to freshly misspell me every tournament. This was my favorite version. It also provides an excuse to misspell my name. The X is silent.

Goals: Entertaining you, contributing to Yale's having the best comics in the world, training to draw for a living, preserving my sanity.

Good comic: Darling Find
Art-intensive intro: Retrospective2008
Cheery comment: IvyGate

Me Online: TCBN, deviantART.
Me in Print: Quarters Crisis (Herald), Zero Like Me (YDN), Sick Little Suicide (YDN), Record, Penny Dreadful, etc.

Thanks: for visiting!

Reuxben

Fun_FrankieMyDear

This is another Frankie sketch, from Quarters Crisis, drawn at Bradley airport.

We've officially begun production, and the first panel is fully penciled! Look for Quarters Crisis Fridays this fall, Yale Herald!

Right, so I'm posting from that hideous monstrosity, Swing Space, which reminds me: neeeed home Internet.

Oh, and the Freshman Bazaar was fantastic; I hope we get a bunch of great new artists. People loved my posterboard, and non-comics people would clearly be staring at it but then just continue walking on--even some cops checked it out! Ha! I even met a fan!! How freaking cool is that?!

Reuxben

Fun_RussiaNarita

I drew this girl at Narita Airport, based on a picture I saw here as well as some photos I took in Japan's controversial Narita Airport.

In other news, I'm frantically trying to orchestrate Comics Club's direly needed resuscitation while doing the same for Herald Comics.

I want my computer to work again. These stupid macs are driving me insane.

Reuxben

Fun_DeadAgain

[Scanned Update!]

I'm finally back at Yale. I greet this year with the usual mixture of giddy excitement, crippling anxiety, and irrational fear.

In print this semester:

Yale Herald
Quarters Crisis

Yale Daily News
Sick Little Suicide

Let's go.

Reuxben

Fun_Terri

Well, I'm now on deviantART, as of last Saturday.

FallenAvalon, a fellow DA Yalie, helped me out so I decided to try my hand at her original character, Terri Endbright. Visit her today!

So the DA is mainly to attract non-Yalies here and to display my best stuff neatly; less talk, more rock.

Blogspot will remain my primary site, still updating Friday, Monday, and Wednesday. So if you visit one of my art sites, make it this one.

Wednesday: finally back at Yale!

Reuxben