Occupational Hazards.

Part 1 of the “Occupational Hazards” Story Arc.

Yes, I am going to draw comics full-time again now that I no longer have to worry about school (although finding a real, professional job may take some importance — but not really). As such, this entire storyline revolves around the search, the discovery, and the trials of working. The arc will tie up some loose ends from other arcs, create new plot threads, bring back some old characters, and introduce new ones. I have a lot in store for this comic, so be prepared… or afraid…. well, whatever emotion comes naturally to you.

And Happy Birthday to TWLSB Friend, Tom and fellow cartoonist, Marty. May old age bring wisdom and happiness to your remaining years.

Cyrus is in the Game.

I cheated on this one; I used old stock images of some of the characters to produce this comic. Very “I Hate Pam”. This was also the very first appearance of Kyle’s Smashtastic Destructo-Bot, the killer senior engineering project who plays a pivotal role in “The End of the Road” story arc of Spring 2005.

A Box of Legos.

This was around the time when Pope John Paul II and comedian Mitch Hedberg passed away.

Lastly, it’s really cool that Death likes to play the PS2 and has pigtails.

Banana Splitsville.

Oh, the slapstick humor! The irony! Like I’ve always said, there’s nothing better than desecrating a cemetery with banana peels and broken robot parts.

Unexpected Terror!

My favorite part of drawing this comic was the rain and the soft glow it casts on everyone.

Oh, and the Smashtastic Destructo-Bot returns. Full circle, folks.

Doom Doom Doom Doom.

The lyrics are from Alkaline Trio’s “Mercy Me.” At the time, the real ZCC was into that song.

In this comic, I wanted to include something with Optimus Prime, “Death Missiles of Annihilation,” and Anime Mecha-style missile attacks.

Murphy Brown’s.

When your town is getting destroyed by a giant robot, what would you do? Go to Murphy Brown’s Pub, of course!

Superheroes.

By the time this comic was published, the campus bar Firehaus wasn’t even completed. Also, during this time, I was able to publish 2 comics a day (hence two comics under the same date).

The Band-Aid joke refers to a recent, local story where a student found a used Band-Aid in her fries.

It’s Like A Little Comic Reunion.

The second panel features characters from Daily Illini cartooists who once graced the paper: (from left) Joe Martin’s “Boy,” Jacob Angel and Oliver Chang’s “Best Friends Club,” Paige Dickinson’s “Playing with Plastic,” and Matt Vroom’s “I Hate Pam.”

Vroom was infamous for the “Jew Nose” comic that sparked a lot of controversy not only in Champaign-Urbana, but the nation as well.

I Like the Word “Amok.”

All senior engineering students have to design and work on a final project. They often have a company sponsor their final projects.

Also, for your information, LAS stands for “Liberal Arts and Sciences,” and LAS majors remain rivals to engineering students.

I also must reiterate that I like the word “amok.”