Dissect My Brain (Union Weekly Serial) Season 1, Episode 8: "All We Can Ask For."

I think I'm still going to work on these weekly, regardless if they get published. I've been told that they have a good supply of comics to work with, so Dissect My Brain won't be seen in the Union Weekly for a bit. (They did, however, publish my short story "The Stars Laugh at a Bitter and Desperate Man" in the latest issue.) It's all good, so be sure to check out the other comics they put out. If you love 'em, hate 'em, or you think you can do better, be sure to show or tell them so! (I feel very passionate about the comics page, and want everyone else to too!)

On to the strip! There really is a lot to say about this one. First and foremost, I did this in tribute to my friend, Kym, who recently left America to work in Japan. I've been wanting to include her in a comic since the original development of this comic, but the idea somehow got lost in the shuffle. In what I originally plotted, she was supposed to be the "straight, no-nonsense" character and I would be freaking her out in the vignette. (Funny how this turned out, huh?)

The idea of this strip is made up of two parts. First off, this is legitimately what a conversation between Kym and I sounds like. Second off, I had a conversation with another friend in a similar spirit, in which we asked each other how we would feel if we found out someone made porn based of something we've made. Is having porn made out of your work a sign that you have finally "made it?" Granted, this idea didn't really go into the strip, but it was sort of the basis I had as a starting point.

On technical aspects, I originally wanted to first Kevin speech bubble to be this long winded rant on the frustrations of the comic page. I also wanted to include how "anime" has gone from being the "cool, edgy" thing of the 90's, to now being a signifier of the socially inadequate. Seriously, I think people think I'm a big, creepy otaku guy, when I dislike those kind of guys with an intense passion! I also wanted Kym's fantasy to be very elaborate, but alas, I ran out of space; besides, I feel the more I write, the more likely I wouldn't be able to do one of Kym's fantasies any justice. The third panel, is once again used as the "deadpan" panel.

And this is where I will have to critique myself. I've used deadpan jokes in recent strips, "Remember to Smile" and "What Usually Happens When You Make an Autobiographical Comic." I don't know what people think of this; is this a well-loved trademark of the series, or a tired trope? Also, I probably really should start drawing backgrounds. I don't partly out of laziness, but seriously, there's only so much you can fit in those goddamn tiny panels!

But again, I'm nitpicking. I do like how this turned out, and it sure as hell, provided me with great commentary material.

UPDATE: This comic eventually got published on the very last issue.

Original Publication: May 9, 2011.

Union Weekly Vol. 68. Issue #14.

Dissect My Brain (Union Weekly Serial) Season 1, Episode 7: "Remember to Smile."

Rest assured, friends, this is indeed the Dissect My Brain blog and this is a new post. . . although, I am going to say some things that might sound redundant. Once again, I worked on this on Friday night from 10 PM to 6 AM. I had an important take home exam (tied to my career, mind you) over the weekend, but I took a good chunk out of schedule to work on this with hopes that it would get published. Lo and behold, as of writing this is not yet in print. I suppose it is only fair considering that none of the serialized comic series seems to get published on a weekly basis, but needless to say, I felt like a chump when I found it wasn't released considering I've been good on my deadline; I mean, sure, no one's getting paid, but man, maybe I'm taking this contributor role a bit too seriously if I meet my deadline weekly.

But whatever, I guess. I won't turn this into a bitch fest in which I go into detail as to how I would run my own fantasy comic section of a newspaper, and ultimately, I enjoy being a part of the Union Weekly. The title of this one is called "Remember to Smile," which is an appropriate sentiment to remember when you're pissy. Not much to say on this one as it is pretty self explanatory. I'm sure everyone has experienced remembering the weirdest things at the wrong times.

Gretchen and Terence are reused. The whole "hipsters vs. hippies" thing is apparently happening at our campus. I forgot what he said, because most of it seemed too unfamiliar and weird for me to care. I suppose that Gretchen is a bit inaccurate. She isn't wearing some sort of necklace of sorts.

UPDATE: This was eventually published far beyond it's production date.

Original Publication: May 6, 2012.
Union Weekly Vol. 70. Issue #15.

Dissect My Brain (Union Weekly Serial) Season 1, Episode 6: "Happy Endings."

I submitted this on Saturday for The Union Weekly (stayed up till 6 AM), but I believe it will either not be published or be in the next edition. Much like "Anything is Possible" and "The Ballad of Christopher John Nguyen," this comic is not told in a straightforward fashion. There are also no guests on this strip. I always feel that when I stick to the game plan of making this comic an autobiography, people are going to hate it. However, as I mentioned in the last post, you got to stay true to your vision!

The panels themselves are pretty silly, but I liked what I had to write. It doesn't necessarily have a message; it's just musings and observations. I wanted to capture the day to day things. Hopefully it's something people can relate to. It was something I rewrote a billion times, but I'm satisfied with how it ended.

UPDATE: This got published in the Union Weekly the following week.

Original Publication: April 11, 2011.
Union Weekly Vol. 68. Issue #10.

Dissect My Brain (Union Weekly Serial) Season 1, Episode 5: "What Usually Happens When You Make An Autobiographical Comic."

As you can see, I rehashed some old ideas that were touched on from the original strips. It's true: the moment you make anything creative, everyone has ideas. I'm welcoming towards ideas, but at some point, you need to draw the line. If you don't, you'll lose your personal creative vision and who's to say it's your own project anymore. People will get offended when you fight for your own vision and they'll question your character, but when it has been met 100%, it's a very rewarding experience.

While I do like how this was written, I'm not a fan of the art. I attempted to follow the guidelines given to making a comic for the Union Weekly, which requires you draw 9" x 2". I've been using a larger size for the previous strips, and as such, they tend to get edited when printed in the newspaper. Drawing on a such a small space is big challenge! I'm not a fan of how I drew my friend Kevin Lin's face at the very end; I probably should've cheated and just digitally copied the panel.

Original Publication: March 21, 2011.
Union Weekly Vol. 68. Issue #8.

Dissect My Brain (Union Weekly Serial) Season 1, Episode 4: "The Ballad of Christopher John Nguyen."

Much like the Valentines' Day strip, this one was written for the current event of Kasatka's birthday. I felt that at this point that I would throw away any idea of trying to follow a series of stories, and just have each strip stand on its own. I was already writing one-shots, but that honestly was not my original intent. Amongst my friends, Kasatka strips are probably the most popular. In the way this was formatted, it's much like "Anything is Possible" in that each panel represents a noticeable elapse in time.

I worked hard on this strip and it bums that it was overlooked by a controversial article that appeared in the same issue. (If you're interested, feel free to google: "Union Weekly Pow Wow.") I'm not a part of the staff at the Union Weekly; as a contributor, I've never been to a meeting and all my transactions have been done via e-mail. For people to call my work "garbage" and question my character over the Union Weekly's facebook page just because I was in the same paper as an offensive article was not a good feeling. Regardless, I thought this was a really good piece. I would guess that most people might not think the comic page is as important as the rest of the paper, but it really means a lot to me!

Original Publication: March 14, 2011.
Union Weekly Vol. 68. Issue #7.

Dissect My Brain (Union Weekly Serial) Season 1, Episode 3: "Anything is Possible."

You have no idea how extremely proud I was when I finished this one. It is probably the strongest written piece out of the Union Weekly strips thus far. I remember when I submitted this, I was excited to it being published. One week went by, and no new Union Weekly showed up due to budget cuts. And then the following week, it wasn't printed.

I figured that was that, and felt unmotivated in doing a new Dissect My Brain when a strip I was really proud off wasn't accepted. I was losing interest, and then lo and behold, it got published in the following week. So what took so long for this one to hit the shelves? I'm not sure. I never got an explanation from the publisher.

What bothers me the most is that this is a very well written strip, but a lot people have hang-ups about the second panel. I'm wearing a La Parka luchadore mask and talking to my friend Kelly. People complain that Kelly looks too much like me. Of course, she and I look like relatives in real life as well. To make matters worse, it turned out darker when it was printed, and you can't see the outline of her breasts too well in the finished version.

Lastly, in case if you're wondering, the girl in the third panel is the same one from "Wow, She's Really Ugly in Person."

Original Publication: March 7, 2011.
Union Weekly Vol. 68. Issue #6.

Dissect My Brain (Union Weekly Serial) Season 1, Episode 2: "Fumble."

Ladies and gentlemen, you are in for a treat! Here is the completely unedited version of "Fumble." What does this mean? Well, unfortunately it's nothing scandalous; it just means that you can see more of the picture than what was previously seen in the Union Weekly. It's not really that big of a deal, but when I first saw this comic published and noticed that a small portion had been cut, it looked a bit off.

All things considered, this is the real debut for Dissect My Brain in the Union Weekly. I wanted to do a strip that explains the premise of the comic, but with the next strip airing on Valentines' Day, I couldn't pass up a special day strip. I revisited Gretchen from a previous strip. As of writing this blog, it is possibly my favorite from the Union Weekly run. It's a silly thing to get excited over, but I was happy that it got top-billing when it was pressed.

Reception-wise, this one was overwhelmingly positive. It's also noteworthy that I even got reception for a comic. It was a surprise for Gretchen, who apparently, was told by friends that there was a comic about her in the Union Weekly; I can't tell if she liked it or not. The funny story I have about this is that I currently tutor at a high school, and they saw this strip when they went on a college tour. Now, they ask me all the time about Gretchen (when they're upset, they tease), and I really have nothing to tell them.

Original Publication: February 14, 2011.
Union Weekly Vol. 68. Issue #4.

Dissect My Brain (Union Weekly Serial) Season 1, Episode 1: "Why Can't We Shut Up and Enjoy Things?"

I suppose there's no point in talking about this strip again, as it's just an edit of an old strip. (It just took out the "inside joke-y" last panel.) I had been following CSULB's Union Weekly, and was generally a fan of it. It's definitely the school's "hip," "pop culture"-oriented paper. I was friends/familiar with some of its staff and contributors, and as such, thought it would be interesting to give it a try. However, I felt that writing an article would be a tough sell with its plethora of writers, and so I opted to write for the one page that was always looking for submissions: the comics.

As a fan of the form of media and being familiar with various art major students on campus, it surprised me that the comic page was inconsistant with quality work. However, it is understandable as [a] comics are not "cool" in mainstream eyes, and [b] art majors are generally busy people. I e-mailed the comic editor that I would be interested and would attempt to be dedicated to a weekly strip. The project was greenlit, and to hold things over, I sent this in. I remember picking up the issue for the very first time, and feeling so accomplished at how well it looked in print.

Original Publication: February 7, 2011.
Union Weekly Vol. 68. Issue #3.

Dissect My Brain TEST STRIP #9: "Do the Wrong Thing."

This is the final test strip before making the jump to the Union Weekly. This one is almost lifted exactly from real life events, except I'm pretty sure Angelo didn't say: "Don't do it!" There's not much to say about this other than my tenure at kbeach at CSULB was a frustrating time. They didn't trust most of the DJs with the keys to the radio station, and often getting inside meant being lucky was still in there before your show. . . which was rare. One day, I was fed up with it and decide to reenact the famous scene from Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing.

I think the extended version would include me trying to kick the door down and smashing wood planks on the knob. Eventually I got in to do my radio show, but it took locating and finding a janitor. I would eventually leave kbeach over creative differences and overall lack of management and direction. I put a lot of hard work into my show, and it felt great when people told me how much they enjoyed it. However, in the end, it was just a hobby to me and management nonsense made it not worth it.

Dissect My Brain TEST STRIP #8: "Air + Water"

This was actually lifted verbatim from real life. Because I experienced it, I understand entirely how it plays out in my head. I've been told that Gretchen ignoring that I had asked "what" by the third panel seems a bit weird. Aforementioned, this is exactly how it played out in real life. By no means is Gretchen an ordinary girl, and sometimes, I think she enjoys just yelling at me.

This was my first time photoshopping stock photos into a strip, and I feel it really pays off in the third panel. The visual gag is perfect. I do like how this one turned out, and it really does justice to a general conversation between the two of us. It often tends to play off like playful banter. I particularly remember this conversation as it took place when I played a show on her birthday, and we were driving to it.

My only complaints was having to condense this. Much like "Wow, She's Really Ugly in Person," I feel like I could probably expand on this further down the road.

Dissect My Brain TEST STRIP #7: "Trying A 'Serious' Comic."

This was easily my favorite of the original strips. It was personal, and has some of my strongest writing. I also felt that the feeling is universal. Most people have an easy time talking about their problems and to an extent, I can moan and bitch about light stuff; but generally the more tragic and personal conundrums in life are well kept secrets.

And who hasn't stayed up all night thinking about their problems?

Dissect My Brain TEST STRIPS #6: "Wow, She's Really Ugly in Person."

Okay. It may sound a bit redundant by now (commentaries are allowed to be redundant, right?), but this one was a lot of fun to do and is probably my second favorite out of the "test strips." I was a bit worried having to write dialogue done over instant messaging in a comic, but I'd like to think it worked out just fine. I suppose the only problem here is that without the context of knowing Gerald plays videogames, the joke about joysticks at the end seems out of place. I'm particularly fond of the facial expressions in this one as they really convey the story very well.

As you can see, the uncensored version of the girl's face pretty much looks like Carl's from Aqua Teens; it really could've been anything. I just thought the gag of having the make-up being too ugly to see that it had to be censored was just too funny. I like the part where Gerald and Kevin are whispering to each other like they are having a secret, mini-conference. The last drawing of Gerald waving his arms ala Olive Oil from Popeye was another great visual gag. All in all, one of my personal favorites with my only complaint being that the story was very condensed, and I feel I could probably stretch this story a whole lot longer if I wasn't trying to do it on one page.

Lastly, I'd like to point out that this girl gets revisited in a later strip.