#92: Get busy dreamin'

Hello sleepyheads,

If last week was all about the politics, this one couldn’t be any more different. Although, obviously, if you read far enough into anything you’ll likely find a political metaphor. But I’m not sure I’ve done it, even subconsciously, this week. But, then, would I know if I had?

Anyway, this week we have three cartoons involving a lie years in the making, a dream realised, and some very judging eyes.

Keeping an eye on you,
Chris

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Caption: “He was lying about his age this whole time?”

Like, seriously, WTF?

Because, if you’re a tree the forest, how is anyone going to find out? The only ones that should know are your fellow trees, right? Right?

We’ve all been there.

A little artist’s note: Gosh, I really love this one.

I drew it all the way back in August of 2023 and I spent the next year shopping it around to magazines. They didn’t want it, and then I kind of let is slip between the metaphorical cracks. But every now and then, I would think: What did I do with that cartoon? And, so, here we are.

Of course, it didn’t look quite like this back in 2023. The bones were all there, and the gag was the same, but I was drawing and shading in a different way back then. Because I also decided that if I was going to finally let this one into the world, it deserved a full redraw. But, if you’re wondering, which of course your are, here is the original.

So, you know, same same but different.

Caption: “Why did I want to live all my wildest dreams?”

What are your dreams actually like?

Because, I’m pretty sure if I was to live my dreams, I would find something even stranger than this cartoon. A combination of childhood, childhood fears, and fears in general, all packed into a journey Dali-esque surrealism.

But that’s just me. I’m sure yours are totally normal, right? Right?

A little artist’s note: This is another reject from a while ago. I remember when I had the idea for it and I just couldn’t get it out of my head. I’m pretty sure it came to me at 9am, and I had the first draft drawn by 10:30am. It’s weird. I know it’s super-weird. But sometimes weird is good.

On the visuals, when I first started drawing it, I genuinely thought I wouldn’t know how to draw it. But, pretty much the moment I put pen to screen, it just sort of appeared. Maybe my dreams really are just rollercoasters filled with the stuffed animals of my childhood. Either way, I’m not sure I would want to live them.

Caption: “I get that the eyes follow, but do they have to be so judgemental?”

This first appeared in issue #375 of Weekly Humorist. Check it out.

Sometimes you just can’t hold back the judgement.

Especially when you’re the eyes of a painting. In a gallery. Watching people passing by. Staring them down for all of their so-called freedom. You might be a bit judgy too.

But, seriously, paintings need to stop doing this. It kind of creeps me out.

A little artist’s note: I know people make a big deal out of paintings where the eyes seem like they follow you around the room. And, you know, I’m pretty sure it’s just a clever optical illusion. But, also, WTF paintings? Seriously, do you have to be so nosy?

I think the big challenge with this cartoon was to make the historical portraits in the frames cover all the bases. So, you’ve got someone from Elizabethan times, you’ve got someone from, I’m going to say, Pride and Predjudice times, and you’ve got a military fella, and all of them just look a bit pissed. I’m also super-grateful to find this one published.

Thanks for reading The Mid-Week Squiggle.

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