Month: June 2023

Choose-A-Caption: Ostrich in Platform Shoes

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I’ll be posting more Oddballs comics in July. Until then, enjoy this!

I predict that disco will make a comeback, not just as in music, but as a culture – the discotheques and clubs and whatnot. I see them as places where people check their cell phones at the door and simply enjoy the dancing.

Big Bird is 8’ 2”. Robert Wadlow, the tallest man in recorded history, was 8’ 11”. He was nine inches taller than Big Bird!

Pantyhose is another thing I see making a comeback, but not for nostalgia or fashion, but for security. I see a new type of pantyhose – breathable, comfortable, snug, and durable. Women will wear these as a way to feel “pulled-together” (not unlike Spankx), but also as a… dare I say… chastity belt of sorts; an extra layer one must contemplate before shedding, sort of like the underwear Mormons wear. I always thought that was a good idea since emotions get the best of us. Have I gone mad? Comment below.

I too am insecure about my toenails. They’re not bad or dirty, I just think they look gnarly. I abuse my feet though, with running and such. That’s on me.

I heard a similar joke on the latest season of “Cobra Kai.” That’s an amazing show, especially for Gen Xers like me. It’s totally rad!

Which caption do you like best? Do you have one of your own? Share below!

My Foray Into AI Art

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I never thought I would do it, venture into the world of AI image creation. After all, I’m an artist. I’ve been working on my skills for a lifetime. And now AI comes along and all that goes to waste? Nah, not really.

Yesterday, at church, I had a conversation with a friend about AI image creation. While we both agree that it’s uncharted territory and we must proceed with caution. That said, it is, in fact, a tool that can be utilized. I have to admit, all prudence set aside, I’m hooked!

The AI I’m using is Midjourney. It takes some time to figure out how to access the AI (via Discord), but, once you get it all set up, it’s easy. Then it becomes a matter of being able to communicate with the AI to have it produce the best results.

Here is the first thing I created:

Yes, it has some weird things, like the hands, but overall, it’s a good starting point.

I’m working on an Instagram page for these creations. Here’s another one:

I’ve been trying out different prompts to get better outcomes. Here are a couple I like:

If these seem random, that’s where I’m at right now. The Instagram page will be themed. It’s called CoffeeShop.AI. If you go there as of the date of this posting, you’ll find nothing. It’s brand new. However, if you’re reading this sometime in the future, I may have pics posted. Let me know what you think!

Oddballs: Back Cover (From Issue #9)

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Appearing in Oddballs #9

Oddballs is free to read, free to share, and free to reprint.

If you feel like helping me continue to give oddness to the world, please consider becoming a paid subscriber over at SubStack or, if you’re more of a one-time person (so many subscriptions!), consider making a donation via CashApp or Venmo.

Even a donation of $1 goes a long way. Of course, a donation of $100 goes a lot further and, might I add, a donation of $1,000,000 goes even further! (I’m talking to YOU, Elon!)

Oddballs: Trends for the Year 2050

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As I was drawing this, I thought that all of these were either silly or far-fetched. Afterward, I felt that perhaps they may be more fact than fiction (potentially). After all, about a day after completing the inking, I saw an advertisement for a small camera that was about the size and shape of the wedding ring in the comic. So much for privacy, eh?

Of all the items on this list, the one that may have the most marketability is the nanobot diet pill. Sure, it’s disgusting and creepy – having robots wandering inside your body, eating it from within – but I bet there will be a market for them. Reminds me of the movie “Inner Space.”

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I forgot to record myself inking this one. I can’t remember why. In lieu of a time-lapsed short, I give you a short of another kind. Enjoy!

Oddballs: Monsters with Glasses

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Do you like monsters? I guess like most people, you may like them all right as long as they don’t attack you. It’s one thing to watch a movie about a vampire, and another thing altogether to encounter one in real life. I’m not saying they exist… but I’m not saying they don’t!

Here’s some fun stuff with this particular page. At the end is a longer form video with me sharing my thoughts. It’s a sneak preview bonus for my paid subscribers on SubStack, now available to you!

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Here’s a YouTube Short of me inking the page:

Oddballs: From the Mailbag (From Issue #9)

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I’ll write out the text from this page since it may be difficult to read from the pic:

From the Mailbag

Fictional Feedback… (until YOU write to us!)

Dear Oddballs,

My neighbor has a big tire that he flips in the early morning in his garage with the garage door open! At 5:00 AM, I wake up to “GRUNT” – FLOP – “GRUNT” – FLOP, and so on, for, like, an hour. I want to sleep later but this keeps happening. I knocked on his door to ask him to stop but he’s always listening to hard rock music really loud so he doesn’t hear me.

He’s got a girlfriend who visits him every so often. She’s really pretty! I mean, like movie star pretty. She waved at me once when I was watering my lawn with a hose. I was thinking about stopping her and asking her to tell her boyfriend (my neighbor) to ease off the early morning tire flipping but I’m kinda scared my neighbor would flip out (no pun intended). At the same time, I wonder how good of a boyfriend he is. She doesn’t look too happy when she comes to see him. Maybe she’s not his girlfriend. Maybe it’s his sister or something. Hmm…

I think I’ll go talk to her. BRB!

…

She was his girlfriend and he saw me talking to her and punched me in the liver. ☹️

Sincerely,

Sleepy and hurt in Utah

Send questions and comments via Instagram @oddballszine

Oddballs: Finding Emo

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Were you able to help this poor porpoise mother find her angst-ridden son? I hope so.

It’s tough to be a teen. Having been one, I would say it’s harder to be a parent of a teen (granted I have only been a step-parent up until now). It does feel like a maze to try to find ways to talk with them and interact. Beneath the silliness of this comic lies some sadness below the surface… just like in the comic. Meta stuff, eh?

If you’re a teen reading this now and you have lots of swirling emotions, rest assured that we all have gone through it – not exactly as you are right now, no one could ever know exactly your plight, but we’ve all had our emotional teenage years. Life doesn’t get easier, but you get stronger and wiser.

All this is deep stuff… kinda like a basement at the bottom of the sea.

I don’t have a video for this one. I was busy with my own emotional stuff at the time.

Oddballs: How to Pick Up Girls – The Joker’s Way

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It’s generally understood that women like guys with a sense of humor. Well, the teenage boy who is considered by his peers as “funny” rarely gets any romantic interest and doesn’t know why. It’s paradoxical in his mind. When I say “his,” I am speaking about myself as a teen and others like me.

When we’re young, we don’t understand humor. We tend to think that comedy and humor are synonymous. There is some overlap, but not always. Perhaps I’ll write more about one’s “sense of humor” in a future post. For now, let’s just enjoy this joker’s goofiness.

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Here’s me inking the drawing: