LUCY in "COMFORT AND JOY"

Feeling joyless, Lucy seeks some comfort.

THE WORK TYPES YOU MEET ON EVERY TEMP JOB

Brought to you by LUCY!

WHEN I GET FAMOUS!

You'll see... you'll ALL see!!

I LOVE MY JOB!

Find out what's like to have REAL career fulfillment!

HIM-ASSMENT! A Crisis for Our Time!

When will society speak up about this tragedy?

LENNY BOBO -- NOW REMASTERED IN HD!

Our old pal LENNY BOBO gets the remastered, hi-def treatment!

Click here for the new version.

ON THE JOB! Lucy's First Comic Book!

Lucy Leffler, who with her first appearance nearly a year ago kicked off this Spiral Notebook Comics blog, has graduated to her very own comic book! It's not a very long comic book, but it is only the first chapter of a 100+ page graphic novel, which when completed will be titled AROUND THE WORLD IN A DAZE (unless I change it). In the meantime, you can download the 7-page story for free and keep it around as a PDF, or print it in case you want to burn it! Either way, I hope you enjoy the story, and that you come back for the rest of Lucy's wild adventure.

Download LUCY: ON THE JOB (5MB)

UNFINISHED BUSINESS 4: Holly Barnes, Mystery Girl!

I have a plastic storage bin next to my office bookshelf that is crammed with piles of sketches and finished comics that were all projects I meant to get off the ground, with mixed success. I will be posting these artifacts over the next several days with an explanation of how each project was created and what if any plans I have to continue each one. I hope you find my creative attic-clearing interesting.

COMIC: "Holly Barnes, Mystery Girl!"
STATUS: Making her comeback soon!

Marketing brochure

UNFINISHED BUSINESS 3: "Margo's Comics Starring Margo"

I have a plastic storage bin next to my office bookshelf that is crammed with piles of sketches and finished comics that were all projects I meant to get off the ground, with mixed success. I will be posting these artifacts over the next several days with an explanation of how each project was created and what if any plans I have to continue each one. I hope you find my creative attic-clearing interesting.

COMIC: "Margo's Comics Starring Margo"
STATUS: Shelved Indefinitely

This was my first attempt at drawing a children's comic, and I intended to borrow generously from my own childhood to tell these stories. Like Brian, I was the younger brother of a bossy, smart, funny, deeply unhappy and overweight girl. I think I was onto something with this project, but once again I felt undone by what I considered to be my poor-assed drawing skills, so I abandoned the project and moved onto other things. 

"Trick or Treat, Smell My Feet" (1999)

One aspect of childhood I wanted to capture was how a summer or a Halloween night felt in a time before childhood was as tightly supervised as it is today. I think I came close, but reading these again I think the writing and characterizations are just too weak. I'm having much better success with my current project, another children's summer story that is based vaguely on my early life. So maybe the answer sometimes is to walk away from stuff and come back later once you have a better perspective (and maybe improved drawing chops).

The Great Rockview Clubhouse War (2014)

UNFINISHED BUSINESS 2: "Time's 5"

I have a plastic storage bin next to my office bookshelf that is crammed with piles of sketches and finished comics that were all projects I meant to get off the ground, with mixed success. I will be posting these artifacts over the next several days with an explanation of how each project was created and what if any plans I have to continue each one. I hope you find my creative attic-clearing interesting.

COMIC: "Time's 5"
STATUS: Gone, But Not Forgotten

UNFINISHED BUSINESS: 'Sally Rose'

I have a plastic storage bin next to my office bookshelf that is crammed with piles of sketches and finished comics that were all projects I meant to get off the ground, with mixed success. I will be posting these artifacts over the next several days with an explanation of how each project was created and what if any plans I have to continue each one. I hope you find my creative attic-clearing interesting.

COMIC: "Sally Rose"
STATUS: R.I.P.

SPIRAL NOTEBOOK SPECIAL: DAN PARENT AT 50!

I met Dan Parent in 1985, at the start of our second year at the Joe Kubert School. My first memory of him is that his he looked exactly like Kenny Loggins. And it's true. You look at photos of him from back then with his fuzzy beard and wild hair and you half expect him to burst into a rendition of "Danger Zone". Which he often did, just to mess with our heads.

CEO BOB: He's Your Visionary!

Who else would you trust to monotonectally transform pandemic strategic theme areas???

SBAD: Suburban BadAss Dad!

How about you clean your room???

LUCY "AROUND THE WORLD IN A DAZE" A Work in Progress

This is a sneak preview of what will become a graphic novel posted here in regular installments. Lucy will be hoppin' around the globe and into plenty of trouble.

Blog Parody: Eschaton

Not a comic, and nothing to do with spiral notebooks, but still my own deranged handiwork. A tribute to everyone's favorite Philadelphia Parking Phanatic, Atrios.

The real Atrios blog can of course be found here.

WITH REGARDS (story by ROY EDROSO)

Written by special guest ROY EDROSO!

THE GREAT INFLUENCES OF MY LIFE

The people who helped make me what I am today.

FACEBOOK FRIENDS

Well, this one oughta get me in trouble.

So, uh, no, that is absolutely NOT you. I promise.

THE ADVENTURES OF ME BACK IN TIME IN HIGH SCHOOL

Haven't you ever wanted to go back and change everything? 

TV NIGHT! LAW & ORDER:"BE PREPARED" PART 3

Jack and Claire wrap up the case!

A few thoughts as we conclude our episode:

1. I think my Lenny and Jack were both pretty good, but I just couldn't get Mike Logan's hair right. Next time.
2. One of the perils of straight-to-paper cartooning is the inability to edit. I referred to the victim alternately as "Arthur" and "Alvin".  If I could fix it, I'd stay with Arthur, it's more Law and Order-like. Likewise, "Ben Garrison" quickly became "Stephen".
3. Also, never name two of your protagonists similarly (Grumman and Garrison). You're just begging to mix them up. 
4. When I started this comic, my original plan was to create a one or two page quick parody (similar to my WEST WING cartoon). Hence, I didn't give much thought to the murder weapon, so I tossed in the Cub Scout knife just to be goofy. Then I started thinking how fun it would be to draw an entire episode of LAW & ORDER straight (it was), but I was stuck with my goofy murder weapon. Hopefully I was able to pull a half-decent L&O-like plot out of my haste.
5. I don't think the real show used "dunk dunk" half as many times as I did. Often the characters will just say where they're going, and the scene will cut dunk-less. But lord, I do love me the "dunk-dunks".
6. I may do this again someday. It was a lot of fun!

TV NIGHT! "LAW AND ORDER: BE PREPARED" PART 2

In which the plot thickens, and Jack and Claire find themselves up against the very wolves of Wall Street! Will justice prevail? (You have seen the show, right?)

And if you're joining us late, you can start at the beginning and play along as Lenny, Mike, Jack and Claire strive to bring a murder case to a close!

FOR THE GALS! "AT THE MALE FEMINIST BOOKSTORE" (NSFW)

LAW AND ORDER Part 2 will be posted soon! But first, this is for YOU, libber ladies! (NSFW)

TV NIGHT! LAW AND ORDER, "BE PREPARED" Part 1

Return with us now to the Clinton-era nineties, when Lenny Briscoe and Mike Logan brought down the bad guys in tough, sardonic style! Tonight's episode: "Be Prepared" 

Sorry to say, there's a commercial break! But there'll be more LAW AND ORDER this week!

Lucy Outtakes

LUCY'S POST-HOLIDAY REPORT was the longest and most time-consuming comic created for this blog, which is one reason there was such a long gap between entries, and it went through several drafts and sketches before it was finished. Each page was fully inked and lettered at least twice, and the dialogue was refined throughout the process. This was a different working method than the usual scribbled-out Spiral Notebook Comics, and it's one I hope to tighten and improve as I move on to bigger projects, such as an upcoming graphic novel I've been writing.

None of this is unique to the way comics are created, and my meager, messy efforts don't take anywhere near the time and effort as those of a typical pro. But I thought you guys might be interested in seeing some of the working sketches and roughs for the comic. (click the thumbnails to enlarge)

LUCY'S POST-HOLIDAY REPORT

In which we meet Lucy's family and witness a domestic debacle.  Aren't you glad the holidays are over?