Comic 06: Daily Tales

Visual slices of life from the mundane to the meaningful, rendered in ink and pixels

Over the years, I've found that comics offer the perfect medium for capturing life's moments—both the profound and the absurdly ordinary. Here's a collection of some of my short comics that have accumulated in sketchbooks and digital folders, each representing a different facet of my creative exploration.

The Aerodynamic Upgrade

A little comic strip to show how aerodynamically optimized I become after a haircut. There's something about that fresh-cut feeling that convinces you you're suddenly capable of breaking land speed records—even if it's just on the way to the grocery store. Physics probably doesn't support this theory, but my post-haircut confidence certainly does.

Never Mind the Dirt: A Zine Adventure

A printed version of this comic available at http://whatlab.ca/events/

A little comic I made for a local zine. The theme was 'Never mind the dirt'. 

This comic was created for a local zine with the theme "Never mind the dirt." It follows a narrative that I later modified for another zine called "Never mind the dust"—proof that good ideas deserve multiple iterations (or that I'm particularly drawn to themes about ignoring mess).

The Original Thumbnails

I recently rediscovered the thumbnails of this story while flipping through an old sketchbook. Rather than let them languish in obscurity, I decided to ink the original version as a keepsake—sometimes our first instincts deserve preservation.

 

The Final Version

The process for the final version began traditionally with pencil sketches on paper, but I completed it digitally using Adobe Draw (now discontinued, RIP to a good app). The progression from rough sketch to final piece shows how an idea evolves through different stages and mediums.

Slice of Life: The Epic of the Ordinary

This comic started with a humble ambition: create a single-page representation of a small daily highlight. Somehow, it grew into something more expansive—too epic for its modest content, like using a symphony orchestra to perform a ringtone.

I ultimately decided to remove all text, letting the visuals speak for themselves and reducing the noise. Sometimes silence communicates more effectively than words, especially when depicting moments that defy simple description.

And yes, for those wondering about the earphones featured in the comic—they're working fine! They're made by a company called Boltune, a thoughtful gift from my brother.

Below is a process video showing how this piece came together:

Out Inside: Memory of a Confusing Date

"Out Inside" explores a faint memory of a confusing date—that liminal space where you're physically present but mentally elsewhere, trying to make sense of social signals that seem to be in a language you never quite learned.

The title plays with the contradiction of being out in the world while simultaneously trapped inside your own thoughts—a common experience of disconnection that happens even (or especially) during moments meant for connection.

Reflections on Comic Creation

I've found that comics have become my preferred language for expressing experiences that feel too nuanced for words alone. Whether it's the post-haircut euphoria, the beauty in everyday moments, or the awkwardness of human connection, the combination of visuals and text (or sometimes, deliberately, the absence of text) allows for a fuller expression of life's complexities.

Not every comic needs to tackle grand themes or profound revelations. Sometimes the most honest artistic expression is simply documenting the small moments that make up a life—the functional earphones, the transformative haircut, the confusing date—all worthy of being captured and shared.

Hope you enjoy these visual slices of my experience. Each represents a moment when putting pen to paper (or stylus to screen) felt like the most natural way to process the world.