What follows are some of my early attempts at multi-panel comics. Unless otherwise noted, these comic strips appeared in the Reglar Wiglar zine in the 1990s and 2000s. Some were scanned when I had a much large scanner. A few were scanned from the original newsprint zine pages. As a result they look a bit crappy to my eyes. At any rate, peep them if you like.
Check out my series Joey Germ Presents @#$%!!
The Adventures of Little Bat Dude
This could possibly be my first ever attempt at a multi-panel comic strip. The date I put below my signature in the lower right corner indicates that it was drawn in 1990. I was a mere 20 years of age then. While this date is no doubt correct, “The Adventures of Little Bat Dude” wasn’t published until it 1994 when it appeared in Reglar Wiglar #4.
Gen X
Like Bat Boy above, “Gen X: The Comic Strip Specifically Targeting the 20-something Demographic” was printed in Reglar Wiglar #4, 1994. Much like the press obsesses about Millennials and Gen Zers today, in the 1990s, they obsessed with Gen X. It was very irritating. I also wrote about this type of idiocy in my “Dissin’ on the Groove” column while a student at Columbia College. Gen X is credited to Joey Germ, my punk rock alias at the time.
Published in Reglar Wiglar #4, 1994
The Unforgettable Summer of ’95
The summer of 1995 was horrendously and atrociously warm, that is to say, it was hot AF. In fact, the Chicago Heat Wave of ’95 claimed over seven hundred lives in the city. Not only that, I spent that summer working in the hot kitchen of the Vegetarian Chicago Diner, only to return to my non air conditioned and very shitty apartment every night (see comic below).
On the bright side, it was in the midst of this punishing heat, that the band Team Satan was formed.
Published in Reglar Wiglar #9, 1997.
Joe Conservative and Johnny Liberal
This was my attempt at a political comic. It was inspired by a co-worker of mine at a Lincoln Park Italian beef joint, Fazzio’s. I worked there in the early ’90s. Anyway, this co-worker, also named Joe, was a complete dittohead — an unquestioning supporter of the late Rush Limbaugh. Joe and I argued a lot about politics. It was very, very frustrating and ultimately pointless. (Sigh.) Somethings never change.
Published in Reglar Wiglar #9, 1997.
My Apartment Sucks
This comic is also 100 percent based on truth. Two roommates and I lived in a horrible apartment building next to the Western Avenue overpass. The overpass was a monstrosity that has deservedly been demolished, thank god. The apartment building still stands, however. Amazing. It was here that I endured the Heat Wave of 1995 (see above).
Published in Reglar Wiglar #10, 1998.
My Bike
Yes, my bike was stolen from the Chicago Diner patio in January. Everyday, I rode my bike to work in Boy’s Town from my shitty apartment in Roscoe Village (see above) pretty much year round. It was a straight shot down Roscoe Street. While I was able to get to work no problem on this particular day, a snow storm prevented me from getting my bike home. I left it unlocked on the gated (and presumably locked) back patio of the Diner. Thieves got it nevertheless. It was Huffy and I liked it a lot. It was on this bike that I got hit at an intersection by a heavy metal dude named Nelson Strange, but that’s another story.
Published in Reglar Wiglar #11, 1998.
If I Ran It
This one is pretty self-explanatory.
Published in Reglar Wiglar #14, 2000.
A Day in the Life of a Zine Publisher
A sloppier version of this strip was published in Factsheet 5 #55 in 1995, which I was thrilled about, btw. The better drawn version below appeared six years later.
Published in Reglar Wiglar #15, 2001.
Yuppie Rap
“Yuppie Rap” was likely inspired by the Beastie Boys, MAD Magazine, and the insufferable Yuppies of Lincoln Park where I lived from 1988 until 1990. They’re progeny may still reside there.
I made comic about two or three years before the Reglar Wiglar existed, and it was never published. However I did reuse the White Bred and Honky M.C. names for my fictitious rap group that was featured in early RW issues. As said, this comic has never been published… until now!
