Of Daily Funnies & Roaches

Sunday, the only day in which I am justified in sitting around the house doing absolutely nothing. Ahh yes Sundays. Usually Family Day for me, where I would spend most of the day at home reading the newspaper, doodling or just finding new ways to waste 24 hours.

Ever since I was a wee lad, I've been reading them Sunday Morning comic strips, mostly from major publications such as The Star or NST or the Malay Mail. I NEVER read Malay publications which is why my Malay Language Subject just barely made it. =_=

From fondest memories, I've always been a fan of works like Calvin & Hobbes, One Big Happy, Robotman,.. etc etc. I've even gone throught a phase where I read Brenda Starr! Aaah yes. comics, short strips meant to invoke either thoughtful insight or tickle a funny bone. I've always dreaded reading the final strip of the comics section every week. The only consolation I have is that the following Monday will bring its own share of comics albeit somewhat less.

On a side note though, the Malay Mail has one totally ridiculous comic strip. "In Lighter Vein" by a Malaysian named Tommy Ong. While it may sound mean and very obnoxious of me but I have NEVER found that comic funny/entertaining/insightful. The art is hideous and not even in an abstract sense. It is just plain horrible. The jokes, if they can be called jokes, are bland with seldom to no punchline. Even the title is boring! Its comics like these that make me wonder if Mr.Ong is a very close friend of the Malay Mail's publisher to warrant a space for him to mutilate sequential art as such. If anyone out there thinks, "Oh hey Ivan, your art isn't all that witty or artistic as you think!" Well, for one thing, I do not have a comic strip published weekly in a local newspaper so I don't need to worry about my standards all that much. Sorry Tommy Ong (if ever you read this) I don't dislike your work so much as the fact that its published.

Now I feel everyone that reads the Malay Mail and see's Mr.Ong's strip would think "Bloody hell, is that the best we have?" Besides Lat and a few other local cartoonists (they're out there!) I have lost hope of finding good comics in the market. Arang Man is pretty decent but its storyline doesn't exactly suit a daily comic strip. Oh well... nowadays to get my comic jollies, I look to the world wide web. Heres some I find worth a good read.

PvP Online, Angst Technology, Nodwick, RPG World , Penny Arcade, Neverwinter Nights Generika

Also I found a tiny dead cockroach beneath my bed today when I was changing sheets.