Absurdthday

This week’s new Dustinland comic is obviously just some silly nonsense, since my wife did not get me new and for my birthday, although that would have been a very sweet gesture. This was actually partially inspired by old Ren and Stimpy cartoons, since Ren was obsessed with getting pectoral implants. I believe the cartoon’s creator has been cancelled for some truly sketchy behavior, but man, it was a great show that was incredibly influential. That sort of weirdo bizarro grotesque take on classic cartooning… honestly, where would Cartoon Network and Adult Swim be without it?

Mainstream

This week’s Dustinland comic is about…. well stop reading right now if you don’t want a spoiler alert.

Okay.

So, it’s just absurd. Don’t look into it too hard. I just enjoy playing with people’s expectations because it’s fun and makes you feel alive. It wakes you up when you read it, it surprises you, and I enjoy creating it. It’s as simple as that.

And now back to your expected scrolling.

That’s Absurd

This week’s new Dustinland comic is about an approach to life called absurdism. It can seem quite negative — certainly in the way I portray it. But, like nihilism, it can actually be quite freeing. The point is to embrace the lack of meaning in life, rather than fight or deny it. It’s actually similar to eastern ways of thought in many ways, although without the reincarnation or nirvana at the end.

Ultimately the idea is to recognize how pointless it all is, thus freeing yourself from the impossible task of reaching some ultimate end goal that does not exist. And once you’re free, you can do anything, you can feel however you like, you can fill life with whatever meaning you prefer. Of course, I choose to make jokes — probably not the healthiest way to go about things. But it can be fun, so at least there’s that.

The Meeting

This week’s Dustinland comic is one of my favorites out of everything I’ve done over the last year or so. I finally had some time to sit down and really work on a strip because my kid was over at his buddy’s house all day on a Saturday afternoon. And that let me really go to town on this one. I like when I can really push it far and take the joke not just to the next level, but to increasing levels of unpredictable absurdity. Just when you think you’ve got the joke, it twists on you, many times in a row.

Maybe I like it more than everyone else will. Who knows. But it was fun to draw, and that’s all that matters.