Tooned Out

This week’s new Dustinland comic is my response to all the idiots out there who think it’s cool that this has been the warmest winter ever in New York (and surely some other places). I see it all the time, in comments on every social platform… well, sure it’s abnormally warm but hey, isn’t life about the universe conforming to my personal preferences? And when that happens, shouldn’t I just enjoy it and ignore the causes of said abnormal conditions? It’s truly painful. It’s like there’s a tornado coming and people are just standing there enjoying the breeze before it hits because hey, isn’t this a nice breeze on a hot day?

Man, we are dumb. It’s really sad. We are so doomed. The only mildly satisfying part will be when all these morons realize how wrong they were, but sadly that won’t even happen because just like with the war in Iraq, a few decades later and no one will admit they supported it. Oh well, it was a nice run. And we really did have everything, didn’t we… if you think about it.

PS If you’re a Ren & Stimpy fan, you should notice a ton of references in this strip, including the backgrounds. I was a huge fan of those first two seasons, and I really do feel that Ren’s simmering rage and irritation sums up my feelings personally. Also yes I know the creator was cancelled for doing scumbag things. I can still like the show though.

Last Laughs

This week’s new Dustinland comic is a pretty dark one about the dread many of us feel — I certainly do — regarding the future of mankind. I know some people are simply blissfully unaware or capable of denial to an OJ level, which I guess is nice for them personally, although also part of the reason we are where we are. But as for me, well, I’ve been reading and learning and talking about this stuff for so long, it’s hard to not see the writing on the walls. Maybe I’m wrong. I would looooove to be wrong. But it just feels like the clock is running out on us and the problems are simply too big for us to solve considering the dysfunction inherent in being human.

Sometimes I wonder if we’d be better off with the minds of ants. Just serving the hive, following along. Sure, it would be way less interesting and “fun” but at least we’d be able to accomplish things and serve a greater purpose. Now we can’t even agree on what’s real and what isn’t. Oh well. We had a nice run — except for that part when we killed all the other lifeforms on Earth. That part was bad.

But yeah, it’s depressing and ridiculous to see how everyone runs around pretending things will just “work out” when we are headed for the ultimate disaster. I do it too. I live my life. What else can I do? I really don’t know at this point.

The Point

This week’s new Dustinland comic is about the point of life, more or less. I think when you’re a parent, these sort of things take on a new urgency, because it’s one thing to stumble through life believing whatever you believe, doing what you can to stay sane, but it’s another thing to teach a new human what to believe and what ideas should guide their life.

As I say in the comic, I don’t really know what the point of it all is, obviously. I’m not religious, so I don’t have that to guide me. And I try to be a good person and all that, I try to live in the moment. It’s just hard. These days, the more information I receive, the more depressed I get. And yet a life of blissful ignorance also feels irresponsible. So I’m really not sure what to do or think these days, and that certainly makes it hard to be responsible for someone else’s life. But kids grow up and figure things out and adopt their own beliefs. The best I think we can do is make sure they turn out to be good people, kind, nice, grateful, insert positive adjective here, you get the picture.

Man, now I’m bumming myself out as usual. Sorry! Next week I’ll go back to wacky zany honk honk clown horn.

Bad Thoughts

This week’s new Dustinland comic is about how kids’ naive yet very real (in their minds) fears can uncover adults’ more “realistic” and depressing anxieties. It’s actually very reminiscent of an early Matt Groening Life In Hell strip that may have even led to an eventual bit on the Simpsons. Do you know what I’m referring to? I tried to find it via Google image search but couldn’t and stopped looking after about 14 seconds. But yeah, comics. Depression. Hopelessness. Nightmares. Good times.

Malaising Grace

This week’s new Dustinland comic is about that feeling you get every morning when you wake up and realize it’s still 2020 and you have nothing to look forward to besides more stress, strife, fear and loathing. Sometimes I try to get excited about something… like, hmmm… maybe I can go by myself a donut today. That sort of thing. The little things. That seems to be something to live for when the big things are all horrible and you can see civilization collapsing before your very eyes.

Happy Monday.

Earth Day 2020

This new Dustinland comic highlights how much it sucks that the 50th anniversary of Earth Day is happening amid a crisis that is causing most of us to stay inside all day. I mean sure, we can go out a bit, but it’s not the same. And we really needed a solid Earth Day this year, since we are really at a tipping point here in how we are treating the planet. Oh well, I guess we’ll have to wait for the 100th anniversary to do it right.

They’re Listening

This week’s new Dustinland comic is about how our kids are silently absorbing all the negative political conversations we have while they’re playing off in the corner, seemingly ignoring us.

Now, in the comic, I joke about being proud of my son’s actual real life quote, but in all seriousness, I find it concerning. I don’t want him to be as stressed out and negative as I am. But I guess it can’t help but seep in. Because they really are little sponges, and they’re listening, even when you think they’re not. And whether you’re a liberal, a conservative, or something in between (which I think is actually the truth for most of us), we need to protect our kids from the unrelenting negativity, hate and cynicism that’s dominating politics in the U.S. — and in much of the world, from what it sounds like. We need the next generation to grow up thinking they can make a difference, in their own lives, and to the world.

So yeah, as funny as it can seem, no more Dusty Downers…

Denied

I drew this latest Dustinland comic in response to Trump’s recent trolling of Greta Thunberg, which she did handle amazingly well and in a very clever fashion. Still though, I do think nothing gets me going as much as this. The red hats may say I am now “triggered,” which they think is hilarious. Yes, they think it’s funny that people like myself and Greta and hundreds of millions of other people around the world believe in science and don’t want to see all life on Earth extinguished as the planet turns into a miserable burning hellhole due to our selfish, shortsighted activities. HAHA those wacky liberals!

I mean, really, on one hand, I just wonder how stupid these people could possibly be. But it’s much more than that. The truly scary part is how brainwashed Trump supporters are. While of course, these days, everyone has their own little bubble to hide in, the MAGA bubble seems much more dangerous and detached from reality — which is how you even have farmers saying “well, the weather is getting really odd these days and messing up all my crops, but I still don’t believe in global warming.” Which leads to the biggest concern over this issue — it’s just too big. It is so big, so scary, so sci-fi apocalypse, people don’t want to believe it. And as we are seeing right now, people choose to believe what makes them feel better.

So yeah, as we’re facing the biggest threat to civilization mankind has ever seen, millions of people are choosing to respond by pretending everything is okay, we don’t have to change a thing, and while we’re at it, let’s blame all our problems on people from other countries. Good times, everyone. Happy holidays!

Summer of 69 + 50

This week’s new Dustinland comic is about the mental fortitude required to not lose your mind amidst the madness of life in 2019. Not daily life for most of us, but rather the news cycle. The horrible things we hear happening to other people day in and day out, whether it’s Americans getting mowed down in Walmart or people in third world countries getting blown up on their way to work or any of the other awful things we learn about 24/7. I hear that hope is essential for inner peace, but man, it’s hard right now. Things look grim. I mean, Siberia is on fire right now. We really are super fucked. But I guess hey, soldier on, right?!

#YOLO

Greenwashing Redhats

I hope people understand this week’s Dustinland comic is satirical. I mean, I do sort of explain it in the first frame, but I am still a bit afraid of dumb dumbs not getting it and going all woke avenger on me. Not that I am against wokeness. I’m just against the combination of wokeness and stupidity, especially when wielded against purveyors of comedy.

Really though, if someone actually could get Trump supporters to actually care about (or even believe in) climate change, that would be nice. Trump would still probably do nothing about it, but at least that would be a start. I think they’ll start believing when something horrible happens to them — drought, fire etc…  Just like all the Republicans politicians who were in the pockets of the insurance companies until their summer homes were destroyed by hurricanes and they didn’t get paid due to insurance loopholes. Suddenly they cared!

Meh, it’s too early for a rant (and unfortunately too early to start drinking).