Blinded By The Light

This week’s new Dustinland comic is about something that actually does happen to me on occasion. I’ll wake up to a beam of light shining through the one-inch gap that the window shade doesn’t cover, only to see that somehow there is light blasting right into my eye from an ultra bright street light a block away. Seems intentional if you ask me.

Am I alone here?

Hot End to 2022

This week’s new Dustinland comic is a 100% true story about a minor fire that broke out in my house recently. Fortunately everything is okay, but it was scary, and it will continue to be a huge pain in the ass to get all this fixed.

I think the scariest part is seeing how fast a fire can spread. One little oops and really you can find yourself in a disaster — or worse — in minutes.

Aside from that, you know, it’s just stuff. It will take a while to replace and fix, and I did lose a few comics, but nothing too irreplaceable. I think the biggest inconvenience is that I use the basement as a home office and that’s not possible for the time being, so that should be interesting.

But yeah. Fire. It’s dangerous. Wheee 2023.

Clean Thoughts

This week’s new Dustinland comic is about compulsive cleaning as a sort of therapy. I don’t know if that’s a good or bad thing, but in some ways, if you think about it, it’s kind of like what monks do. Chores… constant chores, almost as a meditation. So yeah, despite my cynicism, maybe it’s not such a bad thing after all.

I actually do kind of enjoy vacuuming. It’s very before – after. Also weeding. That’s 100% my favorite chore. How bout you?

Domestic Flights… of Rage

I’ve been pretty busy lately so this week’s new Dustinland comic is just a quick two-panel strip about… well basically what happens just about every day at home. And you know, I think a big part of having a family is being able to not fly off the handle at stupid little things, like the way the dishwasher is loaded. Just chill, because half the time the thing that wasn’t put back in the right place… it’s something you did and just forgot. Except for when the kids don’t close the cabinet doors DAMMIT HOW HARD IS IT?!

I’m New Here 5 & 6

Here are my two latest comic strips for The River Journal, an excellent local newspaper up here in Westchester. Homeowners, you will appreciate the newest one.

Stay Clean

This week’s Dustinland comic is about the cleaning frenzy that goes on before guests arrive. Of course I’m exaggerating a bit, but the general idea is correct. Your day-to-day life at home does not ever live up to the cleanliness that occurs when you host – even just a few friends. There’s always some cleanup in an attempt to generate an image of neatness+. In fact, one of the best things about having people over is that it forces you to clean up. Of course, this can backfire if the hosting leaves the house messier than it was to begin with, due to massive amounts of cooking, eating, and children playing with every toys and art supply they can find. Either way, drinking can help.

Livin The Dream?

This week’s Dustinland comic is basically a combination of all the discussions I’ve been having in the real world. I moved to the burbs about 5 months ago and so now everyone wants to hear my take on it. It’s like when you get married or have kids or get back from a big vacation. Everyone asks you the same things—for good reason. But it does get tiring having the same conversation over and over again. Although there are some subtle nuances that can be more interesting if you really dig into them. Like seeing skunks and fearing ticks. That’s when I enjoy the conversation more.

And man, I really did see a skunk this weekend, crossing the street in front of my house. A skunk! I live 40 minutes from NYC! Later I showed my kid a picture of a skunk and told him, hey, if you ever see this animal, STAY AWAY. And then a neighbor told me, oh boy, coming out in broad daylight, could be a rabid skunk. Man, that’s not cool. Skunks are bad enough. Now it’s a rabid skunk!

But yeah, I do like it out here.

Joining The Club

This week’s new Dustinland comic follows further into my homeownership voyage. Definitely more fun to write about than the election, that’s for sure. I wonder how people who don’t own homes will view this strip? Fear? Boredom? Excitement? Either way, the strips will continue as buying a house has consumed my existence, and all my inspiration is from this experience. Joining the club indeed.

Welcome To Homeownership

So the new house I refer to in this week’s new Dustinland comic is not quite as bad as I make it out to be in the strip, but it definitely needs more work than I thought it would. While I’m exaggerating for the strip, it really does feel that way. Anytime anyone does anything on the house, they uncover some new unlucky nightmare that costs thousands of dollars to repair. Man, I guess this is what grumpy dads across America have been complaining about on sitcoms forever. Here’s to joining the club.

Mi Casa es Mi Casa

I just bought a house. And that’s what this week’s latest Dustinland comic is about. Honestly, I could write an entire graphic novel just about this. The entire process. In some ways you could say it took years. Just closing on the house alone was many months. I could go on and on here and now, but I will save it for future comics.

If I have the time to draw comics, that is, since I will soon be so broke, in my spare time I’ll have to be one of those guys selling bottled water at stoplights.