• Jeff Drowns in a Huge Pile of Fecal Matter •
    Drawn 7 August 2005

This was it. This was my very first drawing since January. In a creative funk, I had not put pen to paper in nearly eight months. It took Jeff and Erin's encouragement and prodding to get me back on track, and to be honest I was hesitant to even draw this. Did I even want to get back into drawing, I wondered at the time. I'd love to say that I was struck by a sudden surge of inspiration, but the truth was that I drew this mostly to humor them.

Starting this drawing was incredibly difficult. I sat staring at the blank sheet of paper for the longest time, my mind searching for ideas -- any ideas -- that would translate well. This is the best I could come up with. Am I happy with it? Not entirely. I've done better, but then I was a bit rusty. Also, fecal matter? My first drawing in this long and I make it a poop joke? Certainly I could have done better than that. One thing that grates my nerves every single time I look at this is my use of the word "huge" in the title. I so wish I hadn't written that. I regretted using that word the moment I wrote it. I wish that I had written that Jeff was drowning in "a large pile" of poo. "Huge" just seems too extraordinary and too "cute" a word, grasping for attention when it's really not that big a deal. You can see that it's a big pile. All you need to be told is who it is and what the pile is made of. In any case, "large" is a much more subdued word and would have worked so much better, if even describing the size of the pile was necessary at all.

Despite this return to drawing it would still be well over another month before I drew anything else. Motivation is a fickle creature, and for me it tends to take its sweet old time to get anything done.

• Jeff Thinks so Hard his Brain Explodes •
    Drawn 30 September 2005

The "poo pile" was my reintroduction to drawing. This was my reintroduction to drawing well.

The lot of us formed up a Dungeons and Dragons campaign. Since I had always tended to draw more often when people are around inspiring me, this was probably a good thing. I've always had trouble drawing under pressure or while alone, which is why my webcomic was usually always late. In this new group of mostly new people, I'm finding myself being exposed to new ideas. I know that this is an astounding revelation.

Jeff thinking so hard that his brain exploded came during our campaign. He was sitting next to me, serving as Dungeonmaster, and there was a lot happening when he was momentarily confounded by something. In my mind I saw his brain exploding, kind of shooting material out his ears. This takes the idea one step further, with his brain expanding under so much stress and busting through his skull, forcing his eyeballs to shoot from their sockets. It's like a cranial Chernobyl.

I like this one.

• Jeff's New Robot Arms Rebel Against Him •
    Drawn 30 September 2005

Jeff is a Twenty-First Century man, and as such desires to be up to date with the newest technologies. With his love of computers, do you think anybody would be surprised should Jeff have robotic body parts grafted onto his person? Imagine the increase in efficiency having arms that could extend on hydraulics and never get tired carrying things. Sadly for Jeff, a minor glitch occurred in the processor controlling his arms.

I did feel pretty sheepish about including flailing eyeballs still attached via their optic nerves in two drawings on the same night. In the end, I wound up being happy with both results and moved on with my life.

• Jeff Tries to Accomplish a Simple Electrical Task •
    Drawn 7 October 2005

For almost the past year and a half I've been helping Jeff work on remodeling his basement, on and off. There was a lot of wiring to be done; some replacement, some new. Now, Jeff is pretty good at electrical stuff, mind you, but he can't always get lucky.

You can see some detail along his arms but it's difficult to make out. This was an attempt to show his skeleton, the way they do in the cartoons. I had even drawn his skull, but most of that wound up being obscured by his facial hair. That's why his mouth is so prominent. I typically don't show that much teeth, but you're supposed to be seeing it through his facial flesh. This also explains why his skin has a light greyish hue. Because it's supposed to be bone.

• Jeff's Politics Fail Him •
    Drawn 8 October 2005

This is my very first cameo appearance in the "Poor, Poor Jeff" series! It's also the first time I've drawn myself since the December 2004 finale issue of the Communism Land webcomic.

During the D&D campaign we were to be pitted against a massive battle that would mark the end of the world. I had spent the week brushing up on military strategy, and was pretty excited about the prospect of leading an army in a hopeless battle. During the game, as I was busy working out figures, and how to best divide up our humble brigades, the other players somehow, against all logic, managed to avert the end of the world! The battle was called off, but wicked forces at play caused my entire army to massacre themselves out of insanity, leaving us to run away and eventually wind up losing all of our items and clothing. Even Dungeonmaster Jeff was thrown off by this.

This drawing illustrates my angst. Most peace flags probably don't have a heart and a rainbow, but I had to get the point across somehow.

With that, I think I've suitably marked my drawing return!