A comic story you’ll hope isn’t true…
DISCLAIMER: This comic is not based on a true story, and I would never suggest you do something so extreme to save money.
I am, however, commenting on how ridiculous the housing market is in the bay area and the entire country. It wouldn’t surprise me if someone went to great lengths to save up for a down payment.
Have you heard any crazy home-buying stories?
Share them in the comments…
Get advice about living creatively and read more of my comic essays by joining the A New Creative Life newsletter.
You can hear my interview on Episode 44 right here.
I’m still in shock over appearing on my favorite podcast, “Blockhead,” hosted by Geoff Grogan. I was asked to discuss race relations and police brutality with my cartooning hero, Ray Billingsley, creator of the phenomenal syndicated comic strip “Curtis.” I’ve communicated with Ray over the years in letters and messages over Facebook but never talked with him in person. This interview was a dream come true!
We had a fantastic time together talking about our experiences as Black cartoonists, our run-ins with the cops, and what it’s like creating comics during these challenging times. Geoff spoke with us for over two hours and kept all the “good stuff” in the episode.
You can listen to Episode 44 directly on his webpage here:
https://geoffgrogan.com/blockhead/
If you have Apple Podcasts you can listen here:
The Star Wars fandom running through my veins could not resist the force, calling me to make this comic about The Mandalorian show and everyone's favorite child.
It looks like Disney missed the boat on this merchandising opportunity. I couldn't find any baby Yoda toys for sale for this holiday season! You can pre-order one from the Disney store online that will be released in February—the toy design I saw was not all that cute—but I bet billions of people are throwing their money down anyway. Not me. I'll wait for the updated, more adorable version.
Would you buy a baby Yoda toy?
Have an out of this world week. And may the force be with you!
Read every comic here on www.friedchickenandsushi.com
It’s been one year since Little Fried Chicken and Sushi returned to regular updates after a year hiatus. Here are some of my thoughts on why I stopped and started again, and ideas for how you can move forward with new creative projects when you lose passion for your work.
Letting go can lead you to what you need
I’ll never forget, feeling so burned out two years ago from work and life that even drawing comics didn’t make me smile. In my mind at the time, ending Little Fried Chicken and Sushi comics was the only way to rest and heal.
And why keep it going? No new readers were discovering the strip. I had a decent amount of support on Patreon -even though it didn’t feel like enough to me. So, I ended Fried Chicken and Sushi completely. Finally! I would have time to rest and take things slower.
Not true. I started drawing for fun in my sketchbook more, and sharing those sketches on Instagram regularly, eventually feeling the drive to grow as an illustrator.
But that didn’t make me happy. Single images are fun, but I always yearn for more of a story -a sequence of events and the visual pacing only possible within panels.
Even though making comic strips two to three times a week is difficult, I had to face the truth. Making comics, made me happy. I needed it in my life.
So, I started brainstorming possible concepts and characters to develop a new comic.
I got close with a strip idea entitled “The Honeybuns.” The strip was named after a rabbit family of four, and the humor primarily revolved around their life living in Silicon Valley. My goal was to parody the stressful and ridiculously hectic lifestyle of bay area families, but instead of humans, using busy bunnies. Here are some of the sample strips from my submission packet.
What do you think? Should I have stuck with this concept? Are you happy I moved on? This is a small sample of my submission. If you would like to see more let me know in the comments.
Work on a project only you can create
No syndicates were interested. Not even GoComics, the one that syndicates FC&S online. I received some helpful feedback but ultimately had a choice to make. Either keep working on improving “The Honeybuns,” a more mainstream strip idea or start Little Fried Chicken and Sushi up again.
Sometimes, you just have to face the hard truth. Working on developing a new project would take a tremendous amount of time and energy I didn’t have
I knew the world and characters of Little FC&S best, so it would be easier to just start again. That way, I could get better with something familiar and have an easier time creating new strip ideas.
The big question for me was -why restart a comic strip that wasn’t that popular in the first place?
One answer was pretty obvious. The election of Donald Trump as president. What felt like a rise in Americans sharing their outright racist opinions in public, online, and through committing hate crimes, helped to light my motivational fire to continue drawing a positive black family in comic strip form.
I noticed there were few humor strips with people of color, let alone with both African-Americans and Japanese main characters combined. Fried Chicken and Sushi could be the voice of a new comics generation.
Or, at least, one voice from the minority perspective. A voice with the opportunity to speak to a broader audience about living overseas and being open to other cultures through the GoComics platform, where only a handful of comics with people of color are syndicated.
The other factor is authenticity. Only I could write and draw FC&S. Gag ideas come from my experiences as a black man who lived in and visits Japan. My unique worldview in writing would set it apart combined with my individual art style.
If it comes down to it, pick a project with a subject matter you know well or have a passion for and present it in a way that brings joy.
Work on a new project while producing your current one
Perhaps, creating new project ideas feels easier while you are writing and drawing an already established project because you’re working out your “idea muscle” every day. Taking a long break might just slow the process down and weaken your creativity.
There are benefits to keeping that creative fire burning!
Does this mean I have a new and better comic strip idea brewing in my head? Honestly, no, not yet. It’s fun to work on improving my gag writing and character development skills through producing Fried Chicken and Sushi comics consistently every week.
I hope you’re enjoying reading them and I look forward to your feedback.
Arigato Gozaimasu,
Khalid
Get Fried Chicken and Sushi comics emailed to you HERE
Become a patron of the arts! Support FC&S comics on Patreon.com/birdsong
Read, comment, and share FC&S comics on GoComics.com
Fireflies are a beautiful part of June in rural areas of Osaka. Tanuki adds a little magic to the experience in this comic! Would you soar with real fireflies?
I remember it was magical going down to the river when I was living outside of Osaka city in Shimamoto, to see the fireflies in the evenings of mid June. All the kids out trying to catch them or count how many they can spot first.
Go out and make some magical memories with your friends and family this summer! Time really ‘flies’ by fast.
If you grew up in the south, you must have called fireflies ‘Lightnin’ Bugs’ at some point! Even if you were in other parts of the U.S., I bet you did.
My wife was raised in the city and never saw them before visiting my little suburban town of Shimamoto, back when I lived in Japan. I’ll never forget how excited she was to see them for the first time.
I loved seeing fireflies growing up in Atlanta, Georgia. It was so magical to go out on a summer evening and look for them by the creek.
Other kids were talented at catching them and pulling the fireflies apart to add to necklaces. That was a little too cruel, and gross, for me. I did enjoy capturing them in jars though to watch them light up together.
It’s a blessing to have an opportunity to share summer memories with you through writing and comics. Hope yours is the best yet!
I wanted to play with my FC&S characters and draw some comics where they're all kids in fourth grade. For the rest of December, I'll be posting Little Fried Chicken and Sushi strips every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. I'm sure you are all busy with holiday fun but please stop by my site on those days to check out the new strips. These comics have less details so I can draw them faster and put up four each week instead of two. It's been a fun departure from my usual storylines. It was fun to make comics aimed at kids and have a chance to put all the characters together with Tanuki. Instead of Tanuki being stuck in Karl's house, he actually comes to school with him and uses his magic to cause trouble. Enjoy the comics and let me know what you think! CLICK HERE TO LIKE MY FACEBOOK FAN PAGE!
Dropping another reminder to buy my graphic novel YOUNGBLOODS HERE! I had a lot of fun selling and signing copies of Youngbloods at the Alternative Press Expo in San Francisco this past weekend. Thanks to those of you that dropped by my table! I love APE and look forward to doing it again next year!
As far as J and Beverly are concerned, I don't know what they're doing? There's obviously an attraction between the two of them. We know J recently broke up with his girlfriend but Beverly hasn't said anything about a boyfriend. Of course, dating a co-worker also has its challenges. Hang in there to see what they figure out!
Fried Chicken and Sushi is a Blog and humorous comic strip about living in Japan and Japanese pop-culture.
© copyright 2010 - Khalid Birdsong All Rights Reserved.
