About the Author

I’m a writer and former newspaper reporter and editorial cartoonist. I’m married (sorry, ladies. Isn’t it odd how all the ‘hunky’ overweight cartoonists seem to be married?) and have a two year old son. I write humorous essays about my son and other topics at BloggerDad. I started I Draw Comics to get back into the comic-thing and to have a space to talk (rant) about pop culture.

I have one published comic strip collection book, Todd and Penguin: Embrace Your Inner Dork, published by KeenSpot Entertainment in 2006.

I’m also working on a children’s book titled, God Loves Everyone…Except You (no, not the real title).

About Taking Up Space

Taking Up Space takes place in the planned community of Eagle Lake, a town named after the species whose home it misplaced. I started Taking Up Space in 2002 but it always played second to my other, more popular comic, Todd and Penguin, and therefore was only sporadically updated.

However, during my year away from drawing comics, I’ve found that I’ve wanted to return to Taking Up Space more than anything else I’ve worked on. So, here I am, back at the drawing table.

Here’s some of the nice things people said about the comic.

• ” …Peanuts for the new millenium.“–Phil Cho, Skinny Panda

• ” I like it a lot. This may sound inherently evil, but I like it more than Todd & Penguin. I think the cast is more diverse, more attractive, and you were successful in creating mounds of sympathy for these characters in such a short amount of time. The pathos they exude is boggling“--Case Yorke, Gluemeat

The Cast

Jessika

Spells her name with a K because its cooler that way. She has an opinion about everything and is quick to give it, whether you ask or not. She’s not cynical, she’s a realist.

When she isn’t ranting about the injustices of the world, she can be found watching bad television – which she also rants about. Her favorite things are bands so cool you never heard of them, making her own clothes and selling them to hipsters on the web and picking on her brother.

Being smarter and cooler than most people her age, Jessika finds it hard to fit in at school.

Bobby

Jessika’s younger brother. An eternal optimist despite having the worst luck in the world. Prone to daydreaming, a love for comics and fantasy, Bobby is what his sister refers to as a dork.

Bobby spends his time playing with friends and pondering philosophical questions about the meaning of life, whether people are basically good and whether the Daredevil movie franchise will ever recover.

Bobby is fairly certain that Jessika is not his biological sister and may, in fact, be some sort of demon sent to wreak havoc on the world.

Quano

Bobby’s best friend and possible space alien (at least Bobby suspects he may be, given his odd nature).

Quano spends most of his free time reading and taking notes for his own future Works of Genius. He is the smartest of the group but clueless when it comes to subjects of an emotional nature. He considers himself a purely analytical person above silly things which most people concern themselves.

Nobody has ever been inside his house, either, which lends to the mystery surrounding his otherworldly origins.

Alexander the Rabbit

He lives in a tree in the neighborhood park. He is naive, silly, and a bit simple minded, but also the kindest of the group.

He spends most of his time watching TV and waiting for mail which never comes.

He’s happiest when eating ice cream or making friends. He views Limbo as a friend, though Limbo is usually rather mean to him.

Limbo

Crass, narcissistic, scheming and manipulative, but also pretty damned charming. Nobody is sure how he has managed to integrate himself into their lives… yet he’s always around.

His goal: “To be rich and never have to lift anything heavier than a pen.”