Origins

Origins

Posted by Brian • May 5, 2016

Original Release Date: May 4, 2000

People like to comment on my incredibly small handwriting. I think it may originate from this comic, in which every last inch of available space is crammed full of exposition. It's at least done somewhat creatively, including the use of an instructional pamphlet and an aside conversation between the mayor of San Francisco and some bounty hunters, but it's still a lot of words and not a lot of action, which is something I now try to avoid.

The world of Mike and the Ninja is, to paraphrase my friend Justin Colburn, a world of bureaucracy run amok. There's a hired goon association that, on top of being an organization of hired goons, is also corrupt on top of that. There's a ninja union, but they're on strike. The mayor of San Francisco hiring some bounty hunters to go after Stu, so he's obviously not an upstanding pillar of humanity. Everything is organized, but obviously there's not that much of it that's working, and this page demonstrates a lot of that.

I also continue to like Mike and Stu's exchanges. Even though I was just starting out, I feel like this dialogue is pretty good! There are some things about my sense of humor at this time in my life that I don't really have anymore, and I kind of miss them. Namely, the sign of the diner and the instructional ninja pamphlet are things I don't think I would have thought of today. But, my humor is probably better in some other areas, so it all evens out!