Mortgaged to the hilt

Ben3 small

P.S. For those of who’ve been breathlessly following the naming debate for this little strip, “Grin & Bear It” was going to be THE name, but alas it’s taken !!  Since 1932 in fact… a fellow by the name of George Lichtenstein debuted it as a comic strip name then and it’s now the property of King Features Syndicate.  Which doesn’t seem all that fair to me considering it seems a bit vestigial now, but oh well..

However all is not lost. THE name will debut next week.  Promise, end of story.  And then we can close this chapter.. to your great relief I’m sure. 🙂

Haresute

Ben2 smallOk.. So I’m still undecided re: the final strip title name here and have been enjoying the dialogue and great ideas !  There is a name in “reserve” that I’m going to spring on you all on the next strip…  the trick has been trying to find a good name that’s not taken. 😦

(Also, there was supposed to be more bunnies on his head but I scanned and coloured the wrong image.. sorry about that, hope the joke still worked.  Because he’s a bear he could technically have hares elsewhere, right?  🙂 )

Entering… Ben (or possibly Bean)

testSimon & Finn are taking a well-deserved holiday and this little furry chap wanted to meet you all.. so here I’m delighted to introduce you to the inaugural “Ben” (or possibly Bean).  I might post a few more of these to see what you guys think –

Horseburger 2

Horseburger 2 sized

This strip was the result of one too many glasses of wine when discussing horsemeat debacles with friends..

Horseburger 1

S&Fhorseburger1 Sized

I know, I know.. the time for bad horse meat jokes is past due… but someone’s gotta close the barn door after.  🙂

A Finn-y Friendship 3

S&FFinnyFriendship3-1

Ok, so this week – in addition to taking a final cheap shot at psycho-analyzing Finn – I’m still playing around with formatting. It’s been tricky to find a middle ground between gigantic and miniscule (aka the Goldilocks conundrum).

I also am trying out a new version of Gimp, an open-source (i.e. free) alternative to PhotoShop.

Conclusion?  Don’t try too many new things at once.

Anyhow, here’s my latest attempt, hope it translates ok on your screens.  🙂

A Finn-y Friendship 2

S&F FTest

So.. some of you may recall a conversation with my mom last week, where she dared to admit she wasn’t the biggest fan of Finn…

As a result of this catastrophic news, investigation has begun into Finn’s psyche.  In this week’s post, we continue to investigate the raison d’etre of Finn – is he just a punk?  Or is he a punk with a history?

The plot thickens.  🙂

P.S. I’m playing around a bit with format/sizing, so please let me know if things look wonky on your end.  Also, thinking of putting up some pages of a larger Simon & Finn story in pending posts if there is appetite for that!

A Finn-y Friendship

chkSo.. I was having a conversation with my mom last week when the subject of webcomics came up (yes, I know – a common topic of conversation with one’s parents…) Anyway, we were merrily chatting and I happened to mention Simon & Finn.  She paused.

Sensing something amiss, I pursued the pause like a beagle after a quick brown fox. The conversation went something like this:

Me: “Why are you pausing?  Is there something about Simon & Finn you are wanting to tell me?”

Mom (uncertainly): “Nooo… not really..”

Me: “What is it?? Tell me!!!”

Mom (uncertainly): “Well…. I’m not quite sure how to say this… but …” She stopped, but then continued in low, hushed tones: “I don’t know if I like Finn!”

Me: “WHAT???”

Mom (growing bolder): “Well.. he’s no good for Simon!  He always brings him down!”

This was pure gold!  And made me think… yes Finn is a bit of a punk… but maybe I haven’t given him enough of a backstory… why is he such a punk… does he really not care about Simon?  And… is he really that unlikable?!  Maybe what I find funny, moms find concerning, but stay with me with me as we delve deeper into the psychology of the hairballed one..

S&F Psychology

Philosophy Now Reject Pile – No. 2

MetaMimosa1 MetaMimosa2 MetaMimosa3 MetaMimosa4Hey gang,

As promised, here is the last cartoon that was submitted to Philosophy Now! for Issue 94 (you can see the accepted cartoon here).

I think Simon got a little too nerdy in this one, however I love the idea of meta-mimosas…  🙂

Next week we’ll be back to Simon & Finn’s regular, coffee-fueled antics.

Thanks for reading!

Philosophy Now Reject Pile – No. 1

Cohen1 Cohen2 Cohen3 Cohen4Last week, Simon & Finn were published in the UK journal Philosophy Now!  That issue dealt with the idea of philosophy and literature. As well as I could understand it, there are some that believe philosophy is best expressed in a clear and almost mathematical manner, and others who feel a more literary or even poetic approach has just as much to offer.

I thought I’d show you guys some of the other cartoons that were submitted for the issue.  This one was actually my favourite but the editor thought it might be too obscure. I think he was right, hence why he’s the editor of course!  🙂

Anyway, I’ll have one more reject to show you next week, and then we’ll resume normal programming.

Thanks for reading!!