Artist Creates Humorous Comics That Retail Workers And Regular People Will Probably Relate To (30 New Pics)
Interview With ArtistThey say "take your broken heart and make it into art." In Stephen Beals' case, it is more turning negative emotions into humorous comics. Yes, you've heard it right, "Adult Children" is back on Bored Panda!
Stephen Beals is an artist who has been drawing comics since forever "out of pure love for the art form." As Stephen said himself, his illustrations are something he made after work to let off steam. He titled them "Adult Children" because, according to the artist, "adulthood seems to be a myth we tell children in order to get them to behave."
The comics feature everyday life situations working in the retail sector. Even though the little fragments of working life are presented in a humorous way, we believe that most of us can hear the characters silently screaming out of helplessness and exhaustion. At the same time, the illustrations are very relatable.
The artist was thrilled to have his comics featured on Bored Panda since he's always been a fan. "I can only peek with one eye open at a post about my work. I'll try to be brave. I might use both eyes to look. We shall see, we shall see..."
Don't forget to check out our previous article featuring more of the humorous and candid "Adult Children" comics. And we advise you to use all of your eyes.
More info: Instagram | twitter.com | Facebook | stbeals.com
This post may include affiliate links.
Ah, the only ones who are good customers ane the onea who had to deal with bad customers and empathize.
My roommate always asks the clerk if they want a credit card. 🤣🤣 He'll have to try this one.
50 cents, I'm jealous -- what I got what my supervisor yelling at me that I didn't push enough of their stupid cards... that nobody wanted because the card was in the news for being hacked at the time.
I always say "My husband would kill me if I came home with another one!" with a little smile or chuckle. It's not at all true and hubby thinks it's hilarious that I say that. I will say it's pretty effective at stopping the sales pitch in its tracks and usually gets either a chuckle or a knowing nod from the cashier.
This just reminds me of petrol stations in Australia. They have signs now saying that you could save 4c per gallon of petrol, but in reality, you are just saving a dollar or 2 from $80.
Retail workers (former and current) need to stick together!
The characters in these comics are Stephen Beals divided into four different parts. A truly interesting concept. The artist believes that we all have different personalities, or at least Stephen has "four usable ones."
As the artist explained, Penny and Berle are brother and sister. Harvey (named after Stephen's grandfather) has known them since they were kids and has formed a long-term relationship with Penny.
Harvey is Stephen's ego, Berle is his complete ID, Penny is his small part of the responsibility and Claremont (the dog) is Stephen at his best, "which is why he's a dog." There's also Todd (an extra), who represents the naive side of the artist.
But that's why I got the vaccine! So I could go cough on anyone whenever I want! As a side note, I am now no longer welcome in the children's wing of the cancer research center...
Load More Replies...As a nurse working in covid area, this always make me to scream at patients. Vaccinated doesn't mean no mask and no risk of Covid infection
Guess you really mad now the mandates are dropping like flys...if you have a cold no matter what stay away from people
Load More Replies...As someone who is vaccinated and STILL GOT COVID, wear a goddamn mask people!
Does anyone else enjoy reading heavily downvoted comments? For balance? The more downvotes, the more likely I am to read a comment I might have missed. Thanks, downvoters!
Load More Replies...For all the nasty anti-vaxx idiots: while the vaccine might not be 100%, it is still highly effective and you are safer with it than without it!!
Exactly. These idiots seem to think that " not 100% perfect" is the same as " doesn't work at all"
Load More Replies...Yes, some people seem to think that it is now the only contagious disease there is.
Never cough on people!!! If you do this, even pre COVID, you are a disgusting person.
Pigs have class and more(?) intelligence.
Load More Replies..."Its the only fun part of my day" I felt that! Pretty much the only time we could tell a customer no and get away with it. Literally my favorite part of closing.
You have to get there early, so you have plenty of time for all the obnoxious complaining you want to get in for the day!
Load More Replies...Wait, is she waiting there through night and back? I am so confused but it is also so accurate.
I despise customer service. It should be called what it really is; getting verbally abused by strangers who think they're better than you and not being allowed to stick up for yourself cuz 'the customer is always right'
Fast food: "why wont anyone answer drivethru?" "Cause we closed 10 mins ago?" "But i been sitting there for 5 min cant you just hive me food"
I remember working at Safeway opening shift. I would get to the store an hour before it opened to get my station( the deli) ready. People would walk up to the door at the time I arrived and it wouldn't open for them. They would try to force it opened but it wouldn't budge. I would walk up behind them just watch to see how long it would take the to realize the store hours were right in front of their noses. Longest time was a full 5 minutes before I walked up to them and pointed it out. I honestly don't know how those people survive.
I can relate 100%. I can't tell you how many times I have made closing announcements every 5 to 10 minutes that the store will be closing in 15 minutes, then 5 minutes, store is now closed and will reopen at such time, and still people shopping past 9pm. Another I was outside watering at 5am, customer asked if we're open, I said you have an hour , enough time to get breakfast at Ihop.
When I worked at Safeway we had a guy who was an assistant to the assistant manager. They had the store when management was gone. When the store closed at midnight he would announce the closing and wait 5 minutes. After that he had the registers closed and told the check out people to go home. Once had a costumer stay after that and complained that they wanted to check out. The manager guy told him to f-off and then left. The customer had to leave their cart and leave as well. Guy never got in trouble because technically corporate wants all costumers out at closing, no acceptions.
Load More Replies...Happens all the time before opening at the restaurant where my daughter works. Door shakers!
The artist told Bored Panda that he graduated with a degree in animation from the California Institute of the Arts. For nearly all of his college years, according to Stephen, he was still a teenager and, thus, still stupid. "I made a bad choice. I love animation and film, but I ultimately didn't want to work in the industry. I wanted to make comics, which notoriously doesn't pay enough to buy the luxuries I've grown accustomed to, like toilet paper, so I wound up working for the university library. I love libraries! Who doesn't? If you don't, find out more at your local library."
Stephen continued: "The library I worked for was busy. Very busy. 'I'm going to die' busy. I dealt with every kind of person imaginable. Libraries are similar to retail except they're free to the public, so everyone is welcome unless they are actively trying to set the place on fire."
Yep, I guess her spirit animal is a tabby cat.
Load More Replies...Yea more lonely cat ladies...a lot of 304s will need cats in the near future..cause no one wants a used lock
somehow i think that any woman in the world would rather be a cat, than whatever you are
Load More Replies...🥰😻 I have a tree shelter. With cats. I work occasionally to finance more trees and cat food. I might add a dog eventually.
I did that once. At the in store deli I worked at. I wasn't a manager but I was told that I was in charge of the deli that night. We had closed but the rest of the store was open. Had a costumer ask us to turn on the fryers to make them chicken. I told them no. They got mad and demanded to see my manager. I told them no and walked away. Never saw them again.
My manger at speedway is awsome she is so good with words they walk away or they having nothing to say and she never back down but knows her limits.
Back when I worked at Chick-fil-A, there was this one old man that I swear his only source of fun in his life was to come in, make an order to go, and then come back not even 10 minutes later to wait in line again just to yell at the cashier who rang him up for whatever "mistake" they made. Every cashier and manager knew him and had dealt with him *at least* once. New hires were like fresh meat to him - it might as well have been a right of passage.
"I thought about becoming a librarian, but I spent quite a bit of money on my art degree and it was kind of like letting a good bottle of milk spoil. I left to work in advertising. For quite a few years I designed every ad conceivable and worked on marketing strategies to sell things that I wouldn't buy unless it was to resolve some sort of hostage negotiation. Advertising wound up being somewhat cold and monotonous. I missed people, even the weird ones like myself.
At times, I would work part-time at large retail stores to help pay for my expensive habit of heating my house. I liked working with people again, but it was hard to get passionate about daily retail concerns like price tag placement or expired candy bars.
I combined my two passions and made a conscious decision to go back to serving the public at a print shop. I wound up working for quite a few printing establishments and now work for one of the biggest. I get to design things and deal with very strange people at times. Perfect!"
I hate the parents and the kids, because the kids wil learn the parents' behaviour and become like them. A lot less people should reproduce.
You teach them then by doing your job and tell the kid to get out from behind there
Load More Replies...Yes most parents think their little "angels " do no wrong. They expect everyone around them to clean up the little angels messes. Can't wait til angels are teens when it turns back on them.
Or they do it in front of relatives or people the parents' want to impress only to get what is finally coming to them.
Load More Replies...The parents have to pay for the dough and wash the kid's clothes and hands. Their problem, not yours.
Not if you have to clean up after the little monster
Load More Replies...Been saying this for years. Can't blame kids for their parent's stupidity.
I've had way too many customers try to talk politics with me in the cashier line, and I always just silently shrug. I love the ones that keep going and don't pick up on the fact that I couldn't care less about anything they're saying.
I have a coworker who doesn't get this, acts on the defensive and instantly starts yelling at the slightest sign of aggression. It has actually put her in trouble a concerning as well as unnecessary amount of times.
To make it more realistic just add a mattress behind the counter, out of sight and just fall backwards after 30 seconds of silence.
Work many years in retail, and this is one of the best strategies, also smile it pisses them off too, (when not wearing a mask, of course)=:D
Being busy working at the print shop, the artist still manages to post comics every day. For Stephen, it's the best part of his day. "To paraphrase the great writer Shelby Foote, 'It takes me a very long time to get started on something and I solve that problem by never stopping once I've started.'"
I swear I have three kids at home of under age of ten an they aways would pick me before someone who didn't have kids backwards.
Their lives aren't less just because they don't have kids lol geez
Load More Replies...My grandma would kill me if I did that but I know she would have my back, and that makes it tempting 😂
Stephen shared that he loves to write and we guess you noticed that already. "If there's anything that I love as much as comics, it's books. I am constantly listening to an audiobook, reading a book, and reading blogs. If offered a writing gig I would not hesitate to throw myself into it."
The artist is also a huge fan of old humorists. "Many humorous essay books were illustrated by very good cartoonists and I always think of those as perfect books. I hope to have an eBook out, if only to please myself and have something for people to actually buy. Short of that, a blog post or weekly essay is something I wish to resume (I did do that some time ago for websites that no longer exist)."
I'm so old that I can remember a time when the prices of things stayed the same for a very long time and when the prices went up they went up very little. Then prices started going up in shorter times and by a higher percentage and then the quality started going down. Frankly, one of the reasons I'm glad I'm an introvert is that I can't afford a social life. But I'm glad I can afford good manners.
The packages are smaller. I rarely shop at the dollar stores because the boxes are the same size but they put less in it. You can tell by reading the weights. I can't believe people keep falling for this stuff.
Load More Replies...Inflation, and politicians that don't give a f~¢k about the American people.
One of the most fascinating things... I see all these Karens getting such horrible service. I almost never get horrible service. I bet, and this might seem crazy, it's because I treat servers and cashiers and etc etc as people, because they are.
Sounds like you are getting what you are paying for.
Load More Replies...To see people proudly wearing their red flag on top of their head is a remarkable thing of nowadays somehow.
Load More Replies...Anyone who has worked a cash register knows this one all top well. It's incase someone robs the till.
I would always just tell them "we do accept 100 bills, but I only have 50 change... If that's okay with you, you can leave the rest as a tip"
Load More Replies...I used to sell my stuff at an artist market, and people would do this to me. Like dude I am in a tent without walls. How on earth do you expect me to have change for a hundred?
They are hopping you take their "art" in my experience the goal is to pass off fakes and get people to break them, and person in tent less likely to check and test it...
Load More Replies...I don't get it... who's the guy in the white and why is the little one saying "WHAT?"
Funny thing, unless it's for payment of a debt, you can absolutely specify what forms of payment (including denominations of currency) you'll accept.
Globes, as in world globes to see all the places that don't accept American currency.
Load More Replies...It's true..worked at a store where our discount was 10% on store brand and 5% on non store brand..state sales tax is 6%..so essentially we got it almost non taxed..
In Canada, if paid in cash, both of the costs would be exactly the same, $2.00, because we don’t use pennies anymore—the price is rounded to the nearest $0.05… which makes this funnier by a minuscule amount. Well, that’s my two cents!
I get a 50% employee discount at my shop...everyone else's managers need to step up!!
Load More Replies...It is quite sad. I got a drink from a cafe and they didn't find any dollars to give back as change. So they took out a dollar from their tip jar. Ofc I gave it back I am not a psycho, but it was most likely he would have replaced it anyway.
in Canada we round up or down depending if paying with cash, so its 2$ anyways......
This is even funnier in Canada. We phased out the pennies, so if he's paying cash... it rounds out to the exact same thing either way.
In Canada, paid in cash, both those would be the same, since we don’t have pennies in circulation anymore. It’s rounded to the nearest $0.05… which makes this funnier by a minuscule amount.
Well, they do when you're poor af, I guess-@Tina. Just never fast enough!
In 'Merica it is. Because the rights of corporations matter more then the citizens.
Load More Replies...Pretty sure I'd quit if I ever had to work for someone like that 😅
When I was a lab tech, the hospital I worked for told me upon hiring me that my schedule was Monday through Friday, with Fridays being a ten hour shift, and one Saturday a month. Within two weeks I was being scheduled every Saturday. For five years of my life I worked six days a week with absolutely NO vacations; Christmas and July 4th were the only bank holidays I got off. During the last year I worked there, I started having seizures. In fact, my very first seizure happened at work while I was processing blood samples for testing. I went into full cardiac and respiratory arrest and had to have CPR performed on me for nearly 10 minutes while the Rapid Response Team took their sweet ass time getting to the lab. They ultimately got written up, each and every one of them. I ended up quitting my job after suffering several more seizures. My neurologist diagnosed me with pseudo seizures, which are stress induced seizures. After finding a lower stress job...no more seizures.
I had those too, stress seizures, 4 of them in 2009 alone, and a few more scattered after. I haven't been able to find a job that's low stress which can still support me, though with complications of panic disorder, major depression, chronic pain etc plus the seizures, I am applying for disability now. There simply aren't jobs I can DO available, at least not that pay anywhere near a living wage. And all the states I've worked in have been right-to-work states, so we were all just screwed.
Load More Replies...You can tell them no but then you usually get told to look for another job
It's true..worked several jobs like that..and it is in non union states sadly
My own fault. I actually enjoyed this job years ago and didn't notice I was working 3 weeks straight, 10-9. Then I got one day off, told the person covering for not to call me unless the store was on fire, and even then I was the third option. I was called because the dummy accepted a large bill for a small amount. Here's me in my pyjamas at the bank trying to get change. The district manager tried to take advantage of my love of my job after that and often threatened to take away the promotion I busted my ass for. I hated her.
Not really. You don't tell your boss until you have a better job lined up. Trust me, I know.
Load More Replies...Go with a crappy retail job where you get verbally abused regularly and your boss doesn't care about you. Then come back.
Load More Replies...Why should the boss's life revolve around work?!
Load More Replies...That last pannel, exactly why I just quit my job after close burn-out
Ahhh the life of an entrepreneur ❤ however, once you get the life-work balance going, it's usually time to find a new product to build or avenue to pursue 😂 (or keep doin your thing, it's up to you)
"Oh, and by the way, all vacation time is unpaid flex time."
Load More Replies...Or else, just take your vacation whenever you want, within the limits of the law and the contract you signed.
These posts make me feel better about my own job, when I feel like its bull then just check BP and see others have it much worse :D just this week I booked my winter vacation days and just informed my team leader and customer I'm working with and that was that, no "could I have these days off" just marked them in to the system and informed that I will be gone these days just for your information.
It must be considering she's LOOKING FORWARD TO WORK
Load More Replies...Women watch more crime TV than men for self-preservation. They learn how to protect themselves via other women's errors. What a wonderful world!
I feel like they just put me down and create a lot of new fears for me. That is why I stopped watching them after multiple ************************************************************* <-- ( Not gonna bother because the stuff I could put in there might get my account removed or something idk )
I was a massage therapist for 10 years. Most of my work was really deep work on complicated patients, so when someone came in and just wanted a relaxing swedish massage... Let's just say, I really CAN give a foot massage in my sleep
Yeah, we're charging for directions to that spot you could find if you just turned around and looked right behind you...
Are you deaf?!?!?! Did you not hear!?!?! She already told you it was $14.63, so no need to repeat yourself.
Jesus I know the feels I worked for CVS once too ... Spent two months there every Sunday night we tore down the little yellow sales stickers to just put them up on Monday ..
Oh god, I've had that. Except I wasn't dreaming. I was laying in bed trying to sleep and couldn't because my brain was still convinced I was at work counting inventory.
I hate those dreams. I also really hate changing price tags on thousands of items by myself because corporate decided on a new font!!!
Right on, Tabby. Wait until you're done with your purchase before you talk on your phone.
Or say "Hey just a second" and put the phone down if it's a call in progress.
Load More Replies...I bought a phone blocker and hid it, turned it on just for these people. Cracked us all up! "Hello, hello, can you hear me?..." 😁😆👿
Many years ago, I worked in one of the big box stores that make employees wear an orange apron. A customer came in and asked for my help. I took her to the product and she asked for advice. Then her phone rang and she got into a discussion with someone about groceries and dinner plans. I waited for a minute and walked away. Did she think I was going to wait?
If someone wasn't ready by the time they got to me, I would simply wait on whichever person was ready. Seemed logical to me to keep the line moving.
Every time I had a customer walk up to my counter talking on the phone, I wouldn’t do anything, just stand there. Eventually they’d kind of hold the phone a little away from the phone from their head and say something to me like, “I just want to buy this,” to which I would reply “That’s fine, I can wait until you’re finished on the phone,” and continue to stand there until they at least put the call on hold and acknowledge me like I’m a person. Towards the end of my frontline customer service stint, there wasn’t much that I put up with from customers.
The downside of taking a nap at your workplace : you'll eventually have to wake up and remember where you are.
Really? At my job the downside would be losing your job
Load More Replies...My favorite job so far was an asleep overnight for a group home. You come in at 11, sleep til six, give people their meds and drive them to work.out at 9.
Say, won't you forever stay. If you stay forever, hey! We can stay forever young 💋
Aww this is me in the morning, except that I am the mom who is telling myself to wake up
That sounded like a prison sentence. Probably feels like it too.
The reason you don't become a manager unless it provides a huge salary and benefits. For every Karen you deal with you get a bonus. Otherwise you get a crappie 2 dollars a hour with 3x the work load.
Hmm, pretty sure that it's management that are making the bad decisions on a day to day basis.
But I'm not at the job to be a hero. I'm at the job for the money, obviously
The store I worked at almost closed one day because too many people quit.
The execs at the top make 6 figures and more and do absolutely nothing to make money for the company and yet cut payroll in the store, where the money is made, over work the staff that is most valuable to company while paying them peanuts. Eventually people simply go elsewhere due to the lack of service and yet the fat cats at the top can never comprehend why sales decline.
You can defeat the villainous stockholders with unionizing and mass resignations
a book is always a good idea, imagine being able to offer a new world
You can get it in pdf so it doesn't have to count as a material thing 😉
I work for FedEx and ever since I've been trying to cut back on how much s**t I order
Yeah that is my fave "I need to do an exchange," wait what? That is customer service... "But its form your department!" And I don't have the power to authorize it, "who does?" Customer service "why can't you do it here you got what I want right there, just take this half eaten food that is from another store, I mean this one, and give me that." Uh no for one I can see that is from a competitor not us, two customer service is authorized because they get trained to look out for fraud like this right here. "So can you call a manger and I try this on them?" No...
Love having that argument with people that my till is NOT set up to do returns, it is literally impossible. "Can't you just take my item back and give me money." "Sir, you don't even have a receipt on you, these pants have no tags for Mr to scan and in the time you spent arguing with me you could have stood in the CORRECT line and be second in line now."
My phone has a dont disturb function. I can easily set it up, to let all calls through, but work. Activation is 1 swipe 1 click, or for fixed schedule can be set too.
Isnt that like a feature in any so called 'smartphone'??...I've had it on all Samsung phones I've had and still use....
Load More Replies...Some places are making it illegal to call you off-work hours. Some you can charge them. Why do they think they can call whenever? With landlines, jobs weren't so intrusive.
Set that contact to silent. Or dont give your work your cellphone number: they dont pay you to have a cellphone
God bless america. Always makes the rest of the world seem normal.
I had a special Contact called WORK...anyone from work that called me got added to that Contact...then whenever phone rang and it said WORK, I cheerfully ignored it
If you're a w2'd employee, you can't write off equipment for it anymore. Thanks Trump.
He tried, the supervisor told him "throwing up violently" doesn't count as "sick", be here on time or get fired.
Load More Replies...My husband is a long haul trucker. We have a supply/logistics issue and for whatever reasons the powers that be, have him haul SO MUCH CHOCOLATE. Most of his loads are candy. I tell myself the workers are fighting for better wages, but CANDY?! Good grief. This world makes no sense.
Chocolate releases the happy chemical in your brain GOD KNOWS the world needs more chocolate
Load More Replies...Last year, I arrived later in the evening at the grocery store. I hadn't realized the deli closed much earlier than the rest of the store. I asked for some pasta salad and some roast beef. Dude behind the counter looked like he expected me to hit him as he told me the slicer was already cleaned and shut down for the evening. People should be ashamed for service staff wincing like abused animals, ffs. I was like "Don't worry, it's fine. I'll just get the pasta then. I didn't know the deli closes earlier"
Pretty much how it works saw some one get bottom run Salary going yeah I am big time!" Store manger came up and went "the day stocker called out, take this pallet and stock all this heavy s**t, then there is 5 more in the back," this will take hours "I know your salary now welcome to 10 hours or more work days! Oh and don't forget you pay for you own insurance now so lift with your back or is it knees, well you will figure it out..."
Stephen Beals has a knack for transforming typical life situations and work experiences into relatable art. With his comics, particularly those centered around retail, Beals humorously captures the essence of everyday encounters that many of us may relate to, especially if you've ever experienced working in this sector. This portrayal is consistent with his approach, showcased in another collection of entertaining retail comics that offer insight into customer service life.
You might want to explore how these unique perspectives shed light on the humorous yet challenging aspects of working retail.
Is everything 14.63? Wasn't the one up there with the guy who wanted the bathroom and she was asleep also 14.63?
Media evil...yes those ones worked fewer hours...lets not romanticise that time period...lots of people didnt live long enough to even have an existensial crisis moment....
Load More Replies...I made something like this. Like a survey with half our staff. Summed it up. Forwarded to management. And what did they do? Listen to this other guy who had an idea with no evidence or reason that anyone wanted that... Plus ignored all complaints or ideas for improvement... It didn’t take much longer before I quit
*clean, actually. It's small so it's an easy mistake
Load More Replies...I wouldn't be surprised to find that 1/4/63 is the author's mother's birthdate.
Load More Replies...Oh hey! Penny is my name! (Well nickname from PenitentEyeball, but still)

I like how the crappy costumers aren't wearing any masks, while the workers are! Cool comics!
Of course it is. Never heard about many of this in Europe
Load More Replies...I like how the crappy costumers aren't wearing any masks, while the workers are! Cool comics!
Of course it is. Never heard about many of this in Europe
Load More Replies...
