This Artist Made 40 Funny One-Panel Comics Featuring Absurd Situations

Bored Panda wanted to dive deeper into Pat’s work and asked the cartoonist what inspired him to start his series ‘The Professor.’ He kindly shared: “The moment I first read a Heathcliff comic, I knew I wanted to be a cartoonist. The idea of creating your own characters in their own little world seemed like a perfect escape from my childhood loneliness.” Patenaude also mentioned that his target audience is “anyone who enjoys old-school newspaper comics, appreciates fun gags, and finds the general public to be somewhat ridiculous.”

When asked about recurring themes in his strips, the cartoonist responded: “There are definitely recurring themes in my work. These include pop culture, health and dieting, and comedic observations of the general public.”

Next, Pat told us more about his creative process and how he comes up with ideas for new cartoons: “Truth is I sit down and work out many premises until I hit something relatable. Then I turn it into something that makes me laugh. It’s an enjoyable process, but a challenging one. The idea that ideas just come to cartoonists is a bit of a falsehood. Sure, it happens like that sometimes, but mostly it’s just hard work.”

When asked about his personal favorites, the artist admitted it was tough to choose just one. Instead, he shared that he enjoys creating comics that make audiences think—those jokes that take a few moments to fully land.

Lastly, ‘The Professor’ creator revealed some of his favorite contemporary artists: “This is always a fun question that I love answering. I shall break it down as best I can. My favourite artists right now are: Molly Tuttle for music, Quentin Tarantino for film, Tim Robinson for comedy, and Cyanide & Happiness for comic strips.”

If you’re curious to discover more about Pat and his series, make sure to visit his Instagram. It's also worth mentioning that the artist released a trio of books featuring a selection of his earlier cartoons, which are still available online. You can find them here, here, and here.