I'm Rusty and I draw a little webcomic called No Happy People. I’m a Boston-based writer and artist who used to write Depressing Fridge Poems and now draws comics! After about eight years of creating sad refrigerator magnet poetry, I felt like I had exhausted everything I could do creatively with that medium and started branching out. I had always dreamed of being a cartoonist when I was little, so in 2022 I decided to give it a shot — and now I’m doing it!

Here are some of my favorite comics I drew in the year 2022. Hope you enjoy!

For more of my comics on Bored Panda, see part 1.

More info: Instagram | webtoons.com | reddit.com | patreon.com | rustycreates.substack.com

When I decided to start illustrating comics, I hadn’t been drawing at all for many years, so it was a huge adjustment to get back into the swing of it. The first several comics I drew were pretty awful in quality, but I just kept practicing and trying new things, and eventually, I started finding my own style that worked for me.

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    #2

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    girlsrock4ever
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Moongirl's emotional intelligence greatly surpasses that of others.

    TailsFangirl03
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I'm in this picture and I don't like it. (both Moongirl and sad person)

    LuLuBelle
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Ugh. Can "empaths" sense that when they proudly claim to be an empath I want to strangle them? It's extremely normal for social animals to be able to read the emotions of other social animals. You are not special. Sociopaths are abnormal. Not "empaths." Congratulations. You are not a sociopath.

    Taylor Keane
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Moongirl has empathy??? Definitely NOT a republican

    Daiana Lia
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This is such a dig at people who proclaim to be empaths!

    Ambry Petersen
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    In my generation we called them Captain Obvious.

    Dana Bryant
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    She's like Karen from Mean Girls. Her breasts can tell it's raining... while she's standing in the rain🌧.

    🧁CuteCupcake🧁
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Wow!!! How did you know that I was sad inside??? You truly are something Moongirl!!! Because it was not obvious that I was sad!!! /s 😒

    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    girl crying: NO DUH

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    #3

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    I keep a note on my phone for ideas so I can jot them down whenever something comes to me. Sometimes the notes are just passing thoughts — like “Katydidn’t” or “Giralf” (it’s a giraffe with ALF’s face) — and other times I’ll get an idea and write an outline for an entire comic. I have a terrible memory, so if I don’t get it down in writing immediately, I’ll lose it forever. And then the world would never get to experience Giralf, and we obviously can’t have that.

    #5

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    There are about 30-40 comics I’ve finished but haven’t shared yet. Sometimes I don’t share a comic because I’m not satisfied with the quality of the joke or the artwork, but more often it’s just because I’ve been creating faster than I can share things with the internet. I only post four comics online a week, but I usually finish drawing five or six weekly, so it starts to add up.

    As for the future, I’d like to continue finding ways I can share my work without having to rely on finicky social media algorithms. As I’m sure people have heard over and over, the pivot to video over the last couple of years has made it virtually impossible for visual artists to reach new people on platforms like Instagram. I’ve been turning to more subscription and community-based platforms lately, like Substack, Webtoon, and Reddit, with the goal of getting my art to people who want to see it without having to navigate 14 sponsored posts and a bunch of reels.

    And, of course, I always love sharing my work with the BoredPanda community who have always been super supportive.

    #10

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    and_a_touch_of_the_’tism
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    PLEASE. We need everyone we can get! If you are old enough, for the love of freedom, VOTE.

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    #12

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    Sam Juan
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I wonder if this occurred during a dark and stormy night.

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    #14

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    #16

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    that weird wallflower
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Meanwhile, my skin: “oH MY GoD! i gOT caLleD SOfT! I’m gONNa dIE!”

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    #18

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    and_a_touch_of_the_’tism
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    You forgot chocolate and/or cheese. And pastries. Food in general.

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    #23

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    #26

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    #27

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    #29

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    Do-nut touch da donut
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Dont wilt the flower... its just bein a sweet sunflower

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    #33

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    #34

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    and_a_touch_of_the_’tism
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Hey, we can plagiarize now and just call it anti-capitalism?! Why did nobody tell me this sooner?

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