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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    #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.

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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.

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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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    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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    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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    Aroace tiger (she/they/he)
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I've only ever seen it blue and black until today. Wtf

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

    Who else sees blue and black??

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

    🤣is it good and white? Is it blue and black? Will we ever know?!?!?!

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

    it's been confirmed to actually be black and blue irl

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

    What the heck, when I first saw it was gold and white, then I scrolled down and read the comments and went back up, it was blue and black!?

    Upstaged75
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Yeah, that happens to me too. I remember from the first time this dress came up. I have to scroll quickly in order to see the black and blue, otherwise it looks gold and white.

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

    Earlier I saw it gold and white but now, at night without glasses on, I see black and blue. ??????

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

    My family almost killed each other over this Thanksgiving dinner 🤣

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

    I don't think I've ever seen it white at all. It's blue with black stripes and a golden hue.

    MaximumKarmaSaint
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I still want to know how people see blue and black.

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

    𝙸𝚝'𝚜 𝚋𝚕𝚞𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚋𝚕𝚊𝚌𝚔. 𝙵𝚞𝚌𝚔 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚙𝚎𝚘𝚙𝚕𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚊𝚢

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

    I've seen it white and gold until today... Awell. I love this dress, it has real potential to mess with people and that's pretty funny, even years later.

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

    I see it gold and white but I read that's actually blue and black (and kinda looked for some proof) but the brains of those who sees gold and white actually are excluding excess of colour caused by lighting. Which makes it loses the blueish and black.

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

    Does anyone else see black and white/grey?

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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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    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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