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The artist behind "A Return to Normalcy" knows exactly how to turn everyday weirdness into one-panel, hilarious comics. With simple, expressive drawings and sharp deadpan humor, they blend talking insects, anxious humans, and random objects having breakdowns into something that’ll make you laugh, and then wonder if you just got called out by a cartoon.

As the artist’s fans know, “It’s like if your intrusive thoughts had their own comic strip,” full of existential spirals, absurd scenarios, and secret bug conspiracies. So yeah, Pandas, buckle up because these comics will hit you right in the overthinking part of your brain.

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Comic panel shows a man amidst sheep disguised as wolves asking if any of them are sheep, highlighting talking bugs and existential dread.

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The mind behind A Return to Normalcy has a knack for making the bizarre feel familiar, like if Kafka had a meme account and a Wacom tablet.

“I was raised by a magician,” the artist shares, half-laughing, half-resigned. “Not a particularly good one—but theatricality and storytelling were prized in our house. My dad wasn’t great at the tricks, or parenting, but the drama? That stuck with me.”

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    #2

    Hand drawing a comic with stick figures and a speech bubble, showcasing hilarious comics with existential themes.

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    #3

    Medieval knights with a dog wearing a crown in a comic scene blending talking bugs and existential dread humor.

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    After what they describe as some “awkward teenage years,” they went on to study Sequential Art at the Savannah College of Art and Design. That dream lasted until the reality of ten-hour comic workdays in a dark room hit. “I didn’t have the patience,” they admit, “so I escaped with a film degree and a passion for screenwriting.”

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    Man in a pawn shop holding coins, talking to a cartoon bug in a comic blending talking bugs and existential dread.

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    Comic panel showing talking bugs interacting with a human, highlighting themes of existential dread and humor in an alien setting.

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    And that pivot paid off. In 2013, they co-founded Some Nerve Productions, a political media company that won a CPAC award for creative messaging across the political spectrum. While they eventually left to chase bigger creative dreams, they stayed on as a consultant and kept honing their voice in other projects.

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    In 2021, they produced Superhuman Public Radio, a tongue-in-cheek audio drama imagining NPR in a superhero-infested world. “It was an absolute blast,” they say—and the show went on to win Outstanding Comedy Podcast 2022 at the Catalyst Story Institute. Their screenwriting also took off, with several contest placements including a win for their pilot Profit at the San Francisco International Screenwriting Festival.

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    Comic panel showing a tiny figure announcing a giant desk concert atop two large desk drawers in a cityscape.

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    Comic showing a voter at a polling station with a hooded figure telling him to put his vote into the box in a darkly humorous style.

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    But behind all the accolades is a chaotic, heartfelt reality: “Most days, I’m just running after my son Milo, trying to keep him from terrorizing our dog Spencer, while my wife Brenna grades papers in the middle of the bombshell that is our happy home.”

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    #8

    Man with prosthetic arm holding a drink in a bar facing a talking bug character expressing existential dread.

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    #9

    Comic panel showing a muscular man being interviewed by an older man, featuring humor and existential dread themes.

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    Comic scene featuring talking bugs expressing existential dread with humorous signs and speech bubbles in a colorful urban setting.

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    Comic panel showing talking corn characters with existential dread, one surprised at computer while another calls son.

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    #12

    Comic scene with a talking cat holding a gun at a house entrance, blending humor and existential dread in the artwork.

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    #13

    Man reading comic next to broken egg character and horse holding a cracked eggshell in hilarious talking bugs comic.

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    Comic panel showing two men on a rooftop discussing existential dread with talking bugs in a cityscape background.

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    Cartoon comic scene with two men in an office discussing existential dread, featuring humorous dialogue and talking bugs.

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    #16

    Cartoon frog sneaking into a room where a woman in a pink dress holds a candle, showcasing humorous comics with talking bugs.

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    #17

    Cartoon angel in clouds about to hit a spider with a bottle, illustrating comics where talking bugs and existential dread collide.

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    #18

    Comic panel showing a man on a deserted island with a crashed plane, highlighting talking bugs and existential dread themes.

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    #19

    Comic scene with talking bugs in bed, blending humor and existential dread in a quirky, colorful cartoon style.

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    #20

    Office scene with workers showing existential dread and humor, featuring a crying room in a comic style with talking bugs theme.

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    #21

    Comic panel showing talking bugs with existential dread in a messy room splattered with green substance and bottles.

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    #22

    Comic panel of a man trapped inside a mosquito cafe window, featuring talking bugs and existential dread humor.

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    #23

    Comic panel showing an elderly man and a giant hand with light rays, reflecting themes of existential dread and talking bugs.

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    #24

    Comic panel showing talking bugs and criminals in a cell, blending humor and existential dread in an artist’s unique style.

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    #25

    Cartoon of talking bugs in a soup bowl humorously addressing existential dread at a dining table setting.

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    Comic panel showing a character facing a giant worm-like creature in a desert, illustrating talking bugs and existential dread.

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    Cartoon depicts fighter pilots humorously talking about a red-nosed bug with existential dread in comic style.

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    #28

    Comic panel showing talking bugs caught on a sticky trap, combining humor and existential dread in an artist’s work.

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    #29

    Hand dropping a talking bug resembling Pikachu into a mousetrap above a trash bin in a comic style with existential dread themes.

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    Comic panel showing talking bugs in a humorous scene where existential dread meets a shocking paternity reveal.

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    #31

    Cartoon comic of talking bugs with a spider and larva, capturing humor and existential dread in a web setting.

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    #32

    Comic panel showing talking bugs covered in red substance on a colorful landscape, blending humor and existential dread themes.

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    #33

    Melting snowman comic showing existential dread in a humorous talking bugs and comics style artwork.

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    #34

    Illustration of a comic wrestling ring with two thumbs, one wearing a mask, in a style blending talking bugs and existential dread.

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