30 Hilariously Silly Comics With Unpredictable Endings By Joe Rothenberg

We wanted to learn more about Joe and his background. The artist shared: “I was born and raised in central Texas where I currently live with my family, our dog Reggie, and my bird Tanooki. I studied animation at USC (go Trojans!) and I am now an animator by day and a cartoonist by night. Fun fact, years ago, Nickelodeon hired me to make a pilot for them which ended up being called Gumwad Island. It never was made into a show, but I'm still proud of the short and its silly humor. (Google it, it's still out there!)”

We asked Joe to share what initially drew him to the world of cartooning and artistry.

He responded: “Boy, I've always loved cartoons since I was a little kid. Just loved 'em. My early influences were Looney Tunes, Calvin and Hobbes, Garfield, The Far Side, the Humongous Entertainment games Pajama Sam and Spy Fox, the original SNES Yoshi's Island, and lots more. (My art style often gets compared to Ren & Stimpy, but I never watched it as a kid.) I always wanted to be a newspaper cartoonist, and I actually drew a comic panel called Insanity Fair for my county paper between the ages of 12 & 15. Nowadays, there aren't too many newspaper cartoonists, but thankfully the world of webcomics is very exciting.”

The artist also described his creative process: “I think of comic ideas or bits of jokes frequently throughout my day and I write them down on my phone or on a sticky note. I have a massive folder of sticky notes. I don't get to draw comics as often as I'd like, but that means I always have a million ideas to choose from when it's time to draw something. So I rummage through and I find something that still makes me laugh and seems fun to make. I do my sketches on sticky notes, scan them with Office Lens, and then do the tie-downs and ink and color in Photoshop using some of the built-in Kyle brushes.

I am very momentum-based and try to minimize friction as I work so that I can go from sketch to final product with each step being fun and fluid. I try not to second-guess or overthink things, though sometimes I rework dialogue over and over until it feels right,” wrote Joe.

In regards to audiences and their takeaway, Joe wrote: “I hope they take away a happy feeling that life is meaningful and silly and can be approached with joy. And, I hope they want to read more of my comics.”

Lastly, Joe added: “I am really big into Substack right now and you can subscribe here for some joy in your inbox two mornings a week. I also have 3 beautifully printed full-color books available on my website if you'd like to support my work.”