Are you ready for a hearty dose of laughter, dear pandas? This time, we’d like to present a hilarious series by Ryan Mason, titled ‘At Random Comics’. As you might remember, a couple of years ago, the artist shared his strips here on We. Now, we’re excited to feature some of his new single-panel cartoons, showcasing characters who encounter absurd situations, often filled with dark humor.
The artist told us how he first became interested in comic art: “My 5th grade teacher had a shelf full of books that you could borrow after completing your classwork, where I was first introduced and inspired by The Far Side. I was familiar with comics my dad and brother had (Calvin & Hobbs, Garfield) and appreciated them, but I resonated with the single-panel format and Gary Larson’s humor. I eventually looked up cartoonists who inspired him and found a great appreciation for Charles Addams.”
Scroll down to view Ryan’s most recent works, and learn even more about him in the later part of our interview.
More info: Instagram | patreon.com | Facebook | atrandomcomics.com
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Mason shared with us more about his initial inspiration to pursue comic art professionally: “In high school a friend who worked for the paper pressed me for content where I first began drawing public-facing comics. It was nerve-wracking at first but I liked the feedback and became hooked on trying to make people laugh. I then worked for several college papers and have been drawing a new webcomic weekly since 2007.”
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Asked how he comes up with ideas for new comic strips, the creator of ‘At Random Comics’ answered: “Most ideas occur while listening to music and simultaneously focusing and letting my mind wander. Some comics require a lot of reshaping while others spring up intact. During the day I write down spontaneous ideas for future drawing sessions and sometimes if enough time passes, the prompts can become undecipherable mysteries. Lately I’ve been using voice-to-text memos, while making sure I’m not within earshot of others who will think I’m a weirdo.”
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Ryan’s told us more about the strips he creates: “I like the limitations of using a single panel to tell a joke and the flexibility of exploring any topic. Some of my favorite comics to draw are the ones that may take a second or two for the joke to land. I also like ones that are purely visual.”
Then, we wanted to find out how the artist would describe ‘At Random Comics’, and he said: “Awhile back a reader described my work as ‘Happy sad’ and it stuck with me. My work often leans towards schadenfreude humor, but I don’t believe I’m overly pessimistic. I like to use humor to confront and take the steam out of difficult topics like death and disappointment.”
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Lastly, Ryan Mason shared with us: “My hope for At Random is to continue steadily growing an audience and making people laugh. I am a freelance illustrator/designer and the more Patreon support I receive, the more time I can dedicate to drawing comics and increase their frequency. I recently tried unsuccessfully to appear in The New Yorker, but made lemonade by compiling a new ebook, ‘At Random Comics’: The New Yorker Rejects for Patreon supporters.”
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