Bi-Polar Bear (BPB)

Nesquik contest entry - by Live Charge

2008-08-26T10:00:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't done any comics for a long time, life's taken a lot of twists and turns. I've moved 5 times in the last few months, swapped jobs a few times, and am resting completely on God's generosity and providence to survive at this point. He's good to keep me afloat though, I have yet to go hungry or miss a bill.

So instead of comics I'll keep giving you videos for now. Hopefully with the new website I can have a comic section for the few people who came to love BPB. Until then, enjoy our skits =)

Mexidate - a Music Video

2008-06-13T19:35:00.001-07:00

So I'm still not working on comics, sorry if you actually care. In the meantime I am making more music videos, check out Mexidate. It's the story of a guy who takes a girl on their first date to Mexican, then regrets it shortly thereafter.

Live Charge

Alright Alright!

2008-06-06T16:41:00.001-07:00

So I'm in America, I just have no scanner and no drive to do the comic right now. I did make my first music video yesterday though, feel free to check it out.

Dublin?!

2008-05-11T10:44:00.000-07:00

I'm in Dublin, so I still can't scan or finish any comics. Someday my friends... someday soon.

PTP - For Noob

2008-05-01T16:29:00.000-07:00

Since he was so sad that I wasn't going to be able to get anything up for a while I thought I'd post this for Noob. Just something I drew a while ago. I'll have to post some original character art at some point too just for the heck of it.

Click to see full sized

The real question is: why does he have a silencer and should we be scared that it's smoking? And if you're wondering PTP stands for "Panther the Procrastinator." He's every college student's best friend.

Yeah, sorry

2008-04-30T14:52:00.000-07:00

This just isn't happening. Between moving home from France, having my parents here to visit, starting my Masters (with my first paper due Friday), traveling all over France and to Dublin, and trying to figure out all the paperwork for closing accounts/getting money back I'm too swamped to make comics for now. They'll be back soon hopefully, but don't expect more than one a week for the next two weeks. That way if you get two you'll be pleasantly surprised!

Episode 22 - Foil

2008-04-28T16:03:00.000-07:00

I hope the internets work long enough for me to post this. I think I may be slowly coming out of my humor slump... I hope. (side note, they didn't work and so this is coming out a day late)

Click to see full sized version

Enter PTP

RC - 2

2008-04-25T14:39:00.000-07:00

Uh... so I spilled juice on my laptop last night and have been scared to turn it on until now. Thankfully I sucked the majority of it out of the casing right away (after cold-booting it down) and then cleaned up the rest. So far so good; it's the first time I've ever done something quite THAT stupid to a computer. Oh well, clumsy me.

Anyways I'm all out of time so I'll just treat you to another random comic I drew while in France. This one was inspired by endless hours of hangman in class with my students.

Click to see full sized version

You see we play competitive hangman in class, it makes it more fun. I actually spent a few classes inventing new, mostly space-age ways to kill people. Mostly involving lasers, dematerializers, and space-age spikes attached to space-age, spring-loaded pieces of wood.

RC - 1

2008-04-23T10:19:00.000-07:00

A Random Comic for y'all

click to see full sized version

sometimes I just need a break to do something different. Hopefully you approve. My dad sent me a card that inspired this, there was a hole in the front and you could see the smiley face through it. My initial thought was "creepy" and it inspired this comic.

Episode 21 - Gnomatic Theories

2008-04-21T07:27:00.000-07:00

Kaboom baby.

Click to see full sized version

I'm tired after a week of being a tour guide, so what you get is... uh... what you get. I'm having a hard time figuring out these two introductions in one, hopefully it works out.

Episode 20 - Propane

2008-04-16T16:26:00.000-07:00

Sometimes checklists just can't include everything.

Click to see full sized version

It's late, I need to get to bed. Hopefully the quality of the comic doesn't reflect the amount of sleep I'm needing =)

Episode 19 - CHK!

2008-04-15T01:34:00.000-07:00

Sometimes you should just keep your mouth shut when an obvious suggestion is at hand.

Click to see full sized version

Sorry that this one is out a day late (I'll try and release these on Monday-Wednesday-Friday from now on). I have friends visiting, my friend Dommer from Seattle and Simon from London. We've been sight-seeing so it's hard to get time in to finish these up. Thankfully I made two out of the three over the weekend so I just need color and post them.

Episode 18 - Acronyms

2008-04-11T08:09:00.000-07:00

Click to see full sized version

This is for all of my friends and family who have sacrificed their own time and money to do what the government was incapable or unwilling to. Especially my sister who's down there right now for the third time and will probably be there for a while. You guys rock; and happy birthday dad!

Episode 17 - Evidence

2008-04-09T10:26:00.000-07:00

Sometimes you just can't catch a break.

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Who needs evidence?! You'd think Smith would learn his lessons from Dr. Weird's mistakes but I guess not.

Episode 16 - Good Talk

2008-04-08T11:07:00.000-07:00

Sometimes you've just gotta get it all out.

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I don't know if this is a situation where trust was broken or violated, but you almost have to feel bad for the RSMD. Even though he IS a killing machine who should be dismantled asap for the sake of humanity.

Episode 15 - FIGHT!

2008-04-07T06:36:00.000-07:00

I miss Super Street Fighter... 2...

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What can you do? When you feel like talking you feel like talking.

Episode 14 - The Challenge

2008-04-05T06:11:00.000-07:00

Consider the gauntlet thrown down.

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You know you're bad ass when you use lines from the Scorpions to pick a fight. For future reference too I think I'll just call the Radio Station Monster of Doom "RSMD." This strip is full of acronyms.

Originally both BPB and Yoink had those ridiculous leotard-like suits, somehow BPB weaseled out of it for the comic strip. Yoink wasn't so lucky.

Episode 13 - Commissioner

2008-04-03T07:40:00.001-07:00

The Commissioner sure dresses nice.

Click to see full sized version

I actually like Duran Duran, but they've got a few songs that drive me crazy (like "Notorious" or "Girls on Film"... somebody shoot me). I'm resisting bringing the Mayor into the strip, his personality would have worked way better in an animated form... I guess I'll have to eventually though.

Episode 12 - Penguins

2008-04-02T06:48:00.001-07:00

Penguins are awesome, I love them.

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This one's for all the people who don't think they're as awesome as they really are. It's also for the few of you who asked when I was gonna put one of my penguins in the comic, so there you go.

Episode 11 - A Character Passes

2008-04-01T10:13:00.000-07:00

This one's not funny at all.

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He does have an emotional side, despite being so evil. And yes, Rogi is Igor backwards in case you were wondering. And if you weren't now you know. I'm not scared to kill off my characters, it's good for plot development. Besides, he was a pain to draw.

Episode 10 - Inaugural Run

2008-03-29T12:50:00.000-07:00

Sometimes life gives you lemons.

Click to see full sized version

Other times it gives you girders and beams.

-The "chug-a chug-a whirrr ding!" is dedicated to Noah who's favorite sound effect to make with his voice is "chugga chugga chugga" in the strongbad voice.

Episode 9 - Creatomatic

2008-03-27T07:44:00.001-07:00

It took long enough to get this dang thing introduced.

Click to see full sized version

Not that switching on the greatest invention the world has ever seen in front of your own robots really counts for a sufficient outlet of dramatic buildup. And to think, he bought those goggles just for this occasion. Such a waste.

Episode 8 - Honest Applicants

2008-03-26T09:53:00.001-07:00

Sometimes fact checks are a good thing.

Click to see full sized version

Someday I think I'll actually make that shirt, "FEAR THE COBRA!" And then you can pay me for your own =)

Episode 7 - Flow Chart

2008-03-25T11:07:00.000-07:00

I've always thought flow charts were evil, I'm not sure why.

Click to see full sized version

I've never been drunk, but I get the feeling that if I were to do so I'd end up making plans like Smith. "We like throwing cats at people from our bikes but there has to be a better way..."

Either way I hope the comic can continue; I couldn't find 0.5mm graphite at the store today. Apparently they have some sort of aversion to it so all I could do was buy a 0.7mm pencil. Traumatic I know, but hopefully it doesn't ruin the feel of my drawings. I bought a blue pen once and almost had to go to rehab afterwards.

Honestly, this 0.7 crap keeps breaking like its warranty just went up. At least it would if it had a warranty.

Also, let me know if you don't get episode 6. Apparently it wasn't clear. It's not really my fault, I live in flippin' France for Pete's sake!

Episode 6 - Bills

2008-03-21T11:41:00.000-07:00

This is gonna start getting a lot better real quick =)

click to see full sized

Some of my favorite characters are gonna get to make their appearances soon, I'm stoked. Prepare to be Procrastinated!

Episode 5 - Robo Bandits

2008-03-20T10:35:00.001-07:00

The story progresses? Perhaps.

Click to see full sized

Transformator dolls are amazing. So are self destruct systems, which makes this comic awesome x5 (if you include other factors like the fact that the bandits are robots).

Episode 4 - Moping

2008-03-18T16:21:00.000-07:00

The hits just keep on comin'!

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Introducing Yoink, BPB's sidekick who proves not all polar bears have mood swings. He'll get more of an introduction later. Anyone notice where the chocolates are from? There's a hint in the comic =)

Episode 3 - Smith

2008-03-16T15:56:00.000-07:00

Click to see full sized version

Now we have a name. I've been debating this name for 5 years, no joke. It came down to the last minute when I had to make a decision today and it ended up being a name I'd never even considered previously. Hope it works. The other two contenders were Dr. Marth Mathison or Dr. Marth McManus. Now it's Dr. Smith. Maybe I'll stick with Marth Smith, but it doesn't have quite the same ring to it.

Episode 2 - Laugh Theft

2008-03-14T08:30:00.000-07:00

This thing has given me more trouble than a turkey in a full nursery. And no, that wasn't supposed to make immediate sense.

Click to see the full sized version.

But finally it is posted, after like 10 tries. Thanks to Karli for the helpful suggestion about conquering my exporting issues, and to Noob for his critical skillz. =)

Introducing Bi-Polar Bear

2008-03-13T08:55:00.001-07:00

Click to see the full sized version

I hope to get a website up eventually so that things look smoother. Until then, I guess you'll just have to enjoy it this way. Introducing Bi-Polar Bear. This is based off of the joke made by my high school physics teacher (see below), hopefully it works. But hey, it's only the first one so I've got room to grow.

Pre-Comic

2008-03-13T01:26:00.001-07:00

So I'm finally starting the website that we've talked about for years. I'll give you the history of Bi-Polar Bear here and probably refer to it again in the future whenever questions are asked.

During my senior year of high school I was in Mr. Bledsoe's physics class with my buddy Erik. It was a fun class because we shot the breeze and asked cool theoretical questions all the time which Mr. B would then explain in mostly entertaining ways. The guy loved science, and we really enjoyed how he explained it. Especially when it came to military stuff as he's a tank commander.

We also enjoyed avoiding calculations and work in general so it was a win win situation.

Well, except for when we'd realize that we hadn't gotten a full explanation of that night's homework and were sent out not knowing exactly what we were supposed to do. But that was only a minor setback (for everyone but me).

Anyways, one day he made this passing joke that stuck with us for a long time. He said something about being a terrible super hero "like Bipolar Bear, the world's worst super hero. 'Bipolar bear! The world's about to end, we need your help!' 'I'll be right there!! On second thought... I'm going back to bed.'" Hard to capture the humor of the moment in a striaght quote, but we laughed.

And it got me thinking about Bi-Polar Bear(BPB), and all the misadventures he could have. Erik and I came up with all sorts of things that might be hillarious: terrible superheros, worse supervillains, just ridiculous things all around. We were really getting into Homestar Runner at this time and spent the summer after graduating thinking of all the cartoons we could make.

I learned some flash but was never really into it enough to gain proficiency, and so our plans stayed just that, plans. I went to college and met a guy named Austin. Austin was learning flash and said he could help me out, so he and I went to work creating the cartoon. It still never happened though as freshmen in college aren't always the most driven bunch.

Years have gone by, numerous story lines and scenarios written out. I have a notebook full of character ideas and basic sketches, but nothing ever came of it. Five years have passed since the idea first struck.

Finally I was talking to my buddy Kevin (who will be referred to as Noob from now on) on Gmail and I told him about BPB and some of the stuff we'd always wanted to do. He thought it was a funny idea (I'm easily encouraged).I mentioned how I should just make it a comic and he liked the idea, so I went to work creating it right then and there.

The initial challenge was coming up with an introduction for BPB, and I don't think the comic is really that funny. But you've gotta start somewhere and his adventures are only beginning. I've since finished it (yesterday) but need to get a decent internet connection to post it from my computer (I'm at work). I'll get on it.

And until I can get a website up and running I'll just use this as BPB's home. After that perhaps I'll keep this blog to post thoughts on the comic and hear what people are thinking. That is, of course, assuming that anyone actually cares to read the comic or, moreover, hear what I'm thinking about with the comic.

And I'll smother the whole thing in google's ads so help me out and visit a lot of sites, at least until I can fleece you guys by selling you T-Shirts and lunch boxes. =)