Cartoonshow Episode 16 – SEE SAW Comics, Webcomics from the Sequential Artists Workshop

Cartoonshow Episode 16

At the top of the page, Derek sleeps in a hammock surrounded by the title, "Never Ending Grind." He says, "JFC. KMS." Derek is moving all over the page. His body movement creates the flow of the page. While climbing up a cliff, Derek begins his monologue, "I think (as Americans?) we are low key made to feel like poverty is a moral failure. Our self-worth is all tied up with our work ethic. 'The virtues of sufferin'.' LOL." Derek slips. Mid-fall he says, "Now add that to the pressures of parenting and-- (star symbol)." His fall is punctuated by the onomatopoeia "SLIP." Derek falls backwards with a SMAK! His legs are kicked up in the air and he grits his teeth. He continues, "Typically, domestic labor has no $ value. So you got 2 options: neglect the kids or be a 'worthless bum.' That's how it feels at least." Derek gets punched in the face with a BWOING! by a boxing glove on a spring coming out of a box that reads "Med. Debt." He says, "Life comes at ya fast!" Lying on his back with his knees up and feet planted on the ground, Derek looks like he's lost steam. He says, "I def connect my dignity to my quality as a father. Sure. But reconciling that with everything else feels impossible." Derek, wearing a cross-body bag, chases after a car. He continues, "Sometimes I get lucky with cartooning, tho! I can work at home with kids and go to L.A. SOMETIMES. One time I got this Lyft to LAX at 3 a.m...." Inside the car Derek sits in the backseat next to a baby carrier. The baby is surrounded by the onomatopoeias "ZZZZZ" and "WAAAAH" and "VRRRRRR." A young woman drives the car with a grin. Derek says, "Umm. There's a tiny baby in here??" The driver replies, "Haha. Oh, yes. She's four months old today." Derek asks, "How old are you?" She replies, "Almost 20! I take her with my to my job at the church during the day & I drive with her at night. Idle hands are the devil's tools! Haha!" Derek, looking at the reader, says, "We are literally in hell."

A black and white photograph in a newspaper clipping from Thursday, February 27, 1997, shows a young Derek inking a drawing of a film reel. The heading reads, "Art history in the making" and the photo is credited to "Anthony Wade/Correspondent." The photo is captioned, "Derek Ballard, a senior at LeFiore High School, works on an art history project for advanced placement art. Each panel of the film he draws will have a representation of a different period of art history, he said."

Published On: November 1, 2023

Enzo sits on the floor of his room shirtless, back turned to the reader. In front of him is a wall of floating shelves holding books and trinkets. Next to him is a clothes hamper. He is holding a book open. "April 27. Worked. Had an early work meeting. After work, chopped a bunch of Mexican sunflower to feed some plants in need. Enzo dug through his comic collection."

Lynn's brother Adam reaches into a crib and touches baby Lynn's eyes with his "grubby mitts." He says, "Open your eyes, baby sister!"

Enzo waits in a park for Kim to pick him up, on a strip of sidewalk surrounded by grass. He wears a t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers, all black or simply silhouetted. There are lamp posts and palm trees in the background. "April 20. Worked. Enz left school early, coughing a lot. Went to Mom's while Enz did mock trial. Picked him up from the park."

Vanessa sits on a couch hugging her knees to her chest. A man sits next to her. They both look solemn, and are colored entirely in blue, except for their brown hair.

Vanessa lies in a neon green hospital bed with her legs in stirrups. She is actively in labor. Two people hold onto her legs, encouraging her.

Lorraine wears a pink-orange Butterick 2920 dress and jewelry. She smiles and holds up a dirty martini. She says, "The doctor says it calms my nerves. We won't be out too late."

Kim sits at a desk but is turned to face the viewer. A PC, keyboard and mouse are on the desk, and there is a chair a couple feet away. She is wearing glasses and comfortable clothes. Her legs are crossed. She holds a pencil in one hand, and grabs her shoulder with the other. Her dog sits at her feet; his ear is turned inside out. She points out that he's worried. "April 14. Worked on final project for class all day. Neck hurt. Tony took this picture because Molly and I both looked a mess. Enzo got a bad report card yesterday so we laid out some repercussions."

Lynn, in black and white, chugs from a glass.

A cat sits at a window sill, looking boldly at the reader. The fronds of a palm tree are reflected in the window. "April 8. Thursday. Worked. Tony had a union meeting, via Zoom. I had a call w/ team member from class. Enzo had mock trial."

Derek, wearing an orange turtle neck, poses with his arms outstretched above his head and making peace signs. His eyes are closed and he is smiling; he appears smug. There are camera flashes surrounding him, and two people hold microphones up to him. He says, "Hey! There's nothin' wrong with crying. Or been' soft. Or pig boys. I'm still a nice guy and that's what matters."

A person dressed in a green park ranger uniform holds a boom box over a beaver's dam. It plays water sounds. A beaver works on the dam and thinks, "Whatever, I don't care where I build it."

A girl looks over at a dog, who sits behind a fence. A red sign reads "BAD DOG."

A reddish brown building with smoking chimneys.

Derek sleeps in a hammock. He says, "JFC. KMS."

"Rory runs in a field surrounded by palm trees and other foliage. Description: "April 2. Watched Rory. Worked."

Young Lynn gazes at herself in a full length mirror. She is wearing a blue dress and too-big blue heels. She appears pregnant.

Derek sits on the floor with one of his kids, who reads a book and looks slightly bored. The title reads "Escape." Derek is talking to his kid.

Kim sits at a picnic table amongst trees and foliage. Caption: "March 26-27. Worked. Enzo's mock trial team won circuits. A co-worker bought me pho for my bday. I ate it at the park on break."

"Women often say they become invisible as they get older." Vanessa walks in a crowd, sandwiched by two fashionable younger women walking in different directions.

Part of a hand-drawn and colored map, labeled: "The Southwest Corner of Minneapolis in the 1960s..."

A man, likely Tony, stands on a ladder against the roof of a house, positioned right by a satellite dish. The house door is open. Reeds in the corner add a sense of balance to the panel. Description reads: "March 20. Saturday. Worked. Two summer permaculture practicums are now being offered. It will focus on the installations of food forests. Might have to quit my job in order to take'm. Anxious about the financial hit but I'd have more time for art/comics."

A black and white image of a house, with trees in the front and back and a speech bubble that reads, "What's new?"

Three people sit at a round kitchen table on a checkered tile floor. They appear to be in conversation. Description reads: "March 14. Spent the night at moms place in Bradenton. Ann and Mariely are on the night shift so we visited with them when they got home in the morning. Afterwards we got takeout breakfast and walked in the woods. Drove home after and relaxed."

Derek dressed like Uncle Sam, in a triumphant pose

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