Nindokag daily pencil sketch comics
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nindokag.bsky.social
Nindokag daily pencil sketch comics
@nindokag.bsky.social
150 followers 180 following 270 posts
I draw a pencil-sketch comic page with a 1-hour time limit and post it here (almost) every day. I also sometimes post my music. I play accordion and Japanese taiko drums.
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nindokag.bsky.social
This summer we visited some family on the east coast. Drove around a bunch of familiar places. Had this mood a lot.
Comic panel 1: View out of the windshield of a car. My hands are on the wheel. We can see a stop sign ahead and a fork in the road. Me: "I remember this intersection from when I was a kid growing up in this town" Comic panel 2: me and Spouse wearing our seatbelts, looking at each other. Me: "Left here leads to I-95..." Spouse: "What about right?" Me: "That's the thing! Mom ALWAYS turned left!" Panel 3: aerial view of the car (it's a Toyota Corolla) at the stop sign. Me: "Every time, I wondered where right leads to". Spouse: "Well we don't have to return the rental car until 2:30..." Panel 4: The car turns right. Speech balloons from the car: "Woo!" "Let's go!" Panel 5: long panel showing a road winding through the countryside, passing trees, hedges, houses, a pond, etc. Me: "This road's been a mystery my whole life!" "It could go anywhere! A Terra Incognito in my hometown!" "Now that I'm back here as an adult I can... finally...." Panel 6: The car arrives at an on-ramp to the highway. A sign says "95 south". Me: "Oh. It... leads back to I-95 by a less convenient route" Panel 7: view of us inside the car again. Spouse looks at me worried and asks "You OK?" I just have a thousand-yard stare.
September 2, 2025 at 4:40 PM
nindokag.bsky.social
Drew this one a couple months ago for a serpent-themed anthology that my awesome spouse is editing. I used watercolor paints.
Panel 1: in a lush verdant landscape, an Australopithecus Africanus woman is smashing some flint to make a stone tool. A green snake coiled around the branch of a blossoming sakura tree leans down to talk to her. Eve: "Hi snake, what's up?" Snake: "I've got a secret that will help you humans escape!" Panel 2: Eve, scratching her head, confused: "Escape? From what? This place is great". Snake, frowning: "Well, actually, you're prisoners in a false paradise created by the demiurge Yaldaboath" Panel 3: Snake smiles and points (with its tail) at a tree on a hill in the distance. The tree has red fruits and is radiating sparkle lines. Snake: "But, good news! You can free your minds with the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good&Evil". Eve makes a thinking-emoji face. A male Australopithecus enters the scene, holding up his arm, palm-out. Adam: "Stop! Do not heed this poisonous serpent's wicked lies!" Panel 4: Close-up on the snake, looking offended: "So first of all, I'm not poisonous" Panel 5: Snake, looking smug: "I'm ~venomous~". Adam, looking nonplussed: "..." Panel 6: Eve, impressed: "How do you know so much?" Snake, slightly embarrassed: "... I ate the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Being Technically Correct". Adam look dumbfounded. The background has shifted so we can see a second, much dumpier-looking tree, emitting sparkle lines on the hillside in the distance next to the first tree.
September 2, 2025 at 4:30 PM
nindokag.bsky.social
#gentlecomicshabit
Panel 1: I'm standing in front of a castle surrounded by trees, a village, etc. There's a horse and guards with spears. I'm making a surprised face. "I've finally been isekai'd into a vaguely medieval world!" I say. Panel 2: close-up on me making a Determination Fist and Star Eyes, I say "A chance to use my 21st century science to uplift these poor benighted serfs" Panel 3: I'm in a wheat field waving my arms at a peasant dressed in rags. Me: "Good news, peasants! We can make a vaccine to eradicate smallpox!" Peasant: (speaks in unreadable runes) Panel 4: Zoom out to show me in the middle of a field of mud, crops, peasants, and a cart pulled by an ox. Me: "...just as soon as I find a sterile lab environment, some glassware, a microscope..." Panel 5: I'm making a frowning thinky-face. Me: "Should I learn glassblowing". The peasant offers me the handle of a sickle and points. Peasant: (speaks in unreadable runes) Panel 6: I look at the sickle in confusion, like, what am I supposed to do with this? In the background, a figure riding a horse approaches. Panel 7: The figure on the horse is now looming over me. He's got bracers, fur boots, a spiky pauldron, and an executioner's hood, and oh yeah a huge whip. He cracks the whip at me while I cower and cover my face. SFX: "WWWHHH-CHH!" Panel 8: I'm on my knees in the wheat field cutting stalks with a scythe while the guy continues whipping me. "Did you know (ow!) the energy of a photon is inversely (ow!) proportional to its wavelength"
July 12, 2025 at 3:06 AM
nindokag.bsky.social
#gentlecomicshabit I drew a 2-gamers-on-a-couch comic like it's 2002
comic panel 1: I am one of 2 gamers on a couch. i'm holding a nintendo switch controller. Gamer 2 says "You a pretty big Zelda fan right?" me: "You bet!" speech balloon coming from the TV: "Ya ha ha! You found me!" Panel 2: Gamer 2 looks at me conspiriatorially and asks "You ever... perhaps... go on AO3 and read... Zelda fanfics?" Me, looking slightly embarassed: "mmmmmaybe" Panel 3: Close up on gamer 2, who avoids my gaze and fidgets with his fingers, shyly asking: "You ever read fanfics where... Link and Zelda explore their forbidden feelings for each other? Panel 4: i'm making an exaggerated face of disgust. "Eww eww yuck no gross ugh barf you perv". Gamer 2 recoils in shame and has a big manga sweat drop Panel 5: me, holding up a finger: "I'm strictly into Sidon/Link and Urbosa/Zelda". My thought cloud contains Sidon hugging link from behind and Urbosa picking Zelda up in a princess carry pose. Hearts everywhere. Panel 6: me, looking still somewhat disgusted: "Link/Zelda? *really*?" Gamer 2, standing up and looking indignant: "Look, I don't yuck *your* yum"
July 8, 2025 at 3:36 AM
nindokag.bsky.social
#gentlecomicshabit
Comic panel 1: I'm looking at a web page on my computer. The web page says "ALL THE JORBS". I'm looking over my right shoulder and saying "Famous computer-toucher Zack Burgermork thinks LLMs will take everyone's jobs by 2030" Panel 2: Spouse is crochet-ing. Spouse says "Why are computer-touchers all so sure we're all so easily replaceable by the lies-and-plagarism machine? Caption: "MEANWHILE IN COMPUTER-TOUCHER TOWN" Panel 3: three software developers (you can tell because of their terrible fashion sense) are in an office. One unshaven man with a shirt that says "cron job" says "So... it turns out Claude o4 writes better code than me". The other two engineers say "Uh-oh" Panel 4: engineer 2, with a bow tie and suspenders, says "If LLMs can take our jobs, they can take everybody's jobs? Panel 5: engineer 3, a woman in an oversized hoodie with triangular glasses and a bowl haircut, says "Not necessarily. What if there are jobs that are harder than generating correct TypeScript code" Panel 6: Engineer 1 and 3 cross their arms. Engineer 1 says "Impossible!" Engineer 3 says "That would mean we're not smarter than everybody else"
July 7, 2025 at 2:17 AM
nindokag.bsky.social
#gentlecomicshabit
Comic panel 1: I'm putting on a bike helmet and backpack. Spouse: "Will you still have time to make comics now that you're starting your new job?" Panel 2: I'm pushing an electric scooter out the door. "No proble, I'll just draw 'em on the train", I say, smiling. Panel 3: ( indecipherable scribbles, as if they were drawn while being bumped about on a moving vehicle ) Panel 4: ( indecipherable scribbles, as if they were drawn while being bumped about on a moving vehicle )
July 6, 2025 at 2:00 PM
nindokag.bsky.social
#gentlecomicshabit
didn't get to draw much in June since I was starting a new job, but now I'm back on it
Comic panel 1: Some people are in line at a bank. Shout from off-panel: "FREEZE!" Panel 2: dramatic angle of a guy in a trenchcoat and ski mask busting in with a gun and a sack. "Put 100 grand in this sack and nobody gets hurt!" he yells. Panel 3: Side view of him pointing the gun, saying "The rest of you lay down on the floor!" A woman in the background who has her hands in the air looks at the gun and thinks: "?" Panel 4: She yanks the gun out of his hands with a big "YOINK!" sound effect. Surprised, he just says "Hey!" Panel 5: from off panel he says "no fair, you're supposed to be terrified" while we see the woman unfolding the gun with SFX "slide" "twist" "flip". Panel 6: she has transformed the gun into toy Megatron's robot mode and holds it aloft for the crowd to see. There are surprised faces in the background. Panel 7: some of the people from the bank line earlier surround the masked man, looking extremely angry, grabbing him by the shoulder and rolling up their sleeves for a fight. "Rats!" he says
July 6, 2025 at 11:16 AM
nindokag.bsky.social
#gentlecomicshabit

Coworking space
Panel 1: I stand outside a skyscraper, looking up. (If you know San Francisco you may recognize the specific building this is supposed to be...) The top of the skyscraper disappears into a layer of grey clouds. I'm really tiny. Panel 2: I'm stepping out of an elevator on the 37th floor. The elevator says "Ding" and the doors are closing. I'm facing a huge floor-to-ceiling window that looks out on a cityscape. (If you look closely you can see the Bay Bridge and the cranes over at the Port of Oakland). My thought cloud: "Wow! That's some view". Speech balloon from off screen: "Wellcome, Brotherr" Panel 3: I turn around to see 3 people in identical uniforms and identical emotionless creepy grins. A sign on the wall says "Welcome Home" in cursive. One of the three: "Arre Youu Heree Tto Joinn Thhe Workatopiia Familly" Panel 4: I am now surrounded on three sides by the creepy people. Their expressions are completely unchanged. I look around nervously. I say : "Umm... Im here about the job interview for data scientist at Munchlax? I'm Nindokag... Did I get off on the wrong floor?" The guy behind the desk steeples his fingers and says "Mmembership Includess Yogaa Classess, Ffree Caterring, Eternaal Happinesss, Aand Fasst Wii-fii" Panel 5: guy behind the desk, creepy grin still unchanged, slides a form towards me and holds out a pen. I am recoiling, but I'm boxed in by another creepy guy behind me holding a coffee cup. The coffee cup says "Do what you Love". Guy behind desk: "Ssign Herre Tto Bbecome Onne Oof Uss". Guy behind me: "Youu Willl Nnever Neeed Tto Lleave Becausse Thiss Willl Bbe Yourr Hhome". Voice from off-panel: "Nindokag?" Panel 6: cool guy in ponytail and sunglasses leads me away. "I'm Jay Stellers from Munchlax. The interview is this way." Me: "Are they--". Jay: "We just rent co-workign space from those guys. Signing up is optional." Three hands reach after me from the edge of the panel. Voices from off-panel: "Gget Preemium" "5% Disscount"
June 21, 2025 at 10:22 PM
nindokag.bsky.social
#gentlecomicshabit Genre classifications

(Who the fuck is listening to CDs in 2025? uh... me. I am.)
Comic panel 1: i'm going through a big box of CDs, taking them out of their jewel cases, and organizing them into binders. I have a look of intense concentration. There's more boxes of CDs stacked up in the background. "Should Rocky Horror go next to Bat Outta Hell (because Meat Loaf) or next to Saturday Night Fever (because soundtrack) Panel 2: i'm looking confused-ly at two CD binders labeled "disco" and "funk". "Do I need a disco binder? can it merge with the funk binder or are they too different? Is Daft Punk disco? Is Herbie Hancock funk? Does Stevie Wonder go there or in 'soul' with Aretha Fraklin?" Panel 3: I'm sliding a disk into a binder labeled "Motown". There's another binder labeled "Bollywood" and more albums scattered around. "Does the Cowboy Bebop OST go in the Jazz binder or do I put it in a 'Japanese' binder with Kodo and Shonen Knife?" Panel 4: I'm pulling my hair in frustration. "Every new taxonomy only makes more exceptions! Where the fuck do I put Bjork?" My friend, with his hair in a "man bun", in the background: "In the trash? With all the other disks? After you rip them to MP3s so they can have multiple genre tags" Panel 5: i pause, about to put a cd in a binder labeled "Sea Chanty", and stare blankly into space for a while Panel 6: i'm clutching an armful of cds and binders labeled "prog rock" and "accordion". There's too much to hold and stuff is falling everywhere. "But... I might... I might need..." Panel 7: man-bun guy: "You might need 'Sun Microsystems JDK 1.4.2 installer for Power Macintosh?" me, sheepish expression: "I was gonna make Warhammer terrain out of it"
June 6, 2025 at 5:53 AM
nindokag.bsky.social
#gentlecomicshabit Intrusive thoughts
Comic panel 1: I am at the counter at a cafe, holding a credit card. There is a tall glass of coffee and a croissant on a plate on the bar. The barista is holding an oat milk container. She says "You want more oat milk than that?" panel 2: I say "Yes plz". She says "Say when" and starts pouring. My thought cloud: "I'm such a slut for oat milk" Panel 3: I start to say "I'm suc-" and then cut myself off with a thought cloud: "STOP! That thought was NOT for saying out loud" Panel 4: i am looking confused and sweaty. Thought cloud: "DON'T say 'i'm a slut for oat milk'. That's not a thing normal people say." Speech balloon: "I'm a--" Panel 5: close-up gets tighter in. I'm more worried and even sweatier. Thought cloud: "Do NOT say that. Say literally ANYthing else besides 'slut for oat milk'." Panel 6: I cheerfully say "I'm a mutt for sloat elk!" Panel 7: silent panel, the barista stopped pouring and is making a very skeptical face at me. I'm grimacing. Panel 8: I leave my coffee and croissant behind and run away, out the door. Panel 9: some time later i'm walking down the street with Spouse and i point at the coffee shop across the street. "And that's why I can never go back to that coffee shop again" I say.
June 5, 2025 at 7:57 AM
nindokag.bsky.social
#gentlecomishabit
we are all here to help each other on this journey called music
Comic panel 1: sidewalk showing an open doorway with a sign outside that says "Open Mic Night 6-9 pm". Inside the doorway, a sign with an arrow points up the stairs. Panel 2: a guy with a goatee is sitting on a stool under a spotlight playing a guitar. He is super nervous and sweat drops are flying off his face. There's a music staff in the background but it's all wiggly and keeps starting and stopping. "Oops!" he says. "Sorry, uh, lemme try again" Panel 3: Goatee guy is slumped over a table with his face scrunched up in embarrassment. I approach the table and wave, saying "Hey man I liked your song". He answers "But I totally bombed! I was so nervous my fingers cramped up" Panel 4: "First time?" I ask. "Yeah..." he says. I lean forward and cup a hand next to my mouth. "We've all been there! Wanna know a secret?" I ask. Panel 5: I'm smiling and gesturing with both hands. "As the musician all you can hear is your own mistakes but the listeners might not even notice. They hear the good parts" Panel 6: "So if you mess up, don't apologize! The audience probably liked it more than you did" i say. We fist bump. "Thanks, that really helps" he says. A speech balloon from off-panel says "Nindokag is up next" Panel 7: I am standing in the spotlight in front of the microphone, wearing a kilt and playing an accordion. "Here's my latin jazz remix of the song it plays when you fight Gilgamesh in Final Fantasy V" i say. A wiggly music staff comes out of the accordion. Panel 8: the wiggly music staff continues. The goatee guy, seated at the table, has his hands clamped over his ears and is making an expression of confusion and dismay
May 27, 2025 at 11:22 PM
nindokag.bsky.social
#gentlecomishabit
acid reflux
Comic panel 1: I look into an empty bottle and say "I'm out of tums again" Panel 2: Spouse asks: "How does anyone go through tums so fast?" I put my hands on my esophagus region and respond "I have constant heartburn unless I eat six a day" Panel 3: we are sitting at a table for a meal. Spouse: "Did you ask your doctor why you have heartburn so much? Panel 4: I am stuffing kim chee into my mouth with chopsticks straight out of the jar. "He couldn't find anything wrong with me" Panel 5: I am chugging balsamic vinegar right from the bottle "I guess the human body" Panel 6: I'm putting sriracha on a pickle "Is just full of mysteries"
May 22, 2025 at 4:10 PM
nindokag.bsky.social
#gentlecomishabit

(inspired by the news from last month about Discord going public)
Comic titled "The Samsara of Software Suckitude". It is laid out in an outer circle and an inner circle. The outer circle has four panels going clockwise. Arrows point from each panel to the next, in a never-ending loop. The inner circle also has four panels going clockwise with arrows pointing from each to the next in a never-ending loop. Panel 1, inner: software dev 1: "How us small new company take users from old big company?" Software dev 2: "Make good thing. Give away free." Panel 1, outer: User 1: "We could try moving to that new <software>". User 2, shrugging: "I guess" Panel 2, inner: the software devs are in poses of celebration in front of a chart of line going up. Software dev 1: "Line go up! Hooray!" Software dev 2: "IPO! Get rich!" Panel 2, outer: User 1: "Seems like all my friends are switching to <software> now" User 3: "I should try it too" Panel 3, inner: software dev 2: "Investors want more money. Get more money from users." Panel 3, outer: User 2, angry: "Ugh they were already cramming <software> full of ads, spyware, and censorship and now they're forcing AI on us too?" Panel 4, inner: chart of line going down, software dev 1: "Oh no! Where users go?" Software dev 2 makes surprised pikachu face. Panel 4, outer: User 1: "I can't stand using <software> anymore. It sucks too bad." User 2: "What can we do?" (return to panel 1)
May 21, 2025 at 8:57 PM
nindokag.bsky.social
#gentlecomicshabit

Durian is great actually
Comic panel 1: I bust in through the living room door very excited. I'm carrying a bag with a durian in it. "Hey guys guess what I found at the market" i say. Stink lines emanate from the bag. Two roommates are on a couch nearby playing video games. Roommate one: "Oh god what's that smell" roommate two: "You are NOT allowed to bring durian into this apartment!" Panel 2: A finger is pointing out the apartment door. I'm sadly sulking out cradling my durian. Me: "Fine! I'll eat it out in the stairwell" Panel 3: sfx: "SLAM". I'm standing in the apartment building stairwell frowning and holding my durian. A neighbor is looking out the window and smoking a cigarette. Panel 4: Neighbor, taking his cigarette out of his mouth and scowling: "Neighbor would you take that elsewhere?" Panel 5: I angrily walk down the stairs. Me: "Fine! I'll go outside!!" Panel 6: wide shot, exterior, nighttime - i'm walking away from the door of the apartment building. There's a row of streetlights illuminating some bushes and park benches. Me: "I'll just eat my durian alone... in the dark... on a park bench... like it was a shameful drug habit or somethin" Panel 7: I'm sitting on the park bench and have the cracked-open durian in my lap and i'm eating it with a spoon, smiling and saying "mmm mmm" Panel 8: I glance behind me and see, on the next park bench over, there is a drug addict holding a hypodermic needle in one hand. He's got a rubber hose tied around the elbow of his other arm and he's pulling it tight with his teeth. There is one of those "..." balloons above both our heads. Panel 9: The drug addict says: "Is that durian? Gross!"
May 14, 2025 at 12:08 AM
nindokag.bsky.social
#gentlecomicshabit

daughter home sick
Comic Panel 1: My kid (drawn by her real-life self) is lying on the couch huddled up in a blanket. There's a bowl near her head (in case she needs to throw up). She says "I'm sick! I need entertainment!" Panel 2: I come over and say "You could read a book". Kid, eyes squeezed shut: "My head hurts. Read me Calvin & Hobbes" Panel 3: I'm sitting on the other end of the couch, near her feet, reading out loud from a book. Me: "OK so... in the first panel, Calvin is holding-" Kid: "No! Don't describe the pictures. Just read the words." Panel 4: Me, confused: "Really? but--" Kid, angry: "Just! The! Words!" Panel 5: Me, confused, reading: "Munch munch" "WHUNK" "GAAAA!" "GRRRRRR" "OOF!" Panel 6: Kid, smiling: "Ha ha ha! I love that one!"
May 8, 2025 at 9:43 PM
nindokag.bsky.social
#gentlecomicshabit

Wingspan
Comic panel 1: player 1 is playing the popular board game about birds, "Wingspan". He's looking at a hand of cards. There's tokens, dice, a little cardboard birdhouse, wooden eggs, etc. on the table. Player 1: "Hmm. I'll -- wait, no, I'll... I'll 'lay eggs'. " Comic panel 2: Player 1 moves some tokens around. player 1: "activate my burrowing owl... cache a mouse token... fly my chimney swift to the wetlands... and I'm outta cubes!" comic panel 3: Player 1 looks satisfied and counts up points. "Hm hm hm yes, excellent game, I got 38 points" comic panel 4: camera pulls back to show hitherto unseen players 2 and 3 at the table. Player 1 waves to them. Player 1: "Oh hi! were you guys also playing Wingspan?" Player 2: "Yeah. How did your game go?" Player 3: "Did you know turkey vultures defend themselves by projectile vomiting?"
May 8, 2025 at 12:18 AM
nindokag.bsky.social
#gentlecomicshabit

Russel T. Davies has not to my knowledge brought back the Kandyman (from classic doctor who story "The Happiness Patrol") but I wouldn't put it past him.
Comic panel 1: the Kandyman (an evil robot made of candy from classic Doctor Who season 25) is looming over a frightened 15th Doctor and Belinda Chandra. Kandyman: "Remember me Doctor?" Doctor: "It can't be! Ace and I destroyed you on planet Terra Alpha!" A single beautiful tear runs down his cheek. panel 2: me and spouse are watching this episode on a laptop in bed. We're frowning at the screen. Spouse: "They really scrapin' the bottom of the barrel for recurring villains huh" Panel 3: Kandyman, having grown to gigantic size and stretching out a gigantic hand towards the tiny protagonists: "I'm the God of Candy now cuz everything's 'gods' this season" Doctor and Belinda are running away. Belinda says "That cursed 3.5-inch floppy must've summoned him!" The sky in the background is filled with floating candy. Panel 4: The doctor is being hooked and lifted into the sky by giant candy canes. The trees have turned into giant lollypops. The giant God of Candy has picked up the TARDIS and is squishing it between his candy fingers. Doctor: "The sonic doesn't work! the TARDIS doesn't work! Nothing works!" Kandyman: "My reality-warping powers are far beyond your puny comprehension!" Panel 5: The Doctor is restrained by a giant roll of Life Savers wrapped around him. Belinda is holding a toaster and a fork. Doctor: "Belinda, stick the fork in the toaster!" Belinda: "Why??" Doctor: "Just trust me!" A single beautiful tear rolls down his cheek. Panel 6: me and Spouse are watching the episode and frowning at the laptop. Voice of the Kandyman from the screen: "AAAAA THE TOASTER IS BANISHING MEEEEE". Spouse: "It's hard to care about these Pantheon eps when the story has no rules". Me: "No there's exactly one rule -- whatever BS they try 5 mins before the end of the episode will be what works"
May 5, 2025 at 7:53 PM
nindokag.bsky.social
#gentlecomicshabit
Comic panel 1: caption: "Disagreeing in person". Two people are walking down the street. one says "I kinda like talking to strangers on airplanes". The other says "Weird! I hate it. Anyway where do you wanna get lunch?" Panel 2: caption: "disagreeing online". A person in a hoodie is bent over a laptop in a dark room. Their face is partly in shadow under their hood and is a teeth-bared, veins-popping mask of rage. They're banging on the keyboard. Typed text: "You have BETRAYED your quiet-airplane comrades and supported the ENEMY by liking a post from @coolguy13 who reblogged from @eggtartZ, a KNOWN airplane-stranger-talker"
May 4, 2025 at 10:14 PM
nindokag.bsky.social
#gentlecomicshabit

don't tell me it's exponential if you can't put numbers on it
Comic panel 1: A tech CEO guy (bald, black turtleneck) stands in front of a giant screen showing a giant chart. The chart shows an exponential curve going up and to the right. The x-axis is labeled "year" going from 1995 to 2030. The y-axis is labeled "intelligence" and is a series of words - from bottom to top: "Bug", "Lizard", "Dog", "Toddler", "Dolphin", "High Schooler", "PhD", "Einstein", "Superhuman", "God", "Supergod" The CEO is looking smug and pointing. he says "This evidence shows irrefutably that the intelligence of AI is on an exponential curve. By 2026 it will replace all human workers and by 2030 replace God. Any questions?" Panel 2: I am in the audience. I raise my hand and ask "Yeah I have a question: what units is your Y-axis in?" Panel 3: the CEO looks evasive and says "It's, uh... and ordinal heuristic metric of smartitude". I pound my palm with my other fist and shout "WHAT. UNITS. MOTHERFUCKER?"
May 4, 2025 at 5:34 AM
nindokag.bsky.social
#gentlecomicshabit

office cliches
Comic headline: "Improve office communication by replacing tired cliches!" Panel 1 (with an "X" for "don't do this"): an office drone holding a coffee cup says "I'll circle back to you with those data points later". Panel 2 (with an arrow and an "O" for "do this instead"): a wizard says "All will be revealed in the fullness of time." Panel 3: (don't do this): A different office drone points at a chart and says "Fourth quarter revenue is in line with projections from our spreadsheet" Panel 4: (do this instead): The wizard waves his staff at the same chart and says "It is just as prophecy foretold!" Panel 5: ("don't do this"): different office drone says "This meeting could have been an email" Panel 6 ("do this instead"): the wizard looks all menacing and there's lightning in the background. he says "You dare summon me from my tower for such trifles?"
May 4, 2025 at 5:27 AM
nindokag.bsky.social
#gentlecomicshabit

hope I'm not throwing a discourse bomb by stating there are some aspects of Japanese culture which are, at least, autism-friendly. (I'm leaving out other aspects of Japanese culture which are the exact opposite)
Comic panel 1: caption: ""How autistic is Japan?" someone asked me. An obviously nonsensical question. ... and yet, consider:" I am pondering a Gundam plastic model kit shop with a big Gundam statue out front. Panel 2: Caption: "Social interactions that do not require eye (or skin) contact". Two Japanese guys in suits are bowing to each other. There is a "No" symbol around a handshake. Panel 3: "Things clearly labeled, rules explicitly posted" - street sign with lots of signs and arrows pointed at things Panel 4: "Social situations with predictable scripts to follow" - a woman is doing a jikoshokai (self introduction) to a group of her new coworkers Panel 5: "Culture that encourages going deep on one special interest" - three people are respectively doing ink brush calligraphy, ikebana / flower arranging, and playing a game of go. They all have expressions of intense concentration. Panel 6: "Lots of facts about trains to memorize". A boy is looking intently at a train schedule while a shinkansen/bullet train goes by on an elevated track overhead At the bottom of the page, there's a drawing of myself looking at the reader and saying: "(plz understand I am saying this with nothing but love for my autistic bretheren and... is "sistren" a word?"
April 30, 2025 at 8:45 PM
nindokag.bsky.social
#gentlecomicshabit
everything is phone now, humans are obsolete
Comic panel 1: me and Spouse are carrying bags. I'm saying: "I'll use my hard-earned 日本語 [japanese language] skills to get our tickets". I am making a fist of determination. Spouse says: "I bought 'em online last week" and holds up a phone showing a QR code. Panel 2: we're standing in front of a huge, confusing train system map labeled in Japanese. I have a roller bag next to me. I touch the map and say "Then, I'll use my skills to read the train system map". Spouse says: "Google maps says platform 12" and points left. Panel 3: with a somewhat defeated posture, I look down at a plaque and say "I can... translate this historical plaque?" Spouse holds phone up to it and says "I have an app for that" Panel 4: I am laying facedown on a row of train station chairs (taking up four chairs with my horizontal body). I say "Why did I even come to Japan... there's no use for me... everything is phone now... humans are obsolete..." Spouse frowns sympathetically. Panel 5: Spouse points at a hotel worker behind a hotel front desk and says "You can ask this guy about changing our reservation". I approach the desk and say "すみません、質問があります" [excuse me, i have a question]. Panel 6: The hotel worker smiles and says "Don't worry, this is a big tourist spot so we all know English". My face is all squeezed up in anguish as I say "ちくしょう" [dammit!]"
April 30, 2025 at 4:45 PM
nindokag.bsky.social
#gentlecomicshabit

gee, what would we do if the evil conspiracy just decided to NOT leave fun clues for you to decode?
Comic panel 1: a bunch of shadowy figures are sitting around a table, their faces hidden by hoods. They are rubbing their hands together and cackling. Conspirator 1 gestures wildly saying "... and then we make the Wuhan biolab leak the virus!" the others respond "MWA HA HA HA" panel 2: conspirator 2 asks "Then the pandemic kills everyone?" conspirator 1 responds: "No! We want them to THINK that but it's actually as harmless as a cold" panel 3: conspirator 2: "then why..." conspirator 1: "To trick everyone into taking the vaccine!" conspirator 3 raises a hand: "And the vaccine kills everyone right?" panel 4: conspirator 1: "No, but it fiddles with their DNA!" conspirator 3: "Is this before or after the mind control chip?" Conspirator 4: "Wait! Guys! We're forgetting the most important part of any evil conspiracy!" panel 5: Conspirator 4: "Giving the entire plan away by making common words and phrases spell out clues like a crossword puzzle from a children's cereal box!" the other conspirators: "oh right!" "almost forgot" "I'll get right on that" Panel 6: we are now back to reality in this panel. A guy with a crazed expression and messed-up hair and beard stubble is shouting "WAKE UP SHEEPLE!" at me, pointing at a giant sign he's holding. I am scratching the back of my neck and saying "ummm..." The sign has the word COVID with the letters standing for "Communist cOld Vaccine fIddles wit ur Dna" and then "19" is explained as "666 + 1 (world government)"
April 28, 2025 at 5:10 PM
nindokag.bsky.social
#gentlecomicshabit

part 3 of the Kyoto Arc. (How many temples does Kyoto need, anyway?)
Comic panel 1: I am standing with my daughter behind a railing at Kiymizudera (a famous Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Japan). I'm pointing down off the balcony towards the tree tops below. I'm saying: "...Edo period legend says if you leap from the balcony of Kiyomizu temple and survive, your wish will come true". My kid looks bored. Panel 2: I'm standing in front of an enormous bronze Buddha statue, which is seated in lotus position with a bunch of offerings in front of it. I'm saying: "...this Daibutsu survived the fire and Todai temple was rebuilt in the Heain period-- where'd she go?" I'm looking around for my daughter. She's hiding behind the Buddha's head and giving him "bunny ears" with her fingers Panel 3: we're looking across a lake at another temple. The temple is reflected in the still water surface, as are some trees on a tiny island nearby. I'm saying: "Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu built Kinkaku temple as a..." daughter interrupts, yelling: "I'M SO BORED OF TEMPLES!" Panel 4: daughter is arms akimbo and shouting at me: "We've been to a bajillion temples and they're all the same! My feet hurt and I wanna go back to the hotel and charge my Switch and I don't care about the Heian period! It's a stupid period that didn't even have ninjas!" I respond: "OK, OK, no more temples." panel 5: she looks leery and asks: "Promise?" I kneel down and stick out a pinky finger and say "Promise." Panel 6: we are standing in front of a torii gate flanked by statues of kitsune (fox spirits) at the Fushimi Inari Taisha. Daughter is glaring at me furiously (sfx: "glare"). I am saying: "No, this one's a SHRINE!!!"
April 20, 2025 at 3:13 AM
nindokag.bsky.social
#gentlecomicshabit
Signs in Japan that are unintentionally hilarious to a native reader of Chinese, due to a thousand years of semantic drift in the meaning of characters
April 18, 2025 at 9:30 PM