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Plenty of us loves to read. Or say that we do. But finding the time to do so is, more often than not, much more difficult than we’d like. After a hard day at work or school, instead of snuggling up with a doggo, a steaming mug of hot cocoa, and a good novel, we usually end up being couch potatoes in front of the TV or computer screen.

Well, not to worry, because artist John Atkinson of ‘Wrong Hands’ has you covered. The illustrator created a series of cartoon drawings that will help any lover of the written word catch up on the writings they missed out on. Whether it’s classic literature or popular modern hits.

“I’ve always loved to draw even as a young child,” Atkinson told Bored Panda in an in-depth interview. “I studied Fine Art at University and after spectacularly failing as a famous artist, took up graphic design. The webcomics are a more recent endeavor.”

Scroll down for the rest of our interview with Atkinson. Upvote the comic strips that you enjoyed, leave us a comment with your thoughts about Arkinson’s funny drawings, and share this article with anyone who you think is in need of a good laugh.

Make sure to check out our previous articles about Atkinson’s funny comics here, here, as well as here.

More info: WrongHands1.com | GoComics.com | Facebook | Twitter | Tumblr | Redbubble

“Cartooning is a great way to extract the silliness bottled up in my head,” the artist said during the interview. “Humor is subjective so it’s always interesting to read other people’s reactions to my work. I get a wide range of comments from “This is hilarious” to “You think you’re so clever, you’re not!” to “I don’t get it.”

Atkinson joked: “The last one is always my favorite. I usually like to respond “I don’t get it either.”

#4

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Hi!
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5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

There is a complete misconception that belle has Stockholm syndrome SHE DOESN'T that is a different thing Belle didn't start falling for the beast until he treated her kindly and then didn't fall in love with him until she had departed. I don't really know how to explain this in written form. Maybe I am the only one that thinks this but I just had to say something! But the rest a pretty accurate and funny so kudos.

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Bored Panda asked the illustrator to go into detail about what inspired him to draw cartoons about classic books. Here’s what he revealed: “I came across a survey a few years back that revealed about 60 percent of people pretend to have read books they haven’t and around 40 percent rely on movies and TV to feign knowledge of popular books.”

He continued: “I thought it might be a funny idea to help everyone out and provide “tweet-sized” synopses of these famous books suitable for dinner parties or when you’re cornered at a function. They’re not intended to replace reading the actual book and I’m quick to tell students not to use them as book reports unless they want a solid D- or an F.”

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Jacob/Becca Gizmo the Squirrel
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5 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I love that you threw Jim Morrison in there. Especially since he's one of the Doors...and we are talking about doors...

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Atkinson explained that he’s still posting new cartoons to his blog two times per week. What’s more, he told Bored Panda about his upcoming plans. Next year, he hopes to have a follow-up book to his current one (“Abridged Classics: Brief summaries of books you were supposed to read but probably didn’t”). “The follow-up will most likely cover movies and television and is tentatively titled “Abridged Cinema.”

The artist had some good advice for cartoonists and artists: “Don’t take yourself too seriously and if you’re in it for the money—get out now!"

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Ellen Turner
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5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Takeuchi would have Strawberry Ramune, Tolkien would have Ale, and Arakawa would have Oolong.

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Kaisu
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5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm gonna be that really annoying person and say that Frankenstein was the doctor, not the monster

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Daria B
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5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Well, games are an interactive medium. If there's no action, people complain. Although, I personally prefer when I can stop and use my brain to solve the given quest. That's why I love the RPG genre. However, even in RPG, more and more games are focusing more on battles and less on other characteristics, and go for more action and less thinking.

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Ksenia M
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5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I don't mean to spoil anything but that's true for all classical Russian literature.

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glowworm2
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5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Doesn't sound like much of a Twist or Great Expectations there.

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Night Owl
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5 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The correct answer is "everyone", in case someone was wondering

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Magpie
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5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Oh no! My bookshelves Plural are stuffed with books i have read and like so much i can re-read many times and find different things each time.

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Note: this post originally had 53 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.