User submission

67.1K

For My 30th Birthday, I Made 24 Comics About My Workaholic Lifestyle

I knew I wanted to do something special hitting that big 30. I had always wanted to try my hand at slice-of-life webcomics and figured this would be as good a time as any. How fitting it was that my special gift to my workaholic self was more work.

Keep Busy is a semi-autobiographical, dark comics. The drawing ideas often come from real experiences, fears, and thoughts I have or have had. While the cartoon drawings have given me more work which I already had plenty of, I don’t regret making these funny comics, for it has been a wonderful place to turn frustration into comedy. This dark humor makes me laugh and maybe – just maybe – it makes you laugh as well.

In the end, all I ever hope for is that it entertains you.

More info: tapas.io | Instagram | helgemonster.com

Luckily, I have a short way home these days

For My 30th Birthday, I Made 24 Comics About My Workaholic Lifestyle

Sleeping at the office has become a staple of my existence

For My 30th Birthday, I Made 24 Comics About My Workaholic Lifestyle

I made this one for Valentine’s Day

For My 30th Birthday, I Made 24 Comics About My Workaholic Lifestyle

Deadlines – handle with care

For My 30th Birthday, I Made 24 Comics About My Workaholic Lifestyle

When you’re a freelancer, money comes in bulks. Saving isn’t always easy

For My 30th Birthday, I Made 24 Comics About My Workaholic Lifestyle

Me and paperwork have a complicated relationship

For My 30th Birthday, I Made 24 Comics About My Workaholic Lifestyle

Ideas show up anywhere, but mostly in bed

For My 30th Birthday, I Made 24 Comics About My Workaholic Lifestyle

When something bad happens, think cosmic!

For My 30th Birthday, I Made 24 Comics About My Workaholic Lifestyle

The beginning

For My 30th Birthday, I Made 24 Comics About My Workaholic Lifestyle

How many projects do you have in your closet?

For My 30th Birthday, I Made 24 Comics About My Workaholic Lifestyle

Energy drinks are healthy… right?

For My 30th Birthday, I Made 24 Comics About My Workaholic Lifestyle

Sometimes I show you some helpful business tricks!

For My 30th Birthday, I Made 24 Comics About My Workaholic Lifestyle

We’ve all been there. Some things were not meant to be…

For My 30th Birthday, I Made 24 Comics About My Workaholic Lifestyle

A very useful technique for handling paperwork!

For My 30th Birthday, I Made 24 Comics About My Workaholic Lifestyle

I’m a designer, and sometimes. SOMETIMES. Logic just doesn’t work

For My 30th Birthday, I Made 24 Comics About My Workaholic Lifestyle

Grim Jr. is probably my personal favourite character in Keep Busy

For My 30th Birthday, I Made 24 Comics About My Workaholic Lifestyle

Learning what mistakes to let go is an important step in becoming a better artist

For My 30th Birthday, I Made 24 Comics About My Workaholic Lifestyle

DistraCATions

For My 30th Birthday, I Made 24 Comics About My Workaholic Lifestyle

My random art folder is a mine field

For My 30th Birthday, I Made 24 Comics About My Workaholic Lifestyle

Sometimes a good idea consists of old ideas reimagined!

For My 30th Birthday, I Made 24 Comics About My Workaholic Lifestyle

I’m learning Japanese in my spare time, some things are easy, some… not so much

For My 30th Birthday, I Made 24 Comics About My Workaholic Lifestyle

My diet would have most dietitians screaming

For My 30th Birthday, I Made 24 Comics About My Workaholic Lifestyle

Meta humor about the creative process is one of my favourites

For My 30th Birthday, I Made 24 Comics About My Workaholic Lifestyle

I don’t work for the sake of money, but it sure would be nice if I didn’t have to worry about it

For My 30th Birthday, I Made 24 Comics About My Workaholic Lifestyle

67Kviews

Comic book artist, designer, 3D modeller and a lot more. Lars has created comics since 2015, starting with No-Good Heroes which first went online in august 2016 and Keep Busy starting February 2019.

Read less »

Comic book artist, designer, 3D modeller and a lot more. Lars has created comics since 2015, starting with No-Good Heroes which first went online in august 2016 and Keep Busy starting February 2019.

Read less »

My name is Violeta and I am an editor here at Bored Panda. I love reading memes for a living. It’s obviously much more than that, but I appreciate the variety of topics, information, and pics I get to see every day and share with the world! Those funny memes really make my day too. Being born in the ’90s in post-Soviet Lithuania speaks more about me than I’d like to admit. I’m still learning about the world and myself, but I do love my friends, traveling, art, and my cat. My favorite fact to share about myself is that I used to hide meatballs in my friend’s pockets at lunch so I could go play outside. I wish all those meatballs could find their way back to me someday.

Read less »

What do you think ?

POST

Elaine Brennan 5 years ago

Love grim jnr..so funny.. scribble scribble

23points

J. Zingler 5 years ago

2points

Load More Replies...

GodOfHyperdeath 5 years ago

This...is...awesome. grim reaper jr is now my favourite comic character.

16points

ADHORTATOR 5 years ago

Grim jr. is best :-)

13points

Kristi S. 5 years ago

I want more of this! Made my day :)

8points

JinxBox 5 years ago

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

Load More Replies...

Kururi.Orihara 5 years ago

As some one who is also trying to learn Japanese (with Duolingo, I don’t have enough for text books), I can relate to the kanji one on a personal level.

3points

Lars Erik Helgemo (Post author) 5 years ago

Duolingo is pretty nice - I've tried out WaniKani for Kanji and vocabulary, and can say it's been working really well so far. It costs money, but it's free in the beginning. Just thought I'd mention it :)

4points

Load More Replies...

Ronan Huggard 5 years ago

Amazing stuff!

3points

Gonzalo Terán 5 years ago

I really like your character designs. Waiting for more of these. Drawing... NOW!

2points

Cra-Z cat lady 5 years ago

❤❤❤❤GRIM JR.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! <3

1point

Tiffany Marie 5 years ago

I turn 30 next month, & taking it terribly :/

1point

Dilly Millandry 5 years ago

When you are 40 you'll look back and think 'wtf was I worried about'.

0points

Load More Replies...

PamelaSosi 5 years ago

This comment has been deleted.

1point

Katriina Penttilä 5 years ago

Awesome stuff!

1point

Pudgecat 5 years ago

When you look back and realize after reading that one loz comic that making sure Link is left handed instead of right is the only mistake worth fixing 😂

0points

Phoenix Smith 5 years ago

These are AWESOME.

0points

Lena Hudson 5 years ago

The one where he is getting comforted by the cosmos made me laugh out loud. Relatable.

0points

Juan Alcorta 5 years ago

By the time I was 40, I realized that deadlines were put by insecure bosses to feel safe in their places. Never been a workaholic again.

0points

Geoffrey Holland 5 years ago

Cool stuff Lars.

0points

Wim Cossement 5 years ago

One should not be proud to be a workaholic...

0points

Raul Acosta 5 years ago

This comic is so cool and realistic.....hehehehe

0points

Jennifer Erdossy 5 years ago

The monochrome scheme might be a mistake ... it literally took me 90% of the way through the series to realize he didn't have an extremely oddly-shaped mouth, but a goatee.

0points

Anna Repp 5 years ago

Nailed it! (Signed: freelance artist)

0points

lilly nyangweso 5 years ago

I think I love Grim Jnr.

0points

Tenay Douglas 5 years ago

Im also attempting to learn Japanese!

0points

Lolo Caty 5 years ago

I felt so bad for project no.3 😢

0points

Laana 5 years ago

Loved them! But must admit I felt more sorry than I should have for Project #3 😬

0points

Virgil Blue 5 years ago

Nice comic! A bit too relatable sometimes (looks shiftily around)

0points

animetakeover145 5 years ago

Nice work. Lots of laughs!

0points

Hańka 5 years ago

Hm, I can't tell where his nose is and where his mouth is ... Oh, he has a beard, right???

0points

Just Me 5 years ago

Workaholic? OK...

0points

Martjea 5 years ago

Poor #3 :,(

0points

Tor Rolf Strøm 5 years ago

I sure hope these are RELATABLE!

0points

JinxBox 5 years ago

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

JinxBox 5 years ago

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

Lars Erik Helgemo (Post author) 5 years ago

Thanks for checking out the comic! I understand that this comic is definitely not everyone's cup of tea. I'm happy for your input, it's nice to see the other side of the coin sometimes. I'm definitely not sharing my philosophy as in: "I wish more people did this" - I strongly suggest that they do not, as long as they can avoid it. The comic displays a very extreme version of myself, but I love working, so that part is true. Not sure what replying to this gives me, but anyway - I'm not going to eat up your time any more. Have a good day :)

9points

Load More Replies...

JinxBox 5 years ago

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

POST

Elaine Brennan 5 years ago

Love grim jnr..so funny.. scribble scribble

23points

J. Zingler 5 years ago

2points

Load More Replies...

GodOfHyperdeath 5 years ago

This...is...awesome. grim reaper jr is now my favourite comic character.

16points

ADHORTATOR 5 years ago

Grim jr. is best :-)

13points

Kristi S. 5 years ago

I want more of this! Made my day :)

8points

JinxBox 5 years ago

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

Load More Replies...

Kururi.Orihara 5 years ago

As some one who is also trying to learn Japanese (with Duolingo, I don’t have enough for text books), I can relate to the kanji one on a personal level.

3points

Lars Erik Helgemo (Post author) 5 years ago

4points

Load More Replies...

Ronan Huggard 5 years ago

Amazing stuff!

3points

Gonzalo Terán 5 years ago

I really like your character designs. Waiting for more of these. Drawing... NOW!

2points

Cra-Z cat lady 5 years ago

❤❤❤❤GRIM JR.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! <3

1point

Tiffany Marie 5 years ago

I turn 30 next month, & taking it terribly :/

1point

Dilly Millandry 5 years ago

When you are 40 you'll look back and think 'wtf was I worried about'.

0points

Load More Replies...

PamelaSosi 5 years ago

This comment has been deleted.

1point

Katriina Penttilä 5 years ago

Awesome stuff!

1point

Pudgecat 5 years ago

When you look back and realize after reading that one loz comic that making sure Link is left handed instead of right is the only mistake worth fixing 😂

0points

Phoenix Smith 5 years ago

These are AWESOME.

0points

Lena Hudson 5 years ago

The one where he is getting comforted by the cosmos made me laugh out loud. Relatable.

0points

Juan Alcorta 5 years ago

By the time I was 40, I realized that deadlines were put by insecure bosses to feel safe in their places. Never been a workaholic again.

0points

Geoffrey Holland 5 years ago

Cool stuff Lars.

0points

Wim Cossement 5 years ago

One should not be proud to be a workaholic...

0points

Raul Acosta 5 years ago

This comic is so cool and realistic.....hehehehe

0points

Jennifer Erdossy 5 years ago

The monochrome scheme might be a mistake ... it literally took me 90% of the way through the series to realize he didn't have an extremely oddly-shaped mouth, but a goatee.

0points

Anna Repp 5 years ago

Nailed it! (Signed: freelance artist)

0points

lilly nyangweso 5 years ago

I think I love Grim Jnr.

0points

Tenay Douglas 5 years ago

Im also attempting to learn Japanese!

0points

Lolo Caty 5 years ago

I felt so bad for project no.3 😢

0points

Laana 5 years ago

Loved them! But must admit I felt more sorry than I should have for Project #3 😬

0points

Virgil Blue 5 years ago

Nice comic! A bit too relatable sometimes (looks shiftily around)

0points

animetakeover145 5 years ago

Nice work. Lots of laughs!

0points

Hańka 5 years ago

Hm, I can't tell where his nose is and where his mouth is ... Oh, he has a beard, right???

0points

Just Me 5 years ago

Workaholic? OK...

0points

Martjea 5 years ago

Poor #3 :,(

0points

Tor Rolf Strøm 5 years ago

I sure hope these are RELATABLE!

0points

JinxBox 5 years ago

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

JinxBox 5 years ago

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

Lars Erik Helgemo (Post author) 5 years ago

9points

Load More Replies...

JinxBox 5 years ago

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

Related on Bored Panda

For My 30th Birthday, I Made 24 Comics About My Workaholic Lifestyle

Luckily, I have a short way home these days

Sleeping at the office has become a staple of my existence

I made this one for Valentine’s Day

Deadlines – handle with care

When you’re a freelancer, money comes in bulks. Saving isn’t always easy

Me and paperwork have a complicated relationship

Ideas show up anywhere, but mostly in bed

When something bad happens, think cosmic!

The beginning

How many projects do you have in your closet?

Energy drinks are healthy… right?

Sometimes I show you some helpful business tricks!

We’ve all been there. Some things were not meant to be…

A very useful technique for handling paperwork!

I’m a designer, and sometimes. SOMETIMES. Logic just doesn’t work

Grim Jr. is probably my personal favourite character in Keep Busy

Learning what mistakes to let go is an important step in becoming a better artist

DistraCATions

My random art folder is a mine field

Sometimes a good idea consists of old ideas reimagined!

I’m learning Japanese in my spare time, some things are easy, some… not so much

My diet would have most dietitians screaming

Meta humor about the creative process is one of my favourites

I don’t work for the sake of money, but it sure would be nice if I didn’t have to worry about it

Games

Lars Erik Helgemo

Lars Erik Helgemo

Violeta Draseikaitė

Violeta Draseikaitė