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We can all agree that life would be pretty boring without the ability to laugh at certain aspects of it. Whether it’s a lighthearted or more serious topic, sometimes it deserves to be turned into a joke. After all, humor is a powerful tool—it helps relieve pressure, allows us to take a step back, and helps us stress less.

Most of you probably remember ‘Berkeley Mews,’ created by Ben Zaehringer, from our previous posts. How would we describe the series? Hilarious, without a doubt. Ben has a talent for creating clever and totally unexpected twists in his strips, leaving us both amused and laughing our lungs out.

More info: Instagram | berkeleymews.com | x.com | Facebook | patreon.com

When asked about how his passion for comics began, Ben shared with Bored Panda that his interest started when he was just a kid: “I've been doing these cartoon drawings for as long as I can remember. My mom's cousin, Steve Moore, is a cartoonist, so right away I thought of cartooning as a vocation. My first comics were all in the style of newspaper comic strips, like FoxTrot and Peanuts, only bad instead of good."

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    Ben revealed that his favorite stage of comic creation is the 'flow'—the state that allows him to fully focus on his work: “When you get into a 'flow state,' and you've lost track of time, and even your sense of self. This is utopia. You only realize you're there after the fact.” 

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    The cartoonist continued: “Usually, it dawned on me that my music stopped playing and I didn't notice, because I was so focused. That's how I know I hit the flow state. The second best part of making comics is finishing your comic and staring at it, slack-jawed and sleep-deprived, knowing you should go to bed, but just staring, like almost hypnotized. That's good."

    #5

    Comic strip featuring humorous election debate, highlighting a candidate's responses focused on not being the opponent.

    berkeleymews Report

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    Sordatos
    Community Member
    1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    -"My opponent literally told you he will eat your face at night -"I dunno, I don't feel passionate about you man, maybe I should try the eating face one, at least he is refreshingly honest about his face eating habits

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    Zaehringer also confessed, "Drawing comics fills my days with a sense of purpose and creative fulfillment that is only rivaled by playing video games, except I don’t feel guilty spending hours drawing comics. (Whereas looking at my 'Tears of the Kingdom' playtime fills me with existential dread.)"

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    Finally, the cartoonist shared that the most recurring theme in his work is disappointment. He explained: “When I'm writing I ask myself, 'How can something fun be made disappointing?' Recurring motifs include: God, Santa, love, death, childhood, and ‘90s pop culture references. Life moves fast, so I try to only riff on things that are timeless, like Disney movies that get remade every ten years."

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