We all have our own quirks, traits, preferences, and ways of sharing pieces of ourselves with other people. For the hero of this article, it's creating comics. But he needed a while to realize that.
"I'm an engineer at a well-known global software company," the artist who wanted to remain anonymous told Bored Panda.
"I frequently find myself making observations about life that I feel most other people either don't notice or want to admit. That's how I came up with the name [for my comics series, Sobering Mirror.] I'm holding up a metaphorical mirror to the reader, and the realization that they can see themselves in my jokes is – you guessed it – sobering."
Until his attempts at comedy become more widely recognized, he'd prefer not to be known as 'the guy who makes weird webcomics' at the office. So for now, let's just call him Engineer.
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At first glance, Engineer's comics seem... simple. He's fully aware of that. "I always laugh when anyone uses [the word] 'art' to refer to what I'm doing with Sobering Mirror. I'm very clearly not an artist, and my comics reflect that," he said.
"If anything, I'd consider myself a writer who happens to use crude drawings as a vehicle to express his thoughts." That's certainly an accurate description. What Sobering Mirror lacks in form, it makes up for in substance.
I few years ago something similar happened to me. It was Sunday night and I go to sleep thinking "ugh I have to go to work tomorrow". But then I have a dream that it's Saturday and it's so vivid that I turn my alarm off and continue to sleep. My boss calls and she's like "where the hell are you? are you coming?" and me still being in the dream state and thinking it's Saturday I reply "fine... I'll come even though I don't have to". I reluctantly get up and then it hits me! She was totally cool though and we had a laugh when I explained what had happened!
Most of it derives from Engineer's own experiences in one way or the other. "My inspiration typically comes from my own life or how I imagine the lives of people I encounter on a day-to-day basis."
Since Engineer is not in the business of making comics (it's merely his hobby), he's not looking to make money off of it. In fact, he has decided that 50% of all the profits he makes from Sobering Mirror (be it ad revenue, Patreon, individual contributions, future merch, etc.) will be donated to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
It’s sad to think that I probably won’t be close with my now best friends in the future
"I think that a lot of charities, unfortunately, use the money that they receive from donations inefficiently (or even dishonestly). St. Jude is not one of those; 82% of each dollar received goes directly to treatment and research for childhood cancer," Engineer explained.
"Their mission is also incredible – they take in children whose families are struggling financially and provide them with world-class medical care (completely for free)."
Life is boredom, pain, loneliness, misery and disappointment. But if you don't bother hope, you can avoid disappointment.
If you enjoy his work, Engineer would appreciate it if you could tell various social media algorithms that his posts are worth spreading. "You can do that by following, liking, commenting, and sharing. If you’re feeling extra generous, you can also subscribe to my Patreon page or make a one-time donation via PayPal, credit card, or cryptocurrency," he added. "[But] if you're tight on money, save it."
the secret is.................................................................MONEY
Because being human is difficult and it helps a lot of people to take their most insecure thoughts or painful experiences and turn them into humor. For example, I love George Carlin.
These are good but tbh this whole "life is misery" schtick on BP is getting old.
If the comic was about a woman this would be titled "artist draws comics about everyday female struggles." But since it's a comic featuring a man it's "simple observations about life."
These are good but tbh this whole "life is misery" schtick on BP is getting old.
If the comic was about a woman this would be titled "artist draws comics about everyday female struggles." But since it's a comic featuring a man it's "simple observations about life."