Pardon the cleverly titled, marginally disgusting title of this category. Being that my nickname is J-Bird, I found it hard to resist using “Bird Droppings” as the title of this experimental online journal, especially since the message board itself is called The Sidewalk. Forgive me.
I’m not sure how this journal will evolve, but I hope it will be at least somewhat interesting to whomever finds themselves reading it. The reason for starting this is not because I feel that I have some great knowledge or experiential wisdom to share, but mainly because my wife thought I should. Apparently, she thinks there are people besides her who might like knowing some of the thoughts that take up residence in my head.
My plan is to just write stuff here from time to time; stuff about the strip, the characters, and the daily ups and downs that go with trying to live out this dream. I imagine it will be sort of cathartic for me, which is good, because even if no one reads it, I’ll have saved tons of money on a psychologist.
I guess a good place to start is why I’m doing the strip in the first place. I love to draw, first of all. I think I always have. I don’t remember the first time I started to draw or even picked up a crayon, but someone along the line encouraged me so I kept at it. I don’t recall defacing any walls as a youngster, but that may be because I didn’t see it as a “wall”, but rather as a nice big flat white space that needed some color.
Secondly, I like to make people laugh. It’s far better than making them cry or become really, really angry. You (usually) don’t have to worry about people trying to beat you up for making them laugh.
The main reason I do the strip, (and this may be the most inspiring or the most pretentious reason, depending on how you look at it) is to express my view on things and make people think. Why do we see things the way we see them? And why do we think the way we think? Kim & Jason is obviously about childhood. It’s fun to point out the little things from childhood that people have the tendency to forget.
But I think it’s important to point out the big things as well. Why do we all run around like maniacs focusing on all the wrong things? How come we miss the simple pleasures in the day, like a robin’s spring song, or a gentle breeze through an open window, or the wonderful arrangement of sidewalk cracks? Who said we have to get a 9-to-5 job with benefits and have 2.5 children with a pet and a pension and an SUV? And just when did we forget our dreams?
I think the strip has more of me and my thoughts hidden within it than I’ve ever really paid attention to. I can’t imagine doing anything else. (Well, I can, but I’m not too good at those things.) I always thank God for allowing me to do Kim & Jason. I just hope that when people read it, they’ll laugh. And think.
JK