Regular Guy

Author notes

2-4: Anja (hearts) Whatsisface.

sewerman

on June 23, 2008

Strip 2-4 on the 24th! So much to say about this modest page.

If it's wrong to fall in love with an illustrated character, then I… well, never mind. My point is, I really like teenage Anja Baker, which probably makes sense since I created her. She was obviously going along with the baggy hoodie/baggy jeans fashions of the late 90's, and her hair was hardly as maintained as her present self. Somewhere along the way she must have really matured. The relationship between Reg and Anja at 14 borrows less from my own life than from other boys and girls I know who were friends and hung out in basements a lot, but never dated. In panels 3 and 4, Anja wears a "Beermouse" shirt, which is cheating a bit… Beermouse is a local band comprised of several of my friends that wasn't formed until long after this comic takes place. but I thought it'd be neat to do a little shout-out.

At 14, Anja was evidently dating a young man known commonly as "Whatsisface," even to his own girlfriend, which probably indicates something about his personality and perception. More on him later. For now, check out the subtle gradient in panel 1. My rare colouring activity. It was apparently vey overcast that day.

Sountrack info: Panels 1 & 2 feature "Sex & Candy" by Marcy Playground, lyrics by John Wozniak. Panel 4 features "One Week" by Barenaked Ladies, lyrics by Ed Robertson. BNL was already very popular in Canada before this became a massive hit, so I often wonder what the perception of them is like in America. That song was all over the place, but I don't know how much of an impact their next several singles (which were all similarly popular here) made.

Reg seems to be having problems beating Super Mario 64, since it had been out for like a year and a half by the time this comic takes place, yet he still hasn't beaten Bowser (for the third and final time.) This is not unlike my own experience, but rather than beating Bowser, I had long-term trouble beating certain levels. So many webcomics seem to be about video games, I figured this would be a nice touch.

If you've been enjoying Regular Guy, please check out Redneck Comics, a series of superhero-type satire books (without any actual rednecks, mind you,) which was done between 2001 and 2006 and now in "reruns" here at DD.