037 “Sick Leave”

Another Kid Tempo idea. He sent me a few, and this was the best of the lot. Another one that was a lot of fun to draw.

The other idea had to do with an experience we shared in Shinjuku, in that special little section called Kabukicho. Those in the know about Japan understand that Kabukicho is the sleeze capital of Japan. Well, we missed the last train after a drinking session so the two of us ended up wandering around the area looking for things to do. We ate raamen, hit some balls in the all-night batting cages, and just generally waited for the first train to leave in the morning. In that time, we were propositioned nearly CONSTANTLY by pimps. “Hey, get blow job from Japanese girl. If Chinese, she fuck.” Oddly, even though it’s the sleeze capital of Japan, it’s still a pretty safe place to be. People leave you alone if you say “No” and no one seems threatening. Just a little pushy. Anyways, the joke was about that, but it seemed like so much of an in-joke that I had to reject it.

A few notes on the backgrounds. If you are an artist and you visit Japan, stock up on pose books and photo catalogues. They are nearly invaluable, especially the photo catalogues. Each volume is dedicated to a particular topic, say “Schools”, “Train Stations” “City Streets” and just crammed with useful photos from useful angles. Forget exactly what the interior of a train looks like? This book helps. There are books on weapons, vehicles, … just about anything imaginable. Unfortunately, instead of using the photos from the books as models, I just scanned them in. The first panel is from the Schools book, and the second one is a Let’s Kiosk from the Train Station book. Well, the photos ARE free for use.

Last note — Van Fielding, is of course, referring to the great TV pervert Dan Fielding from Night Court.