Walmost A Banksy
I have always been terrible at drawing. Despite this, I've always loved making doodles. Chibi cartoons, little cats, drafted ideas for comedy sketches, I drew all of these in makeshift sketchbooks I'd fashion out of loose paper. From these efforts came Dain's Doodles, which was originally an Instagram account that I used to justify doodling. Hopefully, it can culminate with my book series, as a fun little comic book where I try to level up in my artistry. I know I'll never be great, but I'll have fun giving it a try, and nobody can ever say that I didn't try.
Sunday Flamenco was an idea that came to me before I worked at IKEA, but IKEA was where I got most of its reps in. It follows Domingo d'Flamingo, a bespectacled flamingo who, originally, was just a guy who hung out with his frog friend, Todd, who can be seen in the series. Eventually, as I worked at a position that gave me a lot of free time in customer service, I made Dom a retail worker and decided to vent about my experiences through him because complaining the normal way wasn't hitting the same anymore. I needed people to know how truly angry these scenarios made me, but since people don't want to hear that, I can use silly little comics and sarcastic humor to vent so people will pay attention and relate.
Domingo is a flamingo because of the sense of balance that I look for in my life, which was made impossible by working in retail. Just kidding, it's because I like flamingos, but I do like pretending to psychoanalyze things, which is why I made Dom my opposite in most scenarios. In a situation where I would probably provide the utmost customer service with a put-on smile, Dom will state plainly what you need to do or where to go, and if you don't understand? "Bruh." It's what I wish I could do but never could for fear of termination and becoming even more unemployable despite talented! Whoops, fell into rant more there for a moment, but that's what Dom is in a sense. Me being my honest self, however opposite it is to the me who I present.
If something noteworthy happened on a shift at the IKEA, I would sketch it out! I would leave them around for other workers to see and hopefully get a chuckle out of. I pretended not to know where they came from but a manager looked me dead in my face, pointed at Don's bespectacled beak and said "That's you." So much for being a Banksy!
(this was initially written for my first Sunday Flamenco comic compilation, for those of you who missed out)
