Much like PD, most of these characters were inspired by family/friends. The main character, Mike – who eerily has the same first name as my husband – is the alter ego of myself. His uber-laid-back, super-cool roommate, Dave (triangle guy), is hands-down my brother. Down-to-earth, academically-driven Dale (inverted triangle) is my sister. Pat, the weirdly eccentric fashion major, is the only one who came out of nowhere, although her quirky sense of humor reminds me of my hometown best friend, Amy – who, by the way, my PD child character is named for. There’s also a side character named Terry Garcia, a dead head who cultivates mystery plants in his dorm room. I plead the fifth on that one.

These brought back fun memories for me. Hope you enjoy…

Looks like a spelling error below…

I think this one inspired my love of labeling in strips:

Pat really was a weirdo…

Notice the Benday dots below? I actually laid out the sheet and cut it by X-Acto. I now thank the gods for technology.

This last one was from a series where – as an experiment - Mike dressed as a woman for the campus “Discrimination Awareness Week.” He went to a bar to see if he’d experience sexual discrimination firsthand.

Notice the huge format that doesn’t relate to today’s Sunday formats in any way, shape, or form?
In this one, I think the ending is a bit of a letdown. Still, I thought the rhyme was pretty good, especially since this was before my card days…before I really knew about meter.
Since this is a bad scan of a color Xerox, I provided a translation.

“It’s late at night and here I sit, tryin’ to study English Lit.
Yet as I vainly skim Othello, I find a sudden urge for jell-o.
Okay, I grab a quickie snack with pure intentions not to slack.
What time is it? Hey – hold the work! I’ve got a date with Captain Kirk.
Back from break, it’s nearly twelve, once more into my work I delve.
I’m good for almost half an hour till Dave shows up with sweet ‘n’ sour.
Two a.m., gosh! Where’ve I been? I hit the books and jump right in.
My eyes wander after a while; I count socks in Dave’s laundry pile.
Gosh, come to think of it, I too, have got a couple loads to do.
Four o’clock – no, quarter after; got to finish one more chapter.
Well, maybe just one final snack; oh, what the heck, I’ll hit the sack.
I wake up groggy from my rest – nine o’clock! I missed the test!
I wonder how it all went wrong…I worked so hard the whole night long!”