waking up before the neighbors
Monday, February 23rd, 2009thanks to everyone who came out to the party on Saturday, that shit was crazy and I used up all my social skills reserve for the rest of the month. You can see some photos on my flickr account.
Also, if by any chance you’re my upstairs neighbors and happen to be up at 5:53 am right now, it’d be awesome if you took a shower or something because I’m fucking freezing down here.
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February 23rd, 2009 at 6:29 am
dude, that comic blew me away…i’m not used to being blown away by this comic. nicely done
February 23rd, 2009 at 6:30 am
I’m usually just a lurker, but I have to say, I love this comic. I’ve been reading for about a year now, but somehow the realism of your diary-like comics always strikes me.
Just thought I’d show some love, and if I lived above you, I would totally shower on extreme high heat
February 23rd, 2009 at 6:33 am
I really enjoy these sketchbook comics.
Also, although I am glad to have a day job, I’m a bit envious about you managing to wake up before you absolutely have to. Early mornings are somehow magical.
February 23rd, 2009 at 7:34 am
really good! A bit depressive, though… But it creates a real atmosphere in my mind. well done!
February 23rd, 2009 at 7:50 am
so is your apartment too warm in the summers (because of the pipes)? or nice and cool?
February 23rd, 2009 at 9:19 am
A friend of mine just got one of these low energy heaters (cheap to use, better for environment), and says it’s awesome: http://www.eco-heater.com/topten.html.
February 23rd, 2009 at 10:10 am
does your apartment warm up if you take a shower?
i kind of like the idea of taking a hot bath with a mug of coffee at 5am. sounds toasty.
February 23rd, 2009 at 10:20 am
q&a:
-I’m a bit envious about you managing to wake up before you absolutely have to
it’s not like I do it because I want to, it’s because my fucking landlords get up at 430am every morning and I’m not entirely sure what they’re doing up that early, but it sounds like rearranging furniture
–so is your apartment too warm in the summers (because of the pipes)? or nice and cool?
my apartment in the summer is going to be like living in satan’s asshole. But luckily for me my landlords pay the utilities so I’ll get to breath fake air all summer. hurray?
–does your apartment warm up if you take a shower?
i kind of like the idea of taking a hot bath with a mug of coffee at 5am. sounds toasty.
aaaaw that comment KILLED me because a) no, my hot water pipes are somewhere else in that labyrinth of a creepy basement and b) I don’t have a bathtub to drink coffee and/or whiskey in.
damn, I’ve almost used up all my complaining quota for the day. Up next: coffee shops that play music to loud. And flat soda.
February 23rd, 2009 at 10:54 am
Bravo! Beautiful drawing.
February 23rd, 2009 at 11:06 am
I have a friend who loves flat soda. His other passions include soggy cereal, room-temperature drinks, and an obsession with condiments. He makes us uncomfortable.
February 23rd, 2009 at 11:21 am
Adam R.
That last sentence was the best part of your comment
hahahahahaha
SERIOUS SHIT, coffee shops that play music too loud, especially when its crappy music!!!
February 23rd, 2009 at 11:40 am
Ahh, my god. Bringing romance like that to what can only be described as shitty living arrangements. Now I want to live there.
February 23rd, 2009 at 12:04 pm
I dig this one. Really establishes a particular place and time as well as what it feels like to exist there and then. Superb.
February 23rd, 2009 at 12:22 pm
A suggestion regarding the heat: Send all of your neighbors anonymous notes (signed “a friend who cares”) saying that others are making unkind comments about their personal hygiene. Should result in more frequent showers for them/more heat for you.
February 23rd, 2009 at 12:37 pm
Your comics always inspire my to keep drawing and writing.
February 23rd, 2009 at 12:58 pm
Still using the dollar store curtain clips in your hair, I see…
I fully understand the couch achievement. Forget if other people consider this pride to be pathetic…they’re just assholes who resent their prideless couches. Life is better when your simple furnishings can make you happy.
Hope you stay warm!
February 23rd, 2009 at 1:37 pm
I really dig the new art style in this comic and hope that you will experement more with different styles of illustration.
February 23rd, 2009 at 3:13 pm
well done fart lady
February 23rd, 2009 at 3:19 pm
time to invest in a space heater :p
February 23rd, 2009 at 4:13 pm
Very, very good. I used to live in a basement apartment. Homeless people would pee into the window well so I could never open them. The radiators were mounted on the ceiling and if they were on too much they would just about fry me. That place was a roach infested dump and the caretaker looked like Uncle Fester.
I’ll dream of that tonight.
February 23rd, 2009 at 4:39 pm
Thought you might get a kick out of this advice. I especially liked number 2.
February 23rd, 2009 at 4:43 pm
I really REALLY hope one of these “other projects” you mention from time to time is a book of comics like this.
February 23rd, 2009 at 5:13 pm
This really reminded me of the weird stasis of being up when everything else is asleep. It was like being underwater, no quick movement.
I love your comic. Thanks for helping me waste time at work in a manner not involving sticking a fork in my eye. I will go buy all your stuff that you made.
February 23rd, 2009 at 7:27 pm
JULIA!!!! I LOOOOVE your 4:47AM COMICS!!!!! *amazed*
I thought it was gonna end on a totally listless note, but with the last panel, your oldman-like anger finally came through! *wink*
February 23rd, 2009 at 7:42 pm
While I generally like all your comics, I really like when you do this sort of comic. There’s more emotion in them, more heart.
February 23rd, 2009 at 10:54 pm
I agree with everyone: this style of comic is beautiful. I hope that you do more like this, when the material dictates it. You have a very versatile talent, Julia!
Except you spelled “neighbors” wrong.
February 24th, 2009 at 1:32 am
My mother wakes up at 3 a.m., because the cats rule her lives, and she says the only thing to do at that time is read.
Beyond what everyone else said, I can only agree with them.
And I *totally* understand having a couch. The first thing I got for my apartment, when I was 25, was a futon couch as well. That and a kitchen table that a friend was getting rid of was the only furniture I had for years.
February 24th, 2009 at 3:36 am
I’m just getting to sleep by the time your waking up…
February 24th, 2009 at 4:45 am
Pensive! I like this a lot.
February 24th, 2009 at 9:03 am
i straight up lol’ed, i did. thank you
February 24th, 2009 at 10:33 am
aww dude… i love these ones that you do Julia. these kind kind of comics are fantastic, like the isolated, solemn, introspective side of the FP. a bit like when your favourite rock group does an acoustic number. Still brilliant.
February 24th, 2009 at 12:13 pm
I’m totally proud of my newly acquired furniture. I now have a mattress, a bookshelf, and a couch. I love sitting and laying on the couch, because it’s mine.
February 24th, 2009 at 4:04 pm
I dig it when you work in this style!
Maybe you could find a space heater on craigslist? (”ghost” already mentioned this… ahh well.)
February 24th, 2009 at 4:24 pm
I’ve read FP for a fair while, it’s great material for when you’re just chilling. This will be my first comment:
I like this extra art style; it really seems conducive to the mood you set in your more gloomy strips… but I must ask, is that water-colour or a felt-tip that you’re using for fill colours? It’s pretty sweet, and I imagine the scanner does it sufficient justice.
February 24th, 2009 at 9:57 pm
This style reminds me a little of Joe Decie’s work. Very nice.
http://www.webcomicsnation.com/joedecie/
February 24th, 2009 at 10:14 pm
I love these pieces. Very evocative and heartfelt. Love the funny comix too, but I hope we’ll get to see a lot more of this sort of thing.
February 25th, 2009 at 12:26 am
You wake up before I go to sleep! Whenever we hang out now, Im just going to assume you’re sleepy.
February 25th, 2009 at 9:33 am
Q&A:
-I really REALLY hope one of these “other projects” you mention from time to time is a book of comics like this.
Eh, actually, I don’t really have any plans for these comics. They’re just the comics I kinda crap out without really thinking about them, as an exercise to get comfortable not using pencils first. But the response was surprisingly good so maybe? but then again, people like shitty things like Paul Blart: Mall Cop. If I tripped over things a little more often in hilarious public spaces like the mall, maybe then people would start paying me $12 a comic.
-Thought you might get a kick out of this advice.
Thanks, but that won’t work because it’s ill-advised to address your noisy neighbors when they are your landlords and your unit isn’t exactly legal. Also they don’t speak English and I don’t speak Polish so I’m kinda fucked.
-There’s more emotion in them, more heart.
Dammit! Now you guys know I’m not really dead inside. This was a huge mistake.
-is that water-colour or a felt-tip that you’re using for fill colours?
it’s just two felt tip markers
-Whenever we hang out now, Im just going to assume you’re sleepy.
If sleepy means drunk, then yes, I am so sleepy, I am sleepy all the time. I’m sleepy right now even though I just woke up. what!
-My mother wakes up at 3 a.m., because the cats rule her lives, and she says the only thing to do at that time is read.
I just got a terrifying glimpse of my future.
February 25th, 2009 at 10:18 am
This was great, though I’m sorry you have morning insomnia. I have it too and wish I could use it to make amazing comics instead of just listening to podcasts.
February 25th, 2009 at 9:39 pm
man, you should live below me. there are four of us in a one-bedroom, seems like someone’s always in there.
our heat doesn’t work well, so i’ll take a hot bath or bake something and open the oven afterwards.
February 26th, 2009 at 2:12 am
I don’t know why, but I like the ‘no man’s land’ depiction in frame five better than anything I’ve seen or read all day. That’s pretty much february for me.
February 28th, 2009 at 12:56 pm
Since becoming unemployed I am now waking up before 6am. What is it about a suck job that makes one not want to got to bed or wake up the next day?
March 1st, 2009 at 9:54 pm
i’d send you a space heater if i had extra money to spare.
March 8th, 2009 at 3:45 pm
wow julia..this is great stuff..drawn in a loose style,i like the inkwash,and i like the diary style. the last panel really does it for me. great comic julia..really great
April 20th, 2009 at 5:41 am
This is an absolutely great comic … I really admire your works … not just because I can relate to most of your stories … its rare to find such unique style of art … dry yet downright funny !!! Keep it up …
September 28th, 2009 at 8:19 pm
This is how serial killers are made.
…
*Bows and backs away slowly*
(Great comics btw.)