B4 Comics

On Love: Charlie Brown and the Little Red-Head Girl

2011-11-01T12:26:00.002-06:00

Belated Glad Tidings

2011-01-02T15:18:00.001-06:00

Marco and Marty Action Figures!

2010-11-07T15:17:00.003-06:00

Collect all 137!

Hoo, Doggy!

2010-11-03T17:46:00.002-06:00

Well, guys.
I will have something posted towards the end of the week, but, as of now, I am very tied up with work. I really have the task-managing skills of a sack of wet gerbils, so, yes, something is gonna have to change in order for me to get my act together.
oy vey.
So! More to come!

Well, Well, Well...

2010-09-25T15:32:00.002-06:00

So, I am back! From outer space! I just walked in to find you...

okay, enough of that.

I am going to start posting here again more often to vent and display some meaningless art objects. Hope you folks out there are still idly watching. Thanks for your patience.

- Billy Fore

From Word to Image

2010-05-17T20:41:00.004-06:00

I admit that I am a sentimental fool; I have a soft spot for the old poets, and I believe there is so much sincerity in writings of the past. Before becoming a graphic design major I was an English major (and, incidentally, I plan on going back into English.) I consider myself a moderate-to-average reader. I’ve read a humble number of things from the Western canon, and I enjoy learning about cultural periods of thought, especially Modernism. Modernity implies a certain amount of purpose in what you read and write. Everything seemed more thoughtful (but that is probably the false lens of borrowed nostalgia,) and education was seen as self-exploration. Postmodernism came with a deplorable cynicism and a disavowal of structure. It reads like a criticism that offers no solutions. Now, we live in a post-postmodern culture. This is the information age -- or the aftermath of it. It is a very strange period to be young and in college. This the age of Wikipedia, the age of the iPhone, and the age of Youtube. Nothing is truly mysterious to us the young, and there are probably some very pertinent questions which should come to our minds which simply do not. In other words, the definition of understanding has shifted. And understanding has been democratized to a crippling degree. What we call an education is truly the bare minimum. Designers have a responsibility to make information accessible but not facile.

To use an analogy, imagine the difference between Halloween bite-sized candies and a three-course French dinner. The candies are portable, easy-to-swallow, and sweet. This represents information processed by design--edited to curt convenience and made accessible to a wide audience. They satisfy sweet-tooth cravings and they are technically food, but a good parent would hardly call this kind of junk food a meal to a growing child. And what of that three-course French dinner? It seems an antiquated notion. In effect you are eating three very small meals, not hastily, but with time to breathe and let the food rest on your palate. You appreciate the taste. You compliment the flavors. You give your stomach a chance to process the types of food. This represents a book or longer piece of writing, in general. Assuming you are reading at a pace you can manage comfortably, you are processing more information and pushing your brain to extract as much information and ideation from the work as possible. It is an amazing fact that our culture, seemingly consumed with the idea of large quantities in every other facet of living, drops the ball when it comes to reading. Most folks vote for politicians without even the faintest research of their platform. Religious and non-religious people alike say the most embarrassingly asinine things in the name of ideology which would become apparent to them if they only meandered into a book or two on the subject in question.

A quip from Samuel Clemens, which is as true today as it was then:

“A person who won’t read has no advantage over one who can’t read.”

And this leads into a Whitman quote I enjoy…

The past and present wilt --- I have fill’d them. emptied them,

And proceed to fill my next fold of the future.

Listener up there! what have you to confide to me?

Look in my face while I snuff the sidle of evening,

(Talk honestly, no one else hears you, and I stay only a minute longer.)

Do I contradict myself?

Very well then I contradict myself,

(I am large, I contain multitudes.)

I concentrate toward them that are nigh, I wait on the door-slab.

Who has done his day’s work? who will soonest be through with his supper?

Who wishes to walk with me?

Will you speak before I am gone? will you prove already too late?

-- Walt Whitman. 51 from “Song of Myself.” Leaves of Grass 1855, 1881.

Ah…

Yes….

Uh…..

New Yorker Style Yokels

2010-05-13T01:36:00.001-06:00

Something Cute That Doesn't Suggest Deep Depression or A Troubled Mind

2010-05-06T00:08:00.002-06:00

More Board Game stuff

2010-05-05T20:12:00.002-06:00

Some of the couples in my board game of dating dysfunction.

Graphic Design Board Game

2010-04-28T09:10:00.002-06:00

I am not going to bother to explain gameplay for this boardgame now. Suffice it to say, it is a game about the perils of dating and coupleship.

More Doodles

2010-04-27T00:40:00.002-06:00

Another One of the Boys

2010-04-24T03:38:00.001-06:00

Doodle Doodle Doo!

2010-04-23T09:46:00.002-06:00

Creepy Doodle

2010-04-22T02:50:00.002-06:00

Happy Birthday, Marco and Marty!

2010-04-22T01:16:00.003-06:00

Marco and Marty just passed the 100 comic mark this week, so I thought I'd let them enjoy a video of how they were born. Ah... I get so goshdarn nostalgic just thinking about it!

Why I am a cartoonist/manic-depressive

2010-04-22T01:15:00.002-06:00

Blue Happiness

2010-04-21T00:04:00.002-06:00

Sometimes... we open ourselves up to a blue happiness, a beauty that is not connected to anything external as life is still hectic and chaotic, but emanates from something enriching inside of us. It's the kind of thing that makes us use comma splices and run-on sentences to express are awe of the sublime. I dunno. I'm all right. Life is getting better all the time.

The Boys on a Stage

2010-04-20T00:47:00.002-06:00

Class doodles

2010-04-19T23:34:00.002-06:00

The Birds, The Bees, and Levels of Believability

2010-04-10T18:49:00.001-06:00

Gouache and such

2010-04-10T14:57:00.000-06:00

Happy Easter Everyone!

2010-04-03T23:52:00.002-06:00

Ip and Quid

2010-04-03T18:35:00.002-06:00

Self Portrait with Mice

2010-04-03T16:25:00.002-06:00

Mr. Holland's Opus scene

2010-04-01T00:59:00.003-06:00

This scene always makes me tear up. I don't know if this really relates at all to comics or anything, but sometimes it's important to take stock in the people we love and appreciate all that God has blessed us with. This reminds me not to make something like comics my ultimate goal, but to remember that greatness and wealth are embedded in those we love.

That mush aside, enjoy the clip.

- B4

Ink Sketches! Part Deux: Revenge of the Ink Well!

2010-04-01T00:42:00.002-06:00

Thank Heaven for Small Favors

2010-03-31T11:32:00.002-06:00

Adventures in the Unconscious!

2010-03-30T00:32:00.001-06:00

Ink Sketches!

2010-03-26T23:02:00.002-06:00

Me, Myself, and Angst

2010-03-26T22:58:00.003-06:00

Here are some comics I did whilst wallowing in self-pity... haha... whilst. Who says that. WHILST. (giggle)

- B4

100 Themes: Number Thirty-Eight

2010-03-25T00:48:00.002-06:00

100 Themes: Number Thirty-Seven

2010-03-24T22:30:00.003-06:00

100 Themes: Number Thirty-Six

2010-03-23T19:54:00.001-06:00

Shameless Self-Reference

2010-03-23T13:43:00.002-06:00

Appendum

2010-03-18T18:29:00.002-06:00

If you wish to comment on any specific Marco and Marty cartoon, you can reach me at

billyfore@gmail.com.

I appreciate your readership.

- B4

Marco and Marty's New Home

2010-03-16T16:07:00.002-06:00

Okay, kids!
So, I wanted to make a site specifically for Marco and Marty, so I put all of the comics on this tumblr. It has a sharper look to it, and you can navigate it better. Anyway, I will be posting comics there now and posting other work here.

I repeat, Marco and Marty is moving to a new site.

Here's the url.

Well, there's that

Ciao, kids.

- B4

Marcomatose

2010-03-16T14:47:00.002-06:00

Waiting for Marco pt. 8

2010-03-14T16:11:00.001-06:00

Waiting for Marco pt. 7

2010-03-11T02:31:00.000-06:00

Waiting for Marco pt. 6

2010-03-10T15:43:00.001-06:00

Waiting for Marco pt. 5

2010-03-09T16:15:00.003-06:00

Technically, it's a comic festival, not a comic convention. To err is human.

Waiting for Marco pt. 4

2010-03-08T12:58:00.001-06:00

Plot moves in mysterious ways

In Plot We Trust

Oh my Plot! They killed Kenny!

This should look familiar

2010-03-07T21:30:00.003-06:00

I admit, this was a little lazy. I, however, was not around a working scanner this weekend, so I had to make due with clunky rehashing.
Have a good week, kids!

-B4

Most Tiresome, Indeed

2010-03-05T03:58:00.002-06:00

GAAAAAAAAAH!

2010-03-04T17:08:00.003-06:00

That Luke Person

Sometimes I see art that makes me want to eat my own face. It is like... I love looking at this work... but there is also a sort of Highlander moment where you want to lob off the artist's head and proclaim "there can be only one."
But I digress.
I enjoyed this gentleman's drawings and am making him a link on my link thing.

Waiting for Marco pt. 3

2010-03-04T17:02:00.001-06:00

Waiting for Marco pt. 2

2010-03-02T16:15:00.001-06:00

Waiting for Marco pt. 1

2010-03-01T12:33:00.002-06:00

Fleshy

2010-02-28T18:02:00.003-06:00

Napkins

2010-02-24T03:45:00.002-06:00

Arrested Melody

2010-02-23T16:42:00.004-06:00

Ra Ra Oh La La

2010-02-22T18:01:00.001-06:00

Snafumarook

2010-02-21T16:34:00.002-06:00

Marty and the Full Effect

2010-02-18T15:51:00.003-06:00

I think that is Bob Dylan's genre...

2010-02-17T17:35:00.002-06:00

This seems to be the case, actually

2010-02-15T14:46:00.001-06:00

Some Assembly Required

2010-02-14T13:27:00.002-06:00

Marco and Marty minus Marco

2010-02-11T16:02:00.004-06:00

So, I was having fun reading Garfield minus Garfield the other day, and I thought I would make a Marco and Marty minus Marco comic. Enjoy.

Valentine's Day

2010-02-11T15:48:00.003-06:00

A Lot, Actually

2010-02-10T15:13:00.001-06:00

Window

2010-02-09T18:42:00.002-06:00

Heaven

2010-02-07T21:31:00.002-06:00

Unsavory

2010-02-06T20:59:00.001-06:00

Crap

2010-02-04T15:37:00.001-06:00

Destination: Fun Time!

2010-02-03T00:51:00.002-06:00

Wakeful

2010-02-02T15:21:00.002-06:00

Hamletesque

2010-02-01T18:01:00.001-06:00

Irony

2010-01-31T02:54:00.002-06:00

Squid

2010-01-28T15:06:00.002-06:00

The Writer

2010-01-27T15:26:00.002-06:00

Robert Frost

2010-01-26T15:21:00.001-06:00

Depressed

2010-01-25T15:13:00.000-06:00

Addicting

2010-01-24T13:41:00.001-06:00

Not Losing (sorry for the tardiness)

2010-01-21T15:09:00.000-06:00

Winners

2010-01-19T23:33:00.001-06:00

Marc Jacobs

2010-01-19T01:56:00.001-06:00

Sacred

2010-01-18T18:36:00.000-06:00

Brainchild Rearing

2010-01-12T22:34:00.004-06:00

Oh, what we parents won't do for our brainchildren. Nothing short of infanticide. Hmm.

HOKAY!

So, for the past two weeks this is what I have been working on

A Room without Books -- I am making a bible (about eight comics and a bio) to pitch to the Daily Illini for their empty comic slot. This will mean I will be writing two daily comic strips. To see some old comics, look in the handy little sidebar under the taxon "a room without books" (easy enough.)
Marco and Marty: Season Two -- Predictably enough, I am also working on Marco and Marty comics for next semester. Fun facts - there will be a more consistent plot from here on out, and a more extensive cast - including a GIRL! (what?! a girl in a Billy Fore comic? HRMEMhooHAHAhrm ha! Preposterous!) Margo the cat is now going to be a running character as well a couple more repeat offenders from the last 40-odd comics. Expect big things. Expect manatees in big rigs chasing pterodactyls. No, don't. Too much pressure.
In Passing -- I am also working on a longer work (right now only in the writing stages) called In Passing which is about two college students named Drew and Walsh who get caught up in the business of the afterlife thanks to a clerical error made by the grim reaper. The story is a piecing together of two or three short stories I wanted to write. The comic won't rear its ugly head 'till well after this semester. I am trying to get into the habit of writing more which segues into the next point quite nicely.
48 Weeks in Comics -- This is a blog I just started last week and have yet to update (sigh.) Rather than explaining what it is just read it here.
Archiving -- I have been going through a large stack of sketches that I have in my basement, and I have been cutting out pictures and pasting them in a sketchbook. It is supposed to timeline all of the work I have done since 2006. This is a lot like those people who compulsively clip their toenails and keep them stored in mason jars in their closets.

So, that's the skinny! Sorry that I haven't been posting consistently. The bomb is going to drop on January 19, so be wary.

Skittles,

Billy Fore

Marco and Marty Season TWOAHHHHHHHH!

2010-01-12T22:10:00.001-06:00

I went for a walk on a winter's day!

2009-12-24T12:58:00.005-06:00

well folks,

I was hoping to have a Christmas special up by now, but alas... 'tis not in the cards. I have been frantically working on Christmas gifts for my immediate family because (cough) I may be a bit of a procrastinator.

Some good news! I passed the typography class which I was close to flunking (barely... by a hair) and I got B's and an A in the rest of my classes. Needless to say, I spent A LITTLE too much time on extra-curriculars this semester... Theatre... The comic... Television. Anyway, it was a mistake, but God has a certain, wonky sense of humor concerning grace and mercy. Kudos to the management of this hum-drum universe!

Also, I am with my family now, and they bring me immense comfort. The little cataclysms of your life fade away when you have loved-ones near by. Another courtesy of the management.

Marco and Marty will be up in the new year along with (maybe) another strip which I will pitch to The Daily Illini (the other guy who I belittled with a couple of my comics actually quit. I hope those facts are unrelated.) So! IF YOU HAVE ANY REQUESTS FOR COMICS [see this post for reference] NOW WOULD BE THE TIME TO LEMME KNOW IN THE COMMENTS SECTION OF THIS POST! I am trying to stuff my portfolio with as much work as possible so I will be doing this anyway, regardless of whether or not it is published.

My fans. My public. My adoring rabble. You make this modest, self-worshipping blog a small piece of heavenly angel-food cake. Have a warm, safe, happy holiday and I will see you when I see you!

- B4

P.S. I figured Marco and Marty was vaguely Christmasy enough to post.

My Mind's Ajar

2009-12-15T06:11:00.003-06:00

The exciting life of Billy Fore! In A JAR! If you live in a box, YOU SIR ARE A SQUARE!
JARS ARE WHERE IT'S AT! CANS TOO! cylinders in general...
sigh...
You can hear the freshness seal pop... can't you?

Bromance

2009-12-13T23:51:00.002-06:00

Portmanteau: Part 5

2009-12-10T17:51:00.003-06:00

Portmanteau: Part 4

2009-12-09T18:43:00.001-06:00

Portmanteau: Part 3

2009-12-08T19:47:00.001-06:00

Portmanteau: Part 2

2009-12-07T18:49:00.001-06:00

Portmanteau: Part 1

2009-12-06T18:16:00.003-06:00

Socks

2009-12-03T18:21:00.001-06:00

Five Hundred and Eleven

2009-12-02T16:01:00.000-06:00

Love in the Time of Swine Flu

2009-12-02T05:34:00.002-06:00

Anxiety

2009-11-30T02:32:00.001-06:00

Faceless Corporations

2009-11-28T23:52:00.001-06:00

BILLY FORE SELLS OUT!

2009-11-24T16:50:00.001-06:00

Touch Me!

Angry Gerbil Porn

2009-11-19T15:04:00.000-06:00

My Whims!

2009-11-18T18:00:00.001-06:00

Breaking Character

2009-11-17T17:53:00.002-06:00

Litany of Self-Loathing

2009-11-16T17:57:00.002-06:00

A Desultory Philippic of Rob Zielinski

2009-11-15T13:32:00.001-06:00

The strip in question

Shameless Plug - Come See "ALL IN THE TIMING" This Weekend!

2009-11-12T16:19:00.001-06:00

Whiskers

2009-11-11T17:30:00.001-06:00

Okay. Confession. This comic was majorly phoned in. It is pretty bad all around. :(