One Line from a Future Comic Taken Totally out of Context
One could describe Ric’s kitchen as “a hotbed of unfettered culinary experimentation” and not be wrong. One could also refer to it as “a gastronomic Island of Doctor Moreau, where innocent edibles are subjected to wrong-headed, inhuman experiments at the whims of a madman who doesn’t kn...
2024-06-17 07:00:31 +0000 UTC View Post
This was one of those cases where, in order to make the comic work, I needed one of the characters do something silly. The most logical options were me and Rick. I had a choice to make, but be reasonable. It wasn’t going to be me.
The act of buy...
2024-06-10 07:00:02 +0000 UTC View Post
This comic was inspired by a situation in real life, but I took some liberties. No, nobody asked Ric for advice. The truth is that a third person told someone who was having problems that they should ask Ric for advice. I think we’ll all agree, that’s even more confounding.
If you think...
2024-05-27 07:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post
While the real Rick and I were discussing hats (he recently gave into his destiny as a jazz fan and bought a porkpie hat) it occurred to me that if Rocket Hat were a real comic book superhero, he would probably have had a precursor in the Golden Age of comics. “Propeller Hat.”
You think...
2024-05-20 07:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post
It seems my years, growing up in an irrigated desert, followed by years as a front-line cast member at Walt Disney World, followed by several years living in a paved desert, did my skin no favors.
Now, deep in my middle age, it has dawned on me that skin is good, and worth taking care of. 2024-05-13 07:00:02 +0000 UTC View Post
There was a time when pay-per-impression banner ads on a blog or a webcomic were a profitable way to support your creative endeavors. For a long time, I didn’t have any ads on Basic Instructions. I had dinner with a popular blogger and their spouse, (Good, good people. Not greedy at all. They j...
2024-05-06 07:00:02 +0000 UTC View Post
As I write this, I have not yet seen Godzilla x Kong. It takes a lot to lure me into a theater, but a film that promises King Kong swinging an ax while riding into a fight on Godzilla’s back nicely fits my definition of “a lot.”
They’ve made Godzilla vs. Kong, and now G...
2024-04-29 07:00:01 +0000 UTC View Post
It didn’t help that Dad’s primary use for the accordion was to wake me and my brothers up early on Saturday mornings.
We’d all be sound asleep, and he’s stroll in, big grin on his face, blasting “The Clarinet Polka.” Nobody enjoys getting woken up abruptly, few peop...
2024-04-22 07:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post
I often write the phrase, “This comic was based on a real conversation with the real Ric,” or something to that effect. You could be excused for wondering just how directly I pattern these conversations on the real events, and how accurately I describe my, Ric’s, and Missy’s behavior. In ...
2024-04-15 07:00:12 +0000 UTC View Post
This comic is based, even more-so than most, on a true story. Heroic Man cologne exists. (See the attached photo for proof!). I bought it for someone as a gift. I tried to ship it to them, and DHL refused to transport it. When I realized that I was about to have to explain to Missy why I was keep...
2024-04-08 07:00:02 +0000 UTC View Post
Hi, everyone! Missy here. I'm going to be refreshing my video editing skills, and I figured what better test project than interviewing Scott with your pressing questions!
SO, if there's anything you've wanted to know about Scott, the comic, his books, our life abroad, the cats, me, or any...
2024-04-06 09:33:05 +0000 UTC View Post
I know I talk more than one might expect about my time as a cast member at Walt Disney World. I have always found the place interesting, and working there only made it more fascinating to me.
What does that have to do with this comic about calling in sick? There are two things about calling...
2024-04-01 07:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post
Just FYI, I will be taking next week off. There will be no Out Of Context comic Thursday, or fresh comic the following Monday, but after that we'll be back to normal. Thanks! Now, on to the commentary.
WARNING: Spoilers ahead, for a 50 year old movie that you would have a hard ti...
2024-03-18 08:00:02 +0000 UTC View Post
I feel a little bad about the fourth panel. George Lucas created something that millions of people, myself included, love. In return, we’ve all given him a bucket-load of crap because that thing we love isn’t totally perfect. I’m just as guilty as anyone of this, but I don’t feel go...
2024-03-11 08:00:01 +0000 UTC View Post
This strip is based, loosely, on an actual event. I impulse-purchased a bag of what I thought were mixed nuts. That might be the only way anyone ever buys a bag of mixed nuts. I doubt many people ever make a special trip to the store just because they’re running low on mixed nuts. You never hea...
2024-03-04 08:00:01 +0000 UTC View Post