The Frog that Came Before the Birds

 What am I even talking about? Well, I'll tell you. First, let me get my green tea. 

Okay.. 

So, long before Legends of Dumbness was a thing (and I mean way long ago, it feels like), I had a little comic series starring a frog. A frog named Carl. Carl's presence was on March 2024, a while 7 months before LoD began.

I had big plans for the little frog. I mean real big. I was expecting myself to pump out Carl comics as often as Garfield does. The only difference is, I'm on my own doing comics, while the Garfield comics are made, at least these days, by a big ol crew with more resources than me (I don't know about the earlier days when it was just Jim doing the comics, but ah well).

I was so ready to get out there and pump these comics daily!! I was gonna do so successfully and win everything!! I had.. exactly two comics made of the guy. Yep. TWO. So much for pumping these out daily, eh? 

Anyways, here they are: 

Yep. 

In retrospect, these are about as funny as a sitcom: they aren't. If these were animated, they'd have laugh tracks to them. My art has improved since these two comics, but yeah. Those are the two Carl the Frog comics.. 

But I'm not done yet! 

I had more Carl stuff! And you'll bear witness to them. You've already went down this far. 

You might have to turn your light mode on for these. 

So apparently I was planning a Sunday strip. Kinda glad I didn't. Also, apparently I was planning a whole cast of characters outside of the three that show up in the two finished comics. I don't know about that "the quality" picture though. 

Anyhow, you're probably not wondering, is Carl the Frog usable? Yes, he is usable. Y'know what, don't even credit me if you continue the great Carl saga. Make him your own. He's for all.

But I'm still not done, hard to believe. 

Even before Carl the Frog came around, I had a character who was a walking travesty: Biker Yoshi. This guy was one of those "original character do not steal" archetypes that plague stuff like the Sonic series. He was joined by a bunch of smurfs, a talking burrito, a few other bikers, Ichabod Crane, Santa, a bunch of characters from Crash the bandicoot, and Nermal. 

This guy also had a few comics, exclusively to February '24. One of which was the typical Carl and LoD—type gag strip, and the other was a full on story very mercilessly parodying Wheel of Fortune, pre-Seacrest. Because of it's painfully mean spirited outlook on the show, I decided​ not to upload it here. However, I will upload the other one:

I dunno, I didn't find it that funny. That March date was the last I think I've heard about this biker, cause then Carl came around, and that was the last​ I had for original ideas until October '24, with Legends of Dumbness being my most.. successful, for lack of a better term. 

And I know why too. 

I tried to rush myself with these early comics, especially with Carl. They clearly didn't last long, and Carl especially was a flop. With LoD, I had more know-how and pacing, resulting in it going as long as it has. It feels like an achievement if I'm being honest with you guys. 

Stay tuned for part 2, where I look into the fan comics I've made, as well as the AI generated stories I've made (and also me actively ranting about AI writing), revealing how Biker Yoshi came to be! Until then, folks!