These Boots Were Made For Walking

1993 was a turning point in my life. It started with me working two jobs. One job was in a pub in Magnolia, the other was a sleazy nightclub in Pioneer Square called Celebrity. I had enough time left over to work on Pipe Dreams, but I was slowing down a little.

In March I quit my cook job, and decided to focus on the club, where I made more money and went full force on Pipe Dreams. The club didn't inspire me much, I was still using my ideas from New York and my days at SVA. I was slowing incorporating my Seattle experiences in the strip. I was friendly with my co workers at Celebrity and went to after hours clubs afterwards. It wasn't to last.

I made a visit to my friends in NYC and they were all making strides in their careers. I was falling behind I thought and when I got back to Seattle I was going to make some changes. Instead, changes were made of me. I lost my Celebrity job in a convoluted way.









I spent the summer of 93 collecting unemployment and taking a lot of time looking for work. I briefly dated a woman named Sheila, another named Dory. I worked two weeks at a coffee stand covering for a friend of a friend. I was hanging out with an irresponsible couple with two kids. They partied a lot, I baby sat the two kids and watched their two cats give birth to 12 cats only to have ten of them die. They were behind on bills and so the father bought a pure breed Akita.



















I had to get away from this, I succeeded by moving into a house with a neighbor friend along with some Jaycees. funny enough it was cheaper than my apartment. $203 dollars a month! And two roommates had cheaper rent.

I hung out with these guys, which had a positive effect. I met a new girl at an Octoberfest. A cutie pie named Sonya. She was sweet and loved my work on Pipe Dreams. I was encouraged by her enthusiasm and took some of her advice. Her sister wasn't into it as much but really liked the troll "Don King" gag. In January 1994, I finally got a job at a bakery.











Pipe Dreams was moving along. The son of the couple I hung out with pointed out how big the boots of my characters were. I didn't notice. My intent was to have Julian wear Doc Martens. It was an exagerration that carried to the other character's sneakers.


















Besides that, I was expanding my cast to include the family members of Skat. His parents, his brother, based on my family. Skat's aunt and cousin were more loosely based on real people. Skat's cousin was racist and homophobic. It didn't work. He was obnoxious and not funny.























I look back on this set of strips and am sorry that I have not been syndicated. The jokes that were maybe funny back then are irrelevant now because of the changes.

















Other than the boots, my artwork was pretty ambitious. It was looking good layout wise, my dialouge was getting better but still was forced sometimes. At least I was dating someone who made for some good editing. A new girlfriend, a new place to live, a new job, things may work out after all.