Artist Creates Interesting Comics With Unexpected Endings

The combination of cute and dark humor is addictive.

Damjan

Published in Interesting
12 Mar 2021

Artist Creates Interesting Comics With Unexpected Endings

Ryan Pagelow's Buni comics look sweet at first glance, then hit with a punchline that lands somewhere between cute and cruel. That mix has helped turn his wordless strips into a steady favorite for readers who like their humor with a twist.

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Based in Chicago, Pagelow has built a huge audience by pairing simple drawings with unexpected endings. His main character, Buni, keeps stumbling through a surreal world filled with ghosts, animals, food, and everyday objects that seem determined to make life harder.

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The result is a comic series that can be funny, sad, or strangely heartwarming in just four panels. Read on.

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Ryan Pagelow says:

He started out drawing comics for university newspapers, later freelanced for Mad magazine, and created Buni in 2009 before it appeared on GoComics and Webtoon.

When he's not creating comics, Pagelow works as a full-time videographer and photographer.

He sees photography and videography as capturing the outside world, while comics are more about illustrating an internal one.

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Buni comics are a delightful combination of sweetness and darkness, centered around the lovable main character, Buni, who finds himself in all kinds of difficult situations but never gives up.

As a mostly wordless comic, Pagelow relies on images to tell stories that are twisted, sad, and funny all at the same time. The main character, Buni, doesn't realize that the visually cute world he inhabits is usually out to get him. Buni lives in a surreal world populated by teddy bears, cupcakes, unicorns, and zombies.

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Although Buni is the main character, the comics are enhanced by a variety of other quirky characters. There's everything here, pizzas, plants, missing socks, and planets. The artist isn't afraid to step out of his comfort zone to deliver results that are extremely interesting.

He says he likes to entertain himself first, so if a comic idea about a cupcake makes him laugh, he'll draw it. He also wanted a world that could stay interesting for years instead of feeling boxed in.

Creating a wordless comic is challenging, especially in just four small panels. Simple emotions and familiar things like food and animals help the joke land fast, and comics with anthropomorphic pizza or hot dogs do not require any backstory.

They instantly understand pizza and hot dogs and what their world might look like. When I create comics with the Buni character, it's funnier if you understand the character and his history.

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He says he gets his ideas by sitting down and thinking for about 30 minutes every day, imagining what everyday objects would feel and want if they had emotions.

And when asked about the most challenging and rewarding aspects of creating comics, he said:

He describes comics as a kind of daily meditation, and says he would probably keep making them even if nobody looked at them. He likes that webcomics are quick little mini-stories, and the hardest part is keeping up the pace week after week while still pushing the boundaries.

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Pagelow believes that Buni comics are popular because of the lack of dialogue, which makes them effortless to understand. They transcend borders and languages, and the unique sense of humor plays a significant role as well.

Humor comes from the unexpected, twisted ending. If a normal, happy ending is anticipated, you can create humor with a dark or sad conclusion. Although many people describe my comics as dark, I view them as optimistic because Buni wakes up happy every day with good expectations despite everything that has happened in the past.

However, you either love or hate this kind of comic, and the artist has learned to avoid negativity in comments.

He learned a couple of years ago not to read the comments on the internet, except for a quick glance to make sure people understand it and there is no unforeseen controversy. He does try to respond to people who email him or send direct messages, and he appreciates that people enjoy the comic. Sometimes he creates a comic and wonders if he is insane for thinking it is funny, then thousands of people like it, so he figures he cannot be too far off.

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He says he is motivated by the desire to create an even funnier comic next time. It's like an endless chase to find the perfect comic, which probably doesn't exist. Also, he has enjoyed comics since before he could read, and he'll likely continue to enjoy visual storytelling until he dies. In that sense, comics will be a part of his life forever.

Pagelow's desire to improve himself has resulted in global success. In addition to having a considerable number of followers across various social media platforms, he also highlights some of the most significant moments of his artistic journey so far.

One of his proudest moments was when a New Zealand crematorium asked him to use one of his comics on a billboard to advertise their cremation services. Getting syndicated, publishing a book of Buni comics, and being named Best Online Comic by the National Cartoonists Society in 2013 were also significant achievements. Meeting some of the cartoonists he grew up reading was great as well.

Pagelow’s surprises feel like the small moments collection that turns everyday scenes into unexpected chaos.