I Had Issues! My Old Review of Tips

 

Well, posting this was a revelation. When I first wrote these articles, I was doing them very much on the fly. So on the fly that many pieces had errors I didn't give myself time to correct. This article in its original form was the most mistake-ridden article I've worked on since I started archiving my work on this blog. It's a little embarrassing. No wonder I take so much time to write nowadays. I'm glad for every moment I was able to feature a local artist. That's something I'll be doing again on my Medium page very soon. Sadly, the cartoonist's website is no longer up, and his Facebook page has been inactive for some time. If he resurfaces again, I will post his information here. Originally published September 12, 2012. Edited for much needed clarity. 

I feel like one of the many cheapskates Chris Pittas depicts in his comics. Pittas was doing volunteer work for the Out of The Blue Art Gallery. It was there I found a dogeared copy of his Tips comic, and I had no cash on me. I grabbed the comic with the intent to review it and pay later. I'm sure this is the equivalent of a dine and dash to him. Sorry, Chris. I owe you four singles.

I worked in a coffee shop and waited tables during and after graduate school. I'd rather be molested by lions than go back to that kind of systematized begging. When I read Tips the comic book (a sampling of Pittas' online work), I felt less nostalgic and more relief that I escaped  before the era of the online critic. 

Given my feelings when coworkers of mine became shoppers--people dining undercover with the intent to pick the meal, the ambiance, and especially the waiters apart--I support Pittas' feelings towards Yelp, Twitter and other social media forms of Big Brothering low tier employees.

From firsthand experience, I know that many would-be-artists who end up in the service sector start having their creativity co-opted to the point that they only have ideas that revolve around their jobs. My favorite overheard idea was this guy who wanted a pitch a "Simpsons" episode of Starbucks coming to Springfield. That was second only to my never-produced comedy series "The Adventures of Latte Boy" (sigh).

It's one in a million lucky souls who gets it down on paper with even an ounce of insight. So far, Pittas has done it a couple dozen times. A good start and a feat worth noting.

I love the broken smile/non-smile that's a staple of the yet-unnamed male lead character. I love the visceral nature of Pittas' jokes and their delivery, even if the delivery is just an expletive. On one hand, I question how long a strip like this can stay fresh with the characters being just ciphers and the plot basically a monologue. On the other hand, I think it's this simplicity that helps make these strips the most accurate depiction of the angry outlook many people possess while working these types of jobs.

 I recommend buying this comic from local Boston stores. If you feel reservations about buying a comic full of material that is available online, you should still go to Pittas' website and pick up the great shirt he designed. Oddly enough, there doesn't seem to be a link to buy the print version of Tips anyway. Pittas' site is one I'll be visiting frequently. He may run this idea into the ground, but he's not likely to run out of material anytime soon.