College Catastrophe

About

I began drafting College Catastrophe in October of 2000, shortly after beginning my freshman year in college.  College life was giving me so many wacky ideas that I just had to jot down, and the natural format for me to do that was in a comic strip.  And this is the result (I never was or am satisfied with the title; it's the outcome of a failed brainstorm in alliteration).

The strip ran weekly for 2 years, until I got really bogged down with other things (uh, school?).  Then even more things got in the way (work).  But I still try to update it occasionally, simply because I enjoy drawing funny cartoons.  I hope you enjoy reading them too. ;-)

The Cast

College Catastrophe features a small cast of critters, most of whom happen to be dormmates.

Jan (Lion) a.k.a. the author -- Computer science major.  The protagonist of the strip who genuinely tries to make good grades (to impress his parents) but is often the target of mishap.  First appeared 1/1/2001.

Wolf (Wolf) -- Physics major and computer science minor.  Jan's roommate, who loves to tinker with gadgets and has an inclination triggering explosions.  It's anyone's guess why he's tackling two degrees when he's not particularly competent at either.  First appeared 1/1/2001.

Phil (Horse) -- Undecided major, music minor.  Living down the hall from Jan and Wolf can be quite maddening, especially when untimely detonations distract one from writing music.  Such is Phil's life, but he seems to take it in stride.  He has also beaten everyone at arm wrestling.  First appeared 1/1/2001.

Amber (Fox) -- Undecided major.  Jan's girlfriend who is bouncy, figuratively and literally.  Somehow, she's gotten mixed in with the guys' daily itineraries and think it's her duty to set them even further off the beaten path.  She is not particuarly fond of peanut butter.  First appeared 8/1/2001.

Shiera (Lion) -- Japanese major.  Shiera had a crush on Jan in the early days.  First appeared 2/14/2001.

Tor (Tiger) -- Fine arts major.  One of Amber's friends who unwittingly decided to hang around Jan and the gang more often.  A night owl like most artists, and dangerously short-tempered unlike most artists.  He is incapable of operating any technology created in the past ten years.  First appeared 7/2/2005.  He has also spun off into his own series, Swords and Sausages.

Andrea (Arctic Fox) -- Also known as Silver in Swords and Sausages, Andrea is Tor's shy better half.  She hasn't had much of a role in CC, but she's here on this page just in case.

FAQ

  • How often does CC update?
    As of Janary 2013, the comic is complete! For the continued adventures of the CC cast after college, check out Nine to Nine.
  • Will there be a CC book?
    The book is done! You may order it from the book page.
  • Where does CC take place?
    It's actually based on Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, where I attended for a couple years while pursuing a computer science degree.
  • What happened to the art after 2009?
    The CC strips you are seeing prior to 2009 have been remastered since their original run in the early 2000's. I picked up CC again in 2009 when I was very much out of practice.

Credits and Thanks

I'd like to personally thank the creators of The Class Menagerie (Vince Suzukawa) and The Suburban Jungle (John "The Gneech" Robey), who inspired me in the early days.

Thanks to Blambot for providing their fonts free of charge, which I use in almost every strip.

Thanks to the developers of Inkscape, for creating the software I use to create this comic.

And thank you, for reading!