Jackson, Rob – It’s a Man’s Life in the Ice Cream Business #1

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It’s a Man’s Life in the Ice Cream Business #1

OK, maybe not the catchiest title in the world, but a new comic from Rob is always welcome around these parts. In this one he says he’s going “back to basics” and tells the story of how he quit his job and what he’s doing for cash these days. Things start off with a few pages of very simple, Austin English-esque pencil drawings explaining his motivation for quitting his pointless job and trying to sell ice cream at outdoor markets for a living. Once he starts telling that story the art shifts back to his usual, tighter style, and we get reports about the 21 markets he attended to start his new career. There’s a second issue coming, so we’ll see what happens next, but this tells a familiar story of fits and starts as he tries to get things going. Weather is key to selling ice cream (hot days are obviously the best), and he also has a lousy time of it during the early hours (nobody wants ice cream for breakfast). From there he tries to come up with unique ice cream flavors to make himself stand out, and when the weather gets lousy he branches out into selling cheese and some local delicacies. The key to the success of his ice cream operation seems to be selling it in hot places and/or locations where other events are occurring. I had an idea to help with his early morning problem: why not try more breakfast oriented ice creams? Granted, this is almost certainly going to sound ridiculous, but you could probably whip some ice cream up that would taste vaguely of pancakes. That and the world is just waiting for a bacon ice cream flavor. See, this is why I don’t go into business for myself, I’d spend all my time coming up with inedible flavors that made me curious. Another solid comic from Rob and I’m curious to see what happens next. Looks like the next issue is going to have some interesting scenes, as who wouldn’t want to see a fight between ice cream makers and cupcake makers? No price, so my random guess of the day is $4.