UPDATE: Blue Rice strips old and new are up at bluericecomic.com

Welcome to the comic strip formerly known as Blue Rice.

From 1999 to 2002, I regularly wrote and drew Blue Rice for the University of Illinois school newspaper, The Daily Illini, where 20 thousand students per day followed the exploits of a mouthy gnome, a witty snail, a drunk duck and other bizarre critters.

Over time, the characters gradually came into their own, and the writing eventually came to encompass local issues, national politics and pop culture, not to mention more than its fair share of idiosyncratic nonsense. But before it was an award-winning satire that culminated with a fictional gnome winning student body president, Blue Rice was an oddly-drawn cartoon just trying to find its footing on the comics page.

So for the first time, the (nearly) complete Blue Rice series will appear online right here at America vs The World, starting with the original eight strips I submitted to the Daily Illini graphics editor to pitch myself as a cartoonist.

For the next year or so, we'll periodically post Blue Rice strips—sometimes individually, sometimes grouped together as appropriate (i.e. to accelerate the poorly-drawn randomness that was Season One.) As we go, I'll post a running commentary to provide some context for those who seek it, plus some fun facts about any controversy that may have stirred up in the process. The most recent addition will always be in the sidebar to the left.

Here's to reliving your college days!