While darkish undertones are not for everybody, Dogs on the 4th has a following of 44.4k people who can appreciate a black joke. On his Patreon page, where Fairweather puts additional and exclusive content, the artist says that he is “creating a webcomic for the coffee-stained masses” and it helps him to stay sane and brighten other people’s day a little.
“The coffee-stained masses thing is a reference to the millions of us getting up, having that morning coffee, and heading out into a routine we aren't in love with. Also, I'm a very messy drinker. I'm running out of ties,” said the artist.
“My motivation to create comes from a desire to make people laugh. The best compliments I've ever received without exception are being told that someone was having a bad day and needed the chuckle. I've received awesome feedback, and it really encourages me to keep going. I try my best to stay engaged with my readers, and honestly, they're one of the best parts of doing this. Making weird content attracts fellow weird people, and I've met a lot of truly great and interesting folks as a result!”
Besides making people around a little happier, drawing comics is a great form of self-therapy.
“The comics are an invaluable outlet for me, and they help me decompress from the day-to-day frustrations of structured, ordinary life. I'm a right-brained guy living in a left-brained world.”
The artist says he writes every single idea down, but only a small amount make the cut.
“I write every seed of an idea I have down. 90% of those ideas don't go anywhere. From there, I'll have a writing day and incorporate what I can. If something doesn't work for me, I’ll leave it aside. Some of my best-performing comics have been the result of revisiting an idea weeks/months later with a fresh set of eyes.”
The artist also shared the idea behind the name “Dogs on the 4th”: “Dogs on the 4th is named after how dogs freak out in response to fireworks on the 4th of July. I want to elicit that response from my readers, so that's about as close to a theme as I get!”
The artist shares the common struggle most of us have in modern world, and that is a constant lack of time.
“The most challenging thing is finding time. I'd love to do this full-time someday, but until then, I've got to squeeze in drawing comics between working and changing obscene amounts of soiled diapers.”
Most of Fairweather’s themes are provocative and might be considered taboo, but the ultimate goal is not to offend, but to entertain. If twisted and morbid jokes give you a good giggle, you might also want to explore other artists on Bored Panda here, here and here who share the love for the same dark sense of humor. And there is no shame in that, in fact, the opposite—it can be a sign of a higher IQ. A 2017 Austrian study in Cognitive Processing journal found that preference and comprehension of black humor are directly linked to levels of intelligence. The experiment’s participants who were more into witty jokes also showed less mood disturbance and aggressiveness.
If you’ve always dreamt of a similar outlet for your thoughts, Fairweather has excellent advice for you: “For anybody wanting to get into comics, I'd say make sure you’re doing it for yourself. Make yourself laugh first. The content that comes from making something you truly enjoy will be much better as a result.”
