load reader's guide

for all those burning questions....

Q: What the hell is Load?
A: Load is a weekly comic strip about love, sexual politics and the grey areas of sexuality. It's also an outlet for personal expression by me, Sam Saturday.

Q: Why is Load only about those things?
A: Think about this: Most comic strips are about nothing at all. Most comic strips star funny (and not-so-funny) characters who address sleep, food and shoes--all very important subjects but not particularly original. Sure, they may be good for a tiny chuckle, but really, can one honestly say they have an artistic purpose? Load is driven by an artistic passion to address the two major things that drive civilization: love and sex.

Q: Why is Load so raunchy? Why don't you tone it down?
A: It's a comic about sex and by extension it's purely for "mature readers." So it's not for everyone--especially people uncomfortable with sexuality, baby.

Characters

Thadius T. Pope & Thadius T. Pig (not their real names) are a famous comedy duo and product pitch-men. Think of them as the Laurel & Hardy of Latex, the Abbott & Costello of Anal, or Martin & Lewis of Masturbation. Contrary to popular belief, Pig is not Pope’s pet, they are not lovers, and Pope is not THE Pope. They are best friends and partners in comedy. To see what they do when they’re not telling jokes, check out the three issues of the Pope & Pig comic book.

Representative feelings & ideas: Wackiness, horniness, consumer culture

Hey, it's The Lovers! This is where all that angsty relationship nonsense comes out. If you see these two you can be sure it's a comic about dating. It seems like they've been going out for years but somehow they barely know each other. They love each other but they can't get past the other's inability to commit. Emotionally they're never on the same page at the same time. Man, that sucks. Get it together, you two!

Representative feelings & ideas: Relationship drama, miscommunication, desire for love

The King of Women is a late-twenties/early-thirties douchebag lacking any respect for women. Ronnie Rimms is a gay man in his early fifties who spent the last 25 years as a straight porn star. When it comes to fucking, RR has seen and done everything. Before they met, the KoW was a huge fan of Ronnie’s movies, unaware that his porno hero was gay. Upon realizing this the KoW goes through a crisis of sexual identity with Ronnie Rimms as his mentor/guide/Grand Poobah.

Representative feelings & ideas: Confused sexuality, perversion, gross shit

Elzax is a half-human demon constantly on the search for love, and barring that, he'd just really like to get laid. He's new to the human world and doesn't understand our mating system one bit. (Here's a tidbit for long-time readers: Elzax is the half-brother of Chester the Ass Demon. The half in common is their demon father. Elzax's human mother raised him on the Lacotian Plane.)

Representative feelings & ideas: Sexual frustration, mating rituals, loneliness

By day and night he's just your regular chicken-dude in a bowtie, but in the early hours he's The Morning Fucker, the world's most sexually satisfied superhero in a bowtie. Fucking people in the morning gives him the powers he needs to face the day and, as a service to humanity, getting fucked by The Morning Fucker gives other people a burst of energy and confidence! Everybody wins when The Morning Fucker is in town!

Representative feelings & ideas: Celebration of sexuality, confidence, the author getting laid (very important!)

General Questions

Q: Where did Load come from? How long have you been drawing it?
A: I drew the first Load comic on May 23, 2000. Load came from my need for quick personal and artistic expression. It's much easier for me to write & draw a comic strip about what I'm feeling right then than it is to churn out a whole damn play. Load started out as single-image drawings of random ideas. Over time it developed a more traditional comic strip format and I narrowed its focus to sex & relationship humor.

Q: What mediums do you use to draw Load?
A: I use a very ancient method of illustration known as "paper & pencil" to draw the strip. I follow that up with another tool known as a "black pen." After these two intricate processes are complete I then jump a thousand years into the future and "scan" the paper, thereby inserting its information into a "computational machine" known as a Mac. I use this machine to fix any errors made during the inking process and to add color to the comic. I'm currently using an Intel-based iMac and a Wacom tablet, nerd.

Q: I've heard the Load television show is fantastic. Where can I see it?
A: It IS fantastic, thank you. Please check your local listings for show times and air dates.

Q: I have an idea for a gross comic. Would you like to hear it?
A: No. Go draw your own comic strip, if you're so smart.

Q: I am a high-powered publisher with a widely-read magazine or newspaper. How can I get Load into my publication, thus substantially increasing my readership?
A: Send me an e-mail, for god's sake! saturday at loadworldcomics dot com!

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