Update

Campus was closed today (Friday, Jan 29th 2010) due to storm so there was no O'Colly, so no comic! This is actually OK, I think. I'm gonna do a 5th comic in the storyline I'm doing, so the next 3 weeks will be covered, stripwise. I guess this means I'm not gonna do a Valentines Day comic, since the last 2 will fall the week after Vday. Oh well, I didn't have good ideas anyway.

-Emily (cozy warm inside a snowbound apartment)

Molly 04

©THE DAILY O'COLLEGIAN

This comic was originally published January 25, 2010.

This hasn't exactly happened to me, although I have been halfway to a class before I realized I didn't have that class that day. I've known other people to completely mistake days like this.

Anyway, kind of a "throwaway" comic, a filler if you will, as its just a simple slapstick joke with no continuing storyline. Spoiler alert, Friday's will be like that too. Starting Monday will be a semi-continuous storyline. Don't get your hopes up, though, it'll only last a couple weeks (aka like 4 comics).

-Emily (really do I need to sign my name? I feel obligated, like this is some letter to the internet and I'm afraid the internet won't know who sent it.)

Molly 03

©THE DAILY O'COLLEGIAN

This comic was originally published January 22, 2010.

Starting to delve into the characters more. Steve is very attached to his science, but Molly, who is kind of dotty sometimes, just doesn't have the attention span for. Nothing against science, of course. One of my roommates (and the basis for Steve's character) is a science major.

I'm gonna take a moment to reflect. This is the third comic that's been printed, and though thats not a lot, it still blows my mind that something I drew, is actually being printed somewhere. Maye one day I'll look back and scoff at my childish enthusiasm for this mediocre comic strip I cobbled together in one night, but right now I'm on cloud 9.

See I always wanted to be a cartoonist. First it was TV animation, probably due to my love for cartoons. But then I saw comic strips in the newspaper and that was my first inkling that you could get paid for something as simple as drawing. This was when I was about 5. Up until about a year ago, I had convinced myself that I didn't have the talent for comics. It's so much more than drawing. It takes unbelievable amounts of creative and technical skill to do this full time. I have so much respect for people who do comic strips/books as a job.

I'm not saying that now that I do these comics twice a week, I think I have those amazing skillz. But I just got an idea for a comic strip one day, drew it out and then everything just exploded. It was like I finally started to think in comic strip form, which allowed me to keep generating new ideas. Then I went and saw the Editor in Chief of the O'Colly, showed her some dinky comics I had done in my spare times and suddenly, I'm employed as a comic strip artist.

Whoa. I mean, ya it's not a full time job like I'd envisioned, but it's more than enough. Its my dream becoming reality, and that's just really cool. I've got other dreams for what I want to do for the rest of my life, but I'm gonna cherish this while it lasts.

-Emily

Molly 02

©The Daily O'Collegian

This comic was originally published January 15th 2009.

It features Molly's best friend Steve, a nerdy science major who's got his career path more figured out than Molly. After Molly, Steve is one of the primary characters, so he'll be showing up a lot.

Along with this comic, the O'Colly featured an interview with me as a way to promote readership (and let people know it was even there).

Transcript:

Make 'em laugh

by Hayes Martin

For graphic design junior Emily McLain, the lack of a comic strip in the Daily O'Collegian was more than a problem. It was an opportunity.

"A lot of poeple grow up reading comics in the newspaper so they're kind of a staple of newspapers," McLain said.

She decided to take the lack of a comic strip into her own hands, marching into the newsroom to present her portfolio last week.

"I've always wanted to see a comic in O'Colly and I wanted to do a comic strip," McLain said.

"Molly" is about a girl who's trying to find her place in the world. The character is undeclared and hasn't discovered her calling in life, McLain said. McLain said she feels that a large number of students should be able to relate to Molly Blythe through her misadventures.

In the future, she said that she would like to include things that she thinks are important, like social issuess that involve the Stillwater Humane Society.

But McLain also has another goal.

"I just like making people laugh," she said.

McLain's comic strip "Molly" will run on Mondays and Fridays in the Features section of the Daily O'Collegian and can be found online at ocolly.com.

Molly 01

©The Daily O'Collegian

My first comic strip every printed. First published January 11, 2010 in the Daily O'Collegian at Oklahoma State University. New comics published every Monday and Friday.

Our star here is Molly Blythe, a 20 year old college student, yet undecided in major. She's a cheerful, over-eager girl, who things always seem to go wrong for, despite trying her best. Her path in life is still unclear, and she's just looking for her place. Her best friend is Steve, a nerdy science major who's a bit more focused in his goals.

This comic strip is really just an amalgamation of myself and my friends. Even though I know what I want to do, my interests are varied and I will never be able to choose just one thing. I will always love comics and drawing, even if ends up just being a hobby. I have some of the greatest friends and, bless them, they are my greatest source of hilarity so much of that goes into my comic. Other things, like TV, books, dreams, anything I see/hear/think about, is where the rest of the comic comes from.

(all image copyrights belong to The Daily O'Collegian of Oklahoma State University)