Adulthood is pretty rough if you dont know how to laugh at yourself sometimes. Though all are subject to the pitfalls of negativity inherent in analyzing our jobs, relationships, familial and social standing, a healthy dose of laughter is just the right medicine to help inoculate ourselves from ourselves. It is to that end that we present our conversation with a brother by the name of Chuck Collins as he talks about his Bounce! comic strip.
Created in 2012, Bounce! is the true to life artistic interpretations of Collins life as a bouncer in New York City. At a glance, the illustrations are reminiscent of the old Boondocks comic strip with an artistic style that borrows heavily from anime. But Collins’ characters are much more phenotypically Black than Aaron McGruder’s characters.
However, this type of humor is less about splap stick ridiculousness, clowning ratchetness and embodying stereotypes and more about a blue collar crew of individuals trying to apply customer service in a city whose soul is fast becoming a gentrified mass of self-importance and whining.
Collins taps into that vein of knowledge and brings it to the people in a way that only an artist who makes ends meet as a bouncer can. Recently, Collins released a compilation of Bounce! offerings in book form and says he hopes to release an even bigger compilation by December. Check out some samples of his work at http://www.bouncethecomic.com/ Take the good, the bad and everything in between and you have Bounce! the comic. Enjoy.
