For every comic I publish on this site, there are a handful which don’t make the cut because they are not funny or too weird, too depressing or are just a poop joke. I have provided a few of my rejected rough sketches on this page for your enjoyment or bafflement. Follow me down the unfiltered rabbit hole of my brain…
Here is an Easter Bunny comic I considered running. I like the idea of the Easter Bunny adopting some of the themes of Santa Claus. They're both holiday mascots, but the Easter Bunny doesn't get nearly as much play as Santa.
Here is another Easter comic I considered running. I like making the Easter Bunny a deeply sinister and disturbing individual. Never trust anyone in a pastel vest and bow tie.
This is just a thinly veiled poop joke, so I didn't use it. But I like the idea of going on an Easter egg hunt and finding something else the bunny left behind.
This one may be hard to see, but it involves teddy bear children and Buni on an Easter egg hunt. Then suddenly the eggs crack open and there a gremlin-like creatures inside which then devour the children while the Easter Bunny looks on through a telescope, probably from a balcony or mountain top lair somewhere. A gremlin with an eye patch is perched on his shoulder. It should be noted that when I made all these Easter comics I was breathing a lot of fumes from sanding, staining and sealing steps to my basement in a small enclosed area.
I made this comic to commemorate the so-called "end of the world" according to the Mayan calendar. I didn't make it into a final comic because it's something that's only funny today. A year from now, it won't make much sense. Bonus points if you find Buni hidden among the throngs of people.
I was going to run this comic for Halloween, but someone mentioned that in the third frame readers might confuse a sheet over Buni's costume as Buni being a member of a hooded organization in America's past. Buni is supposed to look like a ghost in the third panel because BuniDad didn't want to walk around with his son dressed as a pink unicorn. A ghost would be easy to convey if Buni had a round head, but because he's dressed as a unicorn his head would be pointy. So I ended up not drawing it, even though in color (if the sheet was colored a light blue or green) I probably could have made it work without anybody thinking of the hooded organization. But I didn't want to risk it.----- I had another rejected Halloween costume where BuniDad accidentally shoots a trick-or-treater dressed as a zombie in the face thinking that the kid was a real zombie. Then he realizes it was just a costume when he sees the kid's spilled candy. In the final panel other trick-or-treaters come to the door and there's a freshly dug grave next to the front door which BuniDad is trying to ignore. (BuniDad would also be passing out the dead kid's candy.) Naturally I decided to pass on the comic about a kid getting shot in the face too.
This alternate ending gives a totally different feel to the comic. This has a more "cute" feel to it. Buni is secretly saved again by BuniDog rather than falling off the ledge in the original comic. This is an example of the "cute" funny vs. dark funny I'm always torn between making.
This is the original comic I made introducing BuniDog. I made it in 2010 and never published it. I wanted the dog to become a recurring character but didn't know what to do with him. I wasn't sure what his personality was going to be. Plus, it wasn't my best drawing (it's hard to draw a wire cage) and I didn't like Buni choosing him over a puppy for money reasons. The dog is actually based on a real dog I saw in Rome, Italy. It was 2 a.m. late one night when I was walking on a cobblestone street. No one else was around. I heard a squeaking sound. I thought it was a biker and saw a shadow growing bigger coming around the corner. It turned out to be a tiny street dog in a makeshift wheelchair made out of bent wire. He seemed like a dog with a story to tell.
Although this comic is meant to show the aftermath of Buni innocently eating a gingerbread cookie, it makes Buni look evil, especially because some people mistake the gingerbread cookie that he is eating as a baby gingerbread cookie. It is actually an adult gingerbread cookie if you must know.
A stork dropping a baby bundle doesn't sit well with some people. I've reworked it a couple times to make the reader think that the bundle is carrying a baby, but then have a last panel showing that it's just the stork's garbage or lunch, but that just waters it down. Go big or go home.
I've done a couple versions of Buni volunteering for a magic trick only to have it end horribly wrong, but I haven't been able to nail it yet. Something is there, but it's just not quite there yet. Sometimes I may come up with an idea, pass on it, then a year later I'll think of the same premise, but with a slightly different twist that finally makes it good enough to publish.
This is an example of a comic that is just random. I like the teddy bear casually sipping his coffee, ignoring Buni's tragedy of being on fire. But there's not enough information about why Buni is on fire. It's amusing, but are we any closer to understanding humanity or our place in the universe? I think not.
This is just an old-fashioned poop joke.
This is essentially a fart joke and probably doesn't make much sense to anybody else. But I like it. I'm not sure if it's because Buni is trying to explain to his doctor that spiders do indeed fart, or that the spider fart caused such ocular damage that he has to wear an eye patch. On the razor thin edge of what's funny or not to the outside world, I fear this may fall on the confusing unfunny side.
New Year's Alternative 1: Although Buni generally has bad luck, I try not to inflict gratuitous pain on him. Besides, I'm pretty sure the New Year's ball drop joke has been done before.
New Year's Alternative 2: I think this is how most people experience New Year's.
New Year's Alternative 3: Although 2011 was a difficult year, it doesn't necessarily deserve a shiv in the back. However, I do like the idea of stumbling across a dead body, only to find a cherub baby walking away.
New Year's Alternative 4: This one is perhaps too violent of an ending for 2011. But I like the idea of a panicked and hunted Old Man Time coming to your door knowing that his time is coming to an end.
Can a comic ever be too depressive? I think not.
The first one reminded me of this German one:
http://nichtlustig.de/toondb/020318.html
(“Sorry. I thought he was made of chocolate.”)
i like them u should do the 1 where he is on fire
Extra goodies. Awesome!
I loved the one of Buni on fire. Would be cool to see that made.
Do the one where Bunny is on Fire! Looks very funny!
These are all awesome. Even the dark ones.
I like that you put a lot of tought into these comics, and not just rush them to have a new one like many other webcomics out there 🙂
I have to agree that the last one is more confusing than funny, but I love all the others. I’d like to see them turn into actual comics.
It might look like Buni eating a gingerbread baby in the first comic, but you could fix that scale problem by letting Buni walk out of a candy store with the gingerbread house as a window display (maybe with a little gingerbread police car in front of it?). Could be a great Christmas comic! 🙂
I got it, the spider gave him pink eye. Woo I feel proud of myself.
Like the fart joke. It shoudn’t been a reject…
Poop joke is great. As for the stork, I like it, but if you want to de-gore it, show it falling past buni (sitting on a bench, but don’t show his lower half) the show him looking down where the bundle would have fallen (without showing it) and gasping and looking horrified.
Hey, #1 is great! Not too original, but it’s obvious he’s eating the dad! ‘Cause mummy’s home with the kids, taking the bad news.
Love the coffee bear, as well. And yep, I think it does bring us closer to understanding humanity…
I think the fire one is hilarious.
Thanks for sharing this…
You´re doing a great job trying to keep Buni´s style with every comic…
Good work!
So what i learned is if you make a comic that is too edgy, call it a reject and than it is ok to post it.
I love the Gingerbread Cookie joke. Reminds me of Gingy’s story on the Shrek christmas special regarding Santa with the same tragic results. Hysterical.
The one where buni gets sawed reminds me of a clip I saw before where a magician sawed through his wife’s throat. Very sad. =(
…I like the gingerbread-man-eaten-by-Buni gag…it’d be fairly straightforward to illustrate that the cookie was an adult by use of perspective, showing Buni and the gingers to scale, mayhap even showing their house in a panel as he walks by, and dressing the gingerbread people in a more detailed age-appropriate manner as adults or kids…I’m betting this would be killer funny (pun intended) if completed…would love to see this one finished…
you should publish the poop one, bu with birds pooping on him. Then, on the next day, show him with a toilet strapped to his head.
Maybe I’m just sick, but the stork and magician ones are absolutely hilarious! Also, Jonah, wtf? Kind of a jerk thing to post. And fyi, *then.
I definitely like the one where Buni is on fire, an idea for a fourth panel, the teddy calling for his bill, maybe?
Cyanide and Happiness’ Depressing comic weeks make these look like a bundle of joy. Publish them pleaseeeeeeee
I very much like the one where Buni is running through the restaurant on fire. Perhaps a fourth panel where the Teddy is asking for his check?
I like the fire one myself. It is my type of humor. Ie: http://ohnocomics.com/2009/08/12/boring/
i love these comics 😀
Very intriguing. I wish you would post more. Personally, I would prefer for more jokes like this to make it onto the site. I appreciate the effort to be in good taste, but I would prefer dark but funny jokes like these to the cuter but sometimes less interesting ones.
Hahaha, really nice ones.
@teddy borgina, the human imagination is quite vivid on such matters, but yes that would work.
i love the spider fart one! i think it’s hilarious! I actually laughed out loud!
The spider one might work if buni was sleeping with something cute and innocent looking which ended up in his eye.
A heads up regarding the magician comic. It have been done. For example in the really funny/dark Swedish movie “Songs from the second floor”:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srSdo80LVso
Perhaps you will be able to make your own spin on it. Good luck. 🙂
That magician one is cruel and sick. Great that he rejected it.
Seems like a simple solution to the stork comic: Drop the baby ON Buni. A howling infant plus a concussed rabbit is funnier than a single dead baby anyway. It’s got a much higher having-a-ridiculously-bad-day quotient too.
The spider fart one is laugh-out-loud hilarious!
I like the one with Buni on fire. i don’t know why, I just do.
How cool that you give us a “behind the scenes” look at what goes into a Buni strip. Thanks!
You know you would have gotten crucified if you ran the disabled dog one.
yeah it would of been a little mean if buni got the dog because he had no money xD
i love the first comic about new year !!
Fantastic ,Funny, Fundoo
I give U 3F
They’re all amazing! Im pro- the stork ones/ and gingerbread one/ and Buni on fire. they’re all pretty great (except BuniDog getting picked over money…glad you rejected that one…) try em all out. They’re hilarious! 🙂
The stork one is fine as is. The poop joke is awesome and you should totally have run that.
Lol. The spider farting in his eye made me laugh. Buni wearing a patch over his eye actually does make sense .. pink eye is pretty contagious. And gross to look at. Haha.
Oh god, you should do the magic trick one. That was darkly hilarious. 😛
I really should read the rejects more often…
Regarding the Halloween strip: it is good. Move the horn a bit to the forehead, this should avoid giving it the bad look, when the sheets over it. The horn could also rip a hole through the sheet, and partly look through, that way the sheet might look rounder around the head. You might also want to add 2 frames: Bunidad getting a sheet from bedroom and cutting eye holes in it. Or bunidad could move the horn to a side of head, attach something like a carrot to the other side as second horn and colorspray the costume (and Buni’s face) in devilred.
Why aren’t the cartoons showing up on this site? Only the cartoonist’s comments show.
I updated my website and haven’t updated The Rejects page yet.
Please please, let be updating the rejects page an important matter !! I’d love to see it, especially after reading the explanation !!!
I can’t see any pictures 🙁
Why can’t we see the images?
The images didn’t transfer to the new site when I updated the old site. When I get some extra time, I’ll try to replace them.
@Ryan Put the page on GitHub, then I (and anyone else) can help fix the links XD