Today in 3 Panels, by Dean Mang-Wooley

Hannah is watching Dean play the game Earthworm Jim on the Super Nintendo. Hannah says: "I think Earthworm Jim is an ESFP. With seriously un-diagnosed ADHD."

Earthworm Jim

Sep 21, 2008

Dean and their dad are cleaning in the basement of Dean's old school. Panel 1: Dean's dad holds a plastic bag in front of his face and says: "Qu'est-ce que the hell est this?" Panel 2: Close up image of the plastic bag's contents. A dried-out, moldy piece of fruit. Image text reads: "Maybe it was a mango?" Panel 3: Image of a table with a large stain on it. Image text reads: "After a year or so in the school's basement, its juices had coagulated into a dark brown tar on one of the tables."

A mystery

Aug 21, 2008

Dean and Jordan are talking to each other in their living room. Dean says: "They should make a movie with Michael Caine and Maggie Smith as a brother-sister crime-fighting duo!" Jordan adds: "Disguised as butlers!"

Pitching a script

Aug 30, 2008

Dean is standing a the kitchen sink and 5:00 am, holding a bowl of food in one hand and a spoon in the other. They look down at the bowl of food and think: "Why did I just push all the food to one side?" Then they look at the spoon and think: "and where did I get this spoon?"

5 in the morning

Sep 16, 2008

Dean is in their back yard, using a hose to spray water onto a pile of dirt. Dean thinks: "My only goal right now is to turn this pile of dirt into a pile of mud." There is a close up image of the water hitting the pile of dirt, followed by a close up image of Dean's head. Dean's eyes are closed, and their mind is empty.

Pre-housesitting meditation

Aug 7, 2008

Dean is looking at a news story on the CBC website. The headline reads: BC minimum wage now the lowest in Canada. Dean thinks to themself: "God. Why am I quitting my job?"

Minimum wage

Apr 5, 2016

Petting manta rays: "This is the happiest I've ever been"

Vancouver rays

May 9, 2016

Dean is on the main floor of their house. They hear their dad yell from the basement: "Something down here just REEKS!" Dean goes down to the basement and thinks: "I don't smell anything." They smell their own underarm and think: "Maybe it smells exactly like me."

Reek

Sep 17, 2008

Panel 1: Dean walks down the alley near their house and looks at the graffiti on their neighbours' garages. They think: So many vandalized garages. Panel 2: Dean puts a piece of paper in a neighbour's mailbox. They think: "I'll offer to paint over it and give them my information! Panel 3: Dean is at home, looking at the phone with a very worried expression, thinking: crap crap crap crap...

Vandalism

Oct 6, 2008

Dean is using a tablet in a classroom at school. There is a loud, repetitive "pow" sound coming from the adjacent room. Dean thinks: That hammering is driving me NUTS! Dean walks to the adjacent room, thinking: What are they doing? When they get to the room, they see the source of the noise: a video projection of balloons popping, with popped balloons scattered on the floor in front of it. Dean thinks: Oh.

Wall of noise

Sep 30, 2008

Dean and Naz are sitting on a couch together. Dean asks Naz: "How...are you?" Naz replies: "I'm good. I'm tired. Grief is exhausting. But I'm good."

Check in

Aug 15, 2016

A stranger starts talking to Dean on a path. The stranger says: "Excuse me, does this path lead to the water?" Dean replies: "Yes. I think so? The water is kind of...diagonal from here." The stranger says: "But I can get to the boats from here?" Dean replies: "Yes. Maybe? Douglas...uh, Dallas street...Dallas road will take you there." Dean starts sweating and thinks to themself: "6 years I've lived in this city and I still can't give directions."

Directions

Sep 9, 2016