When asked how his comic style or sense of humor has evolved since we last caught up, Stan was quick to keep things humble. “It’s easier to see from the outside what’s changed in my style and sense of humor,” he said. “Some might say I never had them and still don’t, while others might notice that my irony level increased by 26% but sarcasm only grew by 14.4%. It’s all subjective.”
Lately, he admits he’s been in a bit of a slump, trying to shake off a creative winter. “I’ve been struggling to come out of winter hibernation, trying to force myself to draw sketches,” he shared with Bored Panda. Still, even when motivation dips, inspiration never fully disappears. Stan says most of his comics are grounded in real life. “To be honest, probably almost all my comics are somehow connected to either my life or the lives of my friends.”
One of his recent favorites is a storyline involving the brain and the whole “10%” myth. “The storyline about the brain and 10% is closest to me,” he said. “I stumbled upon this plot with difficulty. It miraculously made it into that 10% of my brain function.” It’s that kind of offbeat, self-deprecating humor that defines his work—and probably explains why so many of us see ourselves in these off-kilter doodles.
And if his characters could give him one piece of life advice? “They would probably say ‘Oh well…’ and some would just stay silent with a face like OoO,” Stan said. Classic. It’s hard to expect anything more profound from a cast of deadpan birds and mildly confused blobs, but that’s kind of the charm.
