What is El Kiablo?

El Kiablo is a daily webcomic that started on July 4th, 2005. My goal was always to provide the most variety in terms of content that I could, so for about the first thousand comics, it was a series of one off cartoons and every day the subject matter was different. However, I recently decided that that was getting to be a bit predictable, so I started mixing in serial content with one off cartoons.

Currently, the plan is to alternate serial stories for one month and then one offs for a month. Book one (aka the first month) of the serial comic starts here. Book two of the serial comic starts here. Everything that isn't immediately after those two links is probably a one off cartoon.

Who is El Kiablo? Angry Panda? Hungry Ghost?

The serial comic is about El Kiablo and his two fake superhero henchmen Angry Panda and Hungry Ghost. El Kiablo is the devil's younger, crappier brother. He's depressed a lot because he fails at the things most demons excel at: he can't torture, lie, or steal competently. El Diablo is always trying to get his brother to be a less crappy demon, but it rarely works, msotly because El Diablo sabotages El Kiablo just because he is a shithead.

Angry Panda wanted to be a superhero, but because his only power is anger and he is only angry at women (particularly women whom he finds attractive but who emasculate him), he is not a very good superhero. He is actually a panda.

Hungry Ghost is actually a ghost, one who feels compelled to eat all the time. That is Hungry Ghost's only motivation. Consequently, HG was not a very good superhero, either, as eating is not the same as 'protecting truth justice and the American way'.

Various other characters - like Evil Home Stereo, or El Diablo, or Zeus - are either exactly what they sound like or intentional representations of classical figures.

Mister, you sure got a lotta cartoons. You gonna eat all these cartoons?

I don't recommend starting from the beginning, in part because the first 1,000 cartoons have nothing to do with whats going on now. Plus the early cartoons look kind of bad because I didn't know what I was doing, but through constant practice, I've been getting better at the art and the pacing. The art, in particular, has improved exponentially.

I'm leaving the early cartoons up for a few reasons. One it's more honest. Two, I knew when I was doing them that I'd look back at them and think that they were sort of crappy, so I made my peace with looking like an idiot a long time ago. Three, I think it's interesting to see the evolution. But most importantly, flaws and all, a lot of them have endearing qualities; they may not be all the way there, but they have something nice.

But for real. It's better to start with the more recent ones and particularly with this cartoon: http://www.elkiablo.com/daily.php?date=080320

I went to the site and saw a message saying "There is no comic for [date]". What's the deal?

That's a quirk of the comic upload system I have in place and the occaisonally crappy internet I have at my house. There will be a comic along as soon as my internet is back up. This has happened less and less lately, and soon I hope it won't happen at all.

Your cartoons are pretty inexplicable / strange / vulgar / obsessed with monsters.

For the record, I do have strict (but arbitrary) taste filters. I try to only reference things that I expect a large audience would know, and I try to use the further reading link to help explain references that might seem obscure to readers. As far as the strangeness goes, that's just the type of humor I like: surreal, ridiculous, fantastic. I try to keep the absolutely absurd to a minimum, but if I really like it, I will run it, and then I'll try to balance it by running another more vanilla cartoon afterwards.

As far as vulgar goes, I have very strong limits of what I'll draw, and there are limits to what I'll say. Mostly, the cartoons don't use foul language (although I have no problem with dropping an f-bomb if I have to), and for the most part, I don't think they are very offensive. However, I think it helps the site's variety to run the occasional naughty cartoon, and my definition of vulgar is NOT the average person's.

Overall, I'd say that while what I do might be strange, it's more or less par for the internet.

I want to spread the word about El Kiablo. Is that a good idea?

In order to encourage people to spread El Kiablo, I'll make you a deal: if you plug El Kiablo in your blog and send me a link, or if you email a link to at least five people and cc me, then I'll draw you into a cartoon. Obviously, you'll have to send me a picture before I draw the cartoon, unless I already know you, but it's that simple - pimp my site and let me know about it, and you'll be punching bears into orbit / stomping on montana / trying to kill your gaurdian angel to steal his molars.

I need to get in touch with you. Do you have an email address?

You can email me at kiablokirk@gmail.com.


	*What is El Kiablo?* El Kiablo is a daily webcomic that started on July 4th, 2005. My goal was always to provide the most variety in terms of content that I could, so for about the first thousand comics, it was a series of one off cartoons and every day the subject matter was different. However, I recently decided that that was getting to be a bit predictable, so I started mixing in serial content with one off cartoons. Currently, the plan is to alternate serial stories for one month and then one offs for a month. Book one (aka the first month) of the serial comic starts here. Book two of the serial comic starts here. Everything that isn't immediately after those two links is probably a one off cartoon. *Who is El Kiablo? Angry Panda? Hungry Ghost?* The serial comic is about El Kiablo and his two fake superhero henchmen Angry Panda and Hungry Ghost. El Kiablo is the devil's younger, crappier brother. He's depressed a lot because he fails at the things most demons excel at: he can't torture, lie, or steal competently. El Diablo is always trying to get his brother to be a less crappy demon, but it rarely works, msotly because El Diablo sabotages El Kiablo just because he is a shithead. Angry Panda wanted to be a superhero, but because his only power is anger and he is only angry at women (particularly women whom he finds attractive but who emasculate him), he is not a very good superhero. He is actually a panda. Hungry Ghost is actually a ghost, one who feels compelled to eat all the time. That is Hungry Ghost's only motivation. Consequently, HG was not a very good superhero, either, as eating is not the same as 'protecting truth justice and the American way'. Various other characters - like Evil Home Stereo, or El Diablo, or Zeus - are either exactly what they sound like or intentional representations of classical figures. *Mister, you sure got a lotta cartoons. You gonna eat all these cartoons?* I don't recommend starting from the beginning, in part because the first 1,000 cartoons have nothing to do with whats going on now. Plus the early cartoons look kind of bad because I didn't know what I was doing, but through constant practice, I've been getting better at the art and the pacing. The art, in particular, has improved exponentially. I'm leaving the early cartoons up for a few reasons. One it's more honest. Two, I knew when I was doing them that I'd look back at them and think that they were sort of crappy, so I made my peace with looking like an idiot a long time ago. Three, I think it's interesting to see the evolution. But most importantly, flaws and all, a lot of them have endearing qualities; they may not be all the way there, but they have something nice. But for real. It's better to start with the more recent ones and particularly with this cartoon: http://www.elkiablo.com/daily.php?date=080320 *I went to the site and saw a message saying "There is no comic for [date]". What's the deal?* That's a quirk of the comic upload system I have in place and the occaisonally crappy internet I have at my house. There will be a comic along as soon as my internet is back up. This has happened less and less lately, and soon I hope it won't happen at all. Your cartoons are pretty inexplicable / strange / vulgar / obsessed with monsters. For the record, I do have strict (but arbitrary) taste filters. I try to only reference things that I expect a large audience would know, and I try to use the further reading link to help explain references that might seem obscure to readers. As far as the strangeness goes, that's just the type of humor I like: surreal, ridiculous, fantastic. I try to keep the absolutely absurd to a minimum, but if I really like it, I will run it, and then I'll try to balance it by running another more vanilla cartoon afterwards. As far as vulgar goes, I have very strong limits of what I'll draw, and there are limits to what I'll say. Mostly, the cartoons don't use foul language (although I have no problem with dropping an f-bomb if I have to), and for the most part, I don't think they are very offensive. However, I think it helps the site's variety to run the occasional naughty cartoon, and my definition of vulgar is NOT the average person's. Overall, I'd say that while what I do might be strange, it's more or less par for the internet. *I want to spread the word about El Kiablo. Is that a good idea?* In order to encourage people to spread El Kiablo, I'll make you a deal: if you plug El Kiablo in your blog and send me a link, or if you email a link to at least five people and cc me, then I'll draw you into a cartoon. Obviously, you'll have to send me a picture before I draw the cartoon, unless I already know you, but it's that simple - pimp my site and let me know about it, and you'll be punching bears into orbit / stomping on montana / trying to kill your gaurdian angel to steal his molars. *I need to get in touch with you. Do you have an email address?* You can email me at kiablokirk@gmail.com.