A: Hoo boy, this is gonna be a long answer. The platypus is my mascot. Last year I drew one on the whiteboard on the door to my room. This one was essentially Cecil, except he walked on all fours. I started out having him say popular catch phrases or announcing polls, including one that allowed the public to choose a name for him. But some idiots thought it was funny to sabotage the poll by erasing the whiteboard, so I just picked Cecil as the name because I liked it the best. A while later, one of my roommates said that his mascot would probably be the manatee, which soon led me to draw one on the board. I chose the name Bobo because I heard it meant "stupid." A couple of weeks later, I put them on paper for the first time. Rufus's story is a bit more depressing. I wanted to create a mascot/character for my other roommate, but he was just so freakin dull, no cool animals really fit him. But since I had been drawing an aardvark, I just made that his mascot. Rufus was one of the leftover names from the Cecil name poll. Russell was a character that I drew in junior high, and I decided to bring him back for this strip. Regina was named after, and loosely based on, a good friend of mine from high school. There you have it, the story of Petting Zoo Rejects! And my forearms are sore.
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Q: Are you ever going to add color?
A: Actually yes, starting with episode 57, PZR will be in full on color.
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Q: The lettering is really crappy. Have you considered making your comic on the computer so we can read the dialogue?
A: If you're seeing ugly lettering, you're obviously reading the first few episodes, i.e. the ones that were made before I discovered the wonders of felt-tip pens, and eventually Photoshop. Just keep reading, you'll see it better soon.
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Q: I don't understand a particular episode.
A: That's not a question. But if you don't understand an episode, you may want to check out the archives so you can catch up on the story. Or if you have read every episode like you should, just be patient. Some strips are essentially setting up better jokes later. They can't all be funny.
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Q: Why do you only update once a week?
A: Because the schedule of a college student is VERY unpredictable. I can never be sure if I'll be able to draw new strips more than once a week once I've uploaded all the episodes that I've already drawn. Sorry, but once a week is the best that I can guarantee.
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Q: Where do you get ideas for the strips?
A: It's mostly my comic genius. I also think I draw influence from other strips I read. Calvin and Hobbes, The Far Side, Garfield, Outland, and I'm also learning techniques from the webcomics that I've been reading.
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Q: Are you going to add any more characters?
A: That's for you to find out!
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Q: How can I contact you?
A: If you've found this site, chances are that you already know my e-mail address. But here it is again, just in case: pak2@u.washington.edu. (Make sure the subject has something to do with the comic, because I get a lot of spam, and it's often hard to separate junk mail from real mail.)
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Q: Can I get your credit card number?
A: Not a snowman's chance in hell.
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Q: Do you like nachos?
A: Do I ever!
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