Comic PSA: Playing In Junkyards
by Ellie Coral

Comic PSA: Playing In Junkyards

This idea has been living rent-free in my head for several weeks. So what better way to evict said idea than imprisoning it on digital paper?

Panel 1 - Two young kids stand outside the State Island junkyard. A sign out front reads Home of the Jesus in Melted Soda Cans Miracle. The boy looks to his friend and points to the junkyard entry. He says, Hey, I know--let's race in there! The girl, holding an RC monster truck under her arm, smiles and says, My dad says there's a whole mountain of glass in the center! -- Panel 2 - Off-panel, someone yells, Hold it right there! Both kids turn to the direction of the unseen speaker. Their eyes are wide as they gasp.

Panel 1 - Vinny Vinesauce, arms akimbo, grins at the children. He's wearing a guitar on his back. Off-panel, the children yell, Vinny from Red Vox?! -- Panel 2 - Vinny stands between the two kids, a hand on either of their shoulders in a typical friendly mentor delivering a PSA posture. He says, Hey, chat, a junkyard may seem like a big megapack of adventures... but it's a great way to speedrun a bad ending!

Panel 1 - Vinny has a thousand-yard stare as memories of Public Service Announcments and the Commercial Chaos segment fill the air behind him. He says, I should know. I can't begin to describe the horrors I've seen in these places... -- Panel 2 - Then he says, But I'll try. The kids look up at him in confusion.

Panel 1 - Text reading Ten Gruesome Minutes Later done in grungy, messy text. -- Panel 2 - Vinny smiles obliviously at the silent, traumatized children. He says, And that's why public safety is important, chat. Well, I'll be on my way! -- Panel 3 - Vinny walks off, looking behind him and pointing the kids as he says, Oh, and stay in school. To the side is a sign that reads, Closed after dark or when Stan's had enough bullshit for the day. Trespassers will be shot, run over, slapped, stomped on, and scolded.

Studying zines and their cultural impact through my MLIS program has me wanting to make my own comic zines. I don’t have a photocopier, but I have a fickle Epson EcoTank printer. That’s probably just as good.

Also, I would be delighted if I visited Staten Island and found a sign just like the one in the very last panel. Wow, this place is just as ornery and threatening as I’d imagined!

With this, I happily join the sea of art drawn for Vinny’s birthday. I hope it’s a great one for him.