Art and Other Mistakes (with b.d.greer)

[misterradio]

ah yes my favourite character from gloomy ruins everything

[typing4mylife]

Now that’s a quality meme right there!

[typing4mylife]

Gloomy and Friends: Comic #1

Ok here’s the first comic from the “Gloomy and Friends” collection pamphlet, starring Hurtmore the masochistic teddy-bear.

Please don’t judge my art skills too harshly, lol. This was over a decade ago, and I would like to think I’ve improved dramatically since then.

After seeing how incredibly talented the fans of my work are, I’m almost embarrassed to show them, but I think these comics will be a fun trip down memory lane. I’ll also include the dialogue below each panel as well. Younger me was more focused on choosing a font with a creepy aesthetic rather than one that’s actually readable. 😆

Hurtmore: I’ve finally done it!

Hurtmore: I’ve managed to put over 30 pins in my hand and break my record.

Hurtmore: Hmm … but … why stop there?

Hurtmore: I can’t tell if I’ve done something very good … or very bad ….

[misterradio]

[“The end of things is never what people, or toys, imagine. They often expect fireworks. They expect bells and whistles and major falderal. They expect it to mean something because the plans and dreams inside someone’s head are the heaviest objects of all. But, outside, in the real world, they are absolutely weightless and fall, without impact, like feathers unto the dust.

When things end, they just…

End.”]

[typing4mylife]

It’s so interesting being confronted by something you wrote, long ago…

Feels like meeting an old friend after years apart. Things have changed, there’s a distance between you, but the dim spark of what you felt for them still burns somewhere, deep within.

I like this segment a lot. I’m glad you do too. Thank you for sharing, @misterradio!

[typing4mylife]

I Wrote Gloomy Ruins Everything pt. 2

Ok, so I was able get some more Gloomy related things from my parents house.

But before that, a little recap of the craziness that went down a couple days ago: Basically, I wrote a novel almost a decade ago called Gloomy Ruins Everything, which was a dark version of Toy Story with a revenge plot-line. It was briefly, sorta published but didn’t really go anywhere (the “publisher” folded, more on that later, lol) so I washed my hands and went onto other things.

Then, against all odds, after all this time, I find out from my little sister that it has garnered somewhat of a following on Tumblr, with extremely talented artists sharing fan art and memes. I’m still not over it, lol. Maybe I’m just an overly dramatic person but it’s truly been a dream come true.

Anyways, back to what I was talking about! Here’s a closer view of the comic collection pamphlet (front/back) for Gloomy and Friends. I’ll share the comics in future posts.

And here’s the manuscript thesis version of the novel I originally wrote in 2014 for my Creative Writing MFA. The title is absolutely terrible, lol: “Gloomy and Friends: The Search For Happiness,” but it was before I came up with Gloomy Ruins Everything (with help from my old singing teacher in fact). A lot of other things also changed between this version and what was eventually published. In Search for Happiness there was a whole convoluted saga before Gloomy got to Chloe’s Playroom and we actually got to see more of his life in his original home. I streamlined everything ultimately because it took waaaaayyyy too long for the actual plot to begin.

So yeah, more stuff soon to come. I found some promotional content I made for IG that I’ll be uploading soon, as well as some closer shots of “published” novel. Maybe I’ll do some readings too… I’ll have to see.

If you like Gloomy (or even just find the concept interesting) it would be super helpful if you could share/reblog this and future posts. I’d love to find more members of my fandom, haha, if they exist. I’ve written a new book (unrelated from Gloomy) that I’m planning to self-publish soon, but if there’s enough interest I’m considering putting Gloomy Ruins Everything up on Amazon again as an e-book.

Let me know what you think. You’re the best!

—Billy

[wormthing]

I was surprised to see I hadn't posted any of my doodles for Gloomy Ruins Everything on here!? Here they are fresh from 2020.

The lyrics here are all from Bryan Scary and the Evil Arrows (and one doodle with "Islands" by Oingo Boingo). The last one is redrawn from a meme i think..?

[typing4mylife]

So freaking good. Everyone looks fantastic and Gloomy chilling in the stocks is absolutely sending me. 😂 (I’m a big Oingo Boingo fan as well!)

[wormthing]

:, (

[typing4mylife]

Love this so much and the fact that it’s a gif is just icing on the cake! It’s cool to see Gloomy interpreted with a bluer color scheme. As a melancholy chap, I think it fits him quite well, haha. Thank you so much @wormthing!

[lonely-dog-draws]

and when we find out what's wrong with me, could you tell me how I'm right for you? (ID in alt text)

here's meat wall cuz it looks cool and then i remembered I would have to cover some of it up with Gloomy :•p

[typing4mylife]

Absolutely gorgeous! I have been obsessed with this piece since I first saw it. The color, the textures, Gloomy's vibe, everything! I also really got into Will Wood last year (he's now like one of my favorite music artists of all time) so to see a character I created, paired with his lyrics is a glorious mind-trip like you wouldn't believe. Thank you so much, lonely-dog-draws!

[typing4mylife]

I Wrote Gloomy Ruins Everything

"Yo, someone I follow on Tumblr is posting about your book."

"Gloomy"

"THERES FANART"

These three texts were sent to me by my little sister the other day, and I still don't think I've fully recovered, lol. My mind has been utterly blown to smithereens and my heart has been filled to the brim with gratitude seeing all the wonderful art and memes that have been created in Gloomy's honor. (Gonna start reblogging all of them ASAP, man I can't express how much I love them!!!)

I'm not sure how many people even know about it, but yes, I am the writer of the novel: Gloomy Ruins Everything, the tale of a strange, maladjusted little ragdoll who takes revenge on the playroom society that wronged him.

I want to go into the story of Gloomy, how the novel was initially "published," how it did not go exactly to plan, lol, and what I've been up to since then. So if you are interested, please follow and stick around for more posts soon to come.

I will also be sharing art from Gloomy and Friends, the accompanying comic I used to do, as well as content I produced to help promote the book initially and other things of note. A major reason I want to share all of this so I can prove that I am in fact the creator and not just making stuff up. I'll go ahead and post a couple below to get that ball rolling.

Thank you so much for your interest in Gloomy. As an aspiring author and artist, it means the world to me knowing that something I created many years ago, something I thought had run its course and died with a whimper, has actually resonated with people. I can't wait to share even more about Gloomy with you as well as all my current projects.

You're the best!

--Billy

Photo #1: A greasy, pimply me promoting Gloomy and Friends at a Comicon many years ago (2011, I think?) The comic was first, and then I wrote the first draft of the novel in college.

Photo #2: Some of those memorabilia as well as a copy of the book at my parents' house.