Dope Rider, "Conscious Universe"

Before I did this strip, I had been listening to some interviews with Rupert Sheldrake, who writes about panpsychism, the theory that every self-organizing entity may have some degree of consciousness, albeit different from the consciousness of humans. He posits the possibility of consciousness not only to animals and plants, but also to things like crystals, stars, or the universe itself. Do I believe this? I don't know. I'm entertaining the idea, just as there are many concepts I remain open to without feeling that I have to come down on one side or the other. The Coen brother's 2018 film The Ballard of Buster Scruggs had the following exchange, which impressed me. (I edited it down slightly.)

Alice Longabaugh: [My brother] had fixed political beliefs. All of his beliefs were quite fixed. He would upbraid me for being wishy-washy. I never had his certainties. I suppose it is a defect. 

Billy Knapp: I don't think it's a defect at all. Oh no. Uncertainty. That is appropriate for matters of this world. … Down the ages, from our remote past, what certainties survive? And yet we hurry to fashion new ones. Wanting their comfort. Certainty... is the easy path. 

Dope Rider Tattoos

 I was sent this photo by a Dope Rider fan. He had two of the images from the "Smoke" sequence in A Fistful of Delirium tattooed on his legs. The tattoo artist did a great job!

.

Dope Rider, "Storm"

 

Dope Rider, "Sitcom Dad"

 

Here's my visual reference:

Dope Rider, "Nothing"

 I had a different idea when I started to draw this, but it turned out differently.

Etch-A-Sketch Skull Art

 I was impressed by this drawing of a skull done on a pocket-sized Etch-A-Sketch. The artist is Jan Labowitch, 24, who must be one of the world's greatest Etch-A-Sketch masters. Here work sells for hundreds of dollars. Whatever you do, don't shake it! There's an article about her here.

Dope Rider, "Change of Scene"

 Wherever you go, there you are.