The Bologna (Baloney) Story-- a comic I made in high-school

My senior year of high-school I took an Independent Study art class, meaning I was to choose what I wanted to study, produce my own curriculum every semester, and present a final project to the teacher and the rest of the Independent Study class at the end of the semester.

We were supposed to pick a subject and stick to it for the duration of the school year, but I changed my field of study every semester. I did sculpture, quilting, videography, and comic drawing. I had a lot of fun with the class, and I really loved getting to decide for myself what I would study. Independent Study courses are perfect for strong-willed contrarians, like myself.

Not long ago my dad emailed me a scanned copy of the comic I worked on that semester, inspired by what I was learning in my social studies class about the political and economical issues surrounding the meat industry. If you can't tell, I was also a staunch vegetarian at the time. Cheers to my dad for saving the comic (he keeps it at his office and shows it off to his coworkers) and taking me on a trip down memory lane. Love you!

Please enjoy :)




The story begins when Rudi's teacher assigns his class with a research project, on any topic of their choosing. Rudi knows exactly what he wants to investigate.




Baloney (or bologna, as I preferred to spell it in 2002) is one of Rudi's favorite foods.




He makes a plan to visit Happy Hog Meat Plant, on Nuclear Road, and take a tour. But only if his mother can give him a ride.




Inside the plant, a friendly tour guide greets Rudi and his mom and offers to show them around the facility. Mrs. Rudi's stomach turns weak as she learns more about how lunch meats are processed.




Ah, so there's a difference between beef baloney and regular baloney? Also, this meat processing plant would never pass inspections. They must really be paying off the Health Department.




Warning: you are about to view a nude cow. This is not how baloney is actually made, but it might as well be. Also, Mrs. Rudi's stomach has met its breaking point.




The tour ends and Rudi gets another bright idea for his project.




Rudi builds his own meat grinder, which he dubs the Bolognameister 5000. He's excited, and decides to try it out right away. All would be well, but poor Mrs. Rudi can't find her cat...




So obviously I was a little biased when I created this comic, being a vegetarian and all, but the conventional meat industry really can be cruel and grisly.

What do you think?