This is especially amazing because at that time I hadn’t drawn or written comics in almost a decade. Why’d they let a rookie pollute their walls for a month? Details below the picture.

(Archived from June 2002): Out of the Blue Gallery presents comic book art of David Marshall. His work has been published by Fantagraphics Books, Fantaco and SpiderBaby Grafix. This retrospective features older works, plus two new stories. Subject matter runs from the wholesome to the profane. The classic stories were created with ink and paper; newer pieces are completely digital. For more information about Marshall’s biography, published works or other artistic accomplishments, please visit his web comics site or send him an email.

I moved to Inman Square in June 2000. The new apartment was a 20-minute walk to full time web designer job in Kendall Square. 1369 was right in the middle, and quickly became my favorite place to hang out. I’d read, sketch and chat with my new neighbors.

At this point, I was putting all my creative energy into being the best web developer/designer the corporate world had ever seen. In a few months it was evident that I wasn’t hired to be an innovator. I was hired to maintain the status quo. This was a devastating defeat.

After a week or two of sulking, I focused my creative energies on making comics in my spare time. My new routine was to develop my stories at 1369 for an hour before work, then from 6:00pm-11:00pm on weekdays, and as long as possiible on weekends. In two years I produced “Six-Year-Old Horse Thief“, “Dead by the Pool“, “RetroActive” and got a pretty good start on “Zip’s Last Day“.

The 1369 managers let me work for hours nursing 1 or 2 cups of coffee per sitting. Working on a comic book in public attracted attention from my fellow customers and staff. Some liked the stories, while others were curious about my digital art process. After a while I thought “what’s the best way of thanking them for letting me hog up a table for 5 hours a day? I know … putting my work on their walls!”

— Your Pal Dave, retro-posting from a 9/10 world in Inman Square’s 1369.