Fodongo

@fodongo.bsky.social

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Fodongo is a semi-monthly indie Free-Culture Comics Zine.

Frida watches as Ernie leaves and closes the door. They open their laptop as they say 'Oooof! What a day!' and it iediately dings. They are wide-eyed as a calendar comes up and they exclaim 'SHOOT! The meeting with Don and Mr. Sánchez! I'm late!!' Frida rushes out the door. After they leave, the Smiley pops out from behind a piece of furniture, looking at the reader.
The boat keeps going incredibly fast through the ocean. Jules says 'So, do we even know where we're going?' Tip replies 'I don't think the boat is giving us much of a choice.' Nibs puts their hands on their hips and looks down at Jules. 'Try talking to it again'. Jules leans on the edge of the boat and yells 'BOAT! Take us to the king of Slumberland!' Suddenly they realize that there's a fin closely following them. Jules says 'Huh? I'm assuming it's bad that a fin in the water is able to keep up with us.'
A doodle by Amelie Shypilova of them having a conversation with La Rana
First page of Amelie Shypilova's '5 Things You See'. A young person is in the bys, surrounded by people. They have a popper fidget toy, and are looking at all the people around them: people hanging out, eating. They are trembling, and think to themselves '4 things I can touch. 3 things I can smell. 2 things I can...!!!' They take a deep breath and hold it in for 3. They exhale. They take a deep breath and barely hold it in, and start breathing deeply more and more, less time passing every time.
First page of Pentaro Pentarovssky's 'Cherrypicking'. A beetle is walking happily and finds a cherry. It picks it up excitedly when suddenly a giant hand comes in from above and takes the cherry from it. We see the hand belongs to a human who happily eats it, while the beetle fumes.
Cover for issue #23 of Fodongo, which features The Frog being surrounded by salmon.
A self portrait by SPRAK
Frida, Gloria and Ernie stare at the door Gamma left through. Frida throws their head back and says 'Ugh! What a load of BALONEY!' Gloria looks annoyed and replies 'You can say that again.' Ernie, meanwhile, is confused and says 'Wwwhat just happened?' Gloria leans in and explains 'We've been had, Ernie. Lied to.' Ernie stammers 'B-- but the book is a hundred years old!'
Jules, Nibs and Tip walk away through the tiny city. Jules asks 'How are we going to get out of here?', and Nibs complains 'All the boats are smaller than toys.' They all notice their boat in the harbour, surrounded by the tiny Lilliput boats. Their boat seems to have grown wings now. Nibs is surprised 'Is that the boat?', and Jules is enchanted 'The little wings are so cute!' Tip, however, is not paying attention yet. 'Wait, you bathe?', thy ask.
First page of 'Hells Bells', by SPRAK. First we see Heaven's gate with a confused person sitting by it. This person walks up to Saint Peter, feeling all wobbly, and is greeted by the old man: 'Welcome, my Child. You lived a Good, Virtuous life. Now. Come to your eternal place of r-' but the new arrival interrupts Saint Peter : 'Isn't there supposed to be someone waiting here for me??' Saint Peter, baffled, asks 'What?' and this person gestures with their hands. 'Little Black Dog. This shape. Nibbin of a tail.' Saint Peter scratches his beard 'Bells!? Good Heavens. No. You know the saying- All Dogs go to Heaven. It should be Most Dogs go to Heaven. [Whispers] That Bells was one rotten pup.' The main character's face darkens and they say 'Well, Father, you leave me no choice.' Saint Peter comes closer 'Excuse me? I'm not a priest, also, if that's wha-' but is interrupted by a punch in the face.
First page of BurnedCoffee's 'Tales from the Labyrinth Planet'. A lone astronaut walks on an empty planet followed by a small robot. They are walking towards a brght stone that portrudes from the ground. The computer's voice pops in: 'Approaching source vein directly 12 meeters ahead. Alert! Comms signal weakening.' The astronaut replies 'Just arrived to the site. Nem-00. Heh! The mother of all the loads.' The computer's signal starts breaking down 'Coos Signal unsta-RRRPR-ositioning 20 minuZZZto reZZT---cnct-' The astronaut reaches for their helmet, replying to the robot 'Sigh. ...sure thing, buddy. See you on the flip side, I guess.' Then they narrate for themselves 'It was a known tragedy that when humanity finally went into space it did so to raise stock value for shareholders. Still, mankind survives, hoping to one day escape the cage it built for itself. Lightyears away from earth, the planet 13-ZKY45 is the latest target for space fracking, one more link on the long chain of exploitation. Especially after the recent discovery of a new energy storing mineral called 'Labyrinthium'.' The astronaut, with their helmet off, looks down despondently, having also shed the top of their suit. They think 'Alone. Again.' and walk towards the shining stone, helmet in hand, followed by the small robot.
Cover for issue 22 of Fodongo, a Frog Flag in a protest.
Gamma raises her hands trying to appease Frida. In the background Ernie looks on and Gloria rolls her eyes. Gamma says '...I assure you, Fr -- Mx. Frida, that none of this is a joke.' Frida remains defiant. They say 'Oh yeah? It all just happens to conveniently fit in, doesn't it? A mysterious book -- (that you dropped off); a mysterious address -- (that you operate from); a mysterious box -- (that you left there); with a convenient note conveniently addressed to 'Ernest' -- (the name of the person you gave the book to in the first place)...' Gamma looks down and acknowledges '... I can see how you would get the impression you are getting, yes...'
Sherlock and Watson talk to the King of the Lilliputs. Sherlock says 'Listen, King of the Lilliputs' while striking a pose. Watson mumbles 'I thought this was Blefuscu'. Sherlock continues as the King listens 'There is only one reason the wandering land of Wonderland would be appearing off shore. They are preparing for war!'. The King panics and says 'War? Against us? But, why?'
First page of Iván G. Azuara's 'The Wrong Nun'. A young nun walks through a seedy area of town, a place filled with brothels and pimps and weird characters. She thinks to herself 'Maybe coming this way wasn't such a good idea'. As she wo=alks some weirdo smiles at her and says 'Oi, Love! You on your own?'. She passes people who stare at her as if she's out of place, because she is. Another voice inside her head says 'I think it's exciting.' Mira, the nun, thinks 'Everyone's staring at us'. Some pervert follows her for a bit, saying 'Oi, look at that, a young little nun'. The other voice in her head says 'Just keep walking. Stay calm.'. We see a brief interaction between Mira and that other Mira inside her head. Mira says 'I can't stay calm. This place is dangerous... Just look at the way they're watching us...'. The other Mira says 'Come on... We're almost there.' Mira whines 'Can't we just go back?'. The pervert stops close to her as she's entering an alleyway, and he says 'Hey... I'm all on my own, babe... hic... fancy playing with my little worm?'. As she walks into the alley, Mira thinks 'No no, not the alley...'. The other Mira says 'Easy... everything's going to be fine...'
Cover for issue 21 of Fodongo by N Toyohito
First page of Juanele Tamal's 'No Scandal in Bahamas'. Sherlock Holmes is performing a terrible concert in violin for Watson. Sherlock says 'How lucky of you, Watson, you get to enjoy my unmatched talent as a violinist for free...', and wincing Watson says 'Lucky isn't the word that comes to mind, old friend...'. Mrs. Hudson comes in and says 'Mister Holmes, the industrial mogul Mr. Lottamony wants to speak with you.'. Excitedly, Holmes stops playing and welcomes Mr. Lottamony: 'Oh, a client! Come in!'. Mr. Lottamony says: 'Mister Holmes, this is a matter of the utmost urgency you must assist me!'. Quickly Holmes starts speaking of Lottamony's ils:'Yes! You suffer from explosive diarrhea, your jaundiced complexion and, well, the putrid smell are dead giveaways for...', but Lottamony cuts him off and says 'I... yeah, it is true, but I mean my other problem... I was dating this influencer, but I left her because that's what my weirdo chinless life coach said befits a man of my worth... -- but now I'm about to marry a high society girl and...', he shows a picture of the influencer and Holmes cuts him off again. 'I see! and your ex is threatening with sending yout photos and videos yo your future wife. Am I right?'. Lottamony agrees 'Yes! She has everything in her phone'.
First page of 'To my partner', by Alpha Yu. A man looks out of a window into the sky, where a giant space ship floats over a destroyed city. 'If in 50 years we ruin the world, would we turn Vancouver into a Spaceship and take to the stars? What would our home be?'. The Vancuver spaceship floats in space, and see images of life here, an alien buying dumplings, Science World against the void of space, the UBC clock tower touching the sky. 'Would the suns set because we rocket past them? Would we preserve the tastes of Chinatown for our alien neighbours? Would Science World look like just another planet? Would the UBC Clock Tower finally touch the stars?'
First page of María Izquierdo Barri's 'Dilly Dally'. A bird is building a nest.
First page of Alejandra Gámez's 'My Shape'. Narration reads 'I'm not happy with my shape today. My face. My body. My mouth. My eyes. The uneven surface of my skin. My hair.' as a woman looks at herself in the mirror, wearing only her bra and a skirt. She touches her face and her abdomen, looks at her mouth, eyes, touches her back, feels her hair move around her face.
First page of Jam's 'How to be a Solarpunk'. A farmer cat holding a plant talks to the reader: ''SolarPunks' believe that we can create a better future together. One where we all thrive without damaging the planet or its people. Maybe you've wanted to join in on the fun!'. A confused cat is confused and narration above it reads: 'But what if you don't know where to start?'. Then a happy title reads: 'JUST DECIDE!', and the cat says 'I want to be a SolarPunk!'. Narration reads: 'You can start today, wherever you are! 'Being a SolarPunk' is all about making DECISIONS. In our lives, there are some options that are 'more' or 'less' aligned with the SolarPunk ethos. To be a SolarPunk, choose the best aligned option as often as possible.' The confused cat is walking towards a sign that says 'MORE SOLARPUNK', which points to wind turbines, eco villages, bikes, gardens etc, walking away from a sign that says 'LESS SOLARPUNK', and to a factory spewing smoke with a sign that reads 'BUY BUY BUY'. There's also a cybertruck and other cars, a sign that says '24/7 grindset' and pollution.
First page of Joaquín Cuevas's 'XWOF-01'. First we see a space elevator going up into space. Narration reads 'Should've let that smug old guy pay for my teleportation. Six days in that lousy elevator... no one deserves that kind of torture.' This is Dr. Choque. As he exits the elevator into a beautiful looking space land, followed by other travelers, he continues his narration. 'Traitorous rat! After all these years...' The customs guy says 'Dr. Choque? Wow! The other man that made this ring so great! How come you've never visited us...?', and Dr. Choque replies: 'I didn't spend my whole life working so a bunch of leeches like you could live in paradise!'. A little girl says 'Welcome!' to him while pulling a couple of horses by the rains. The girl hugs him as he wonders 'Did he have a... granddaughter?'
First page of Sprak's 'After Zombie'. A person wakes up in their bedroom, which is all messy. Narration reads 'After the outbreak, it was surprising how fast everything went back to normal'. Then the erson is eating their breakfast, some toast and coffee. They scroll on their phone, and we can see their nails all broken. 'I guess I should have known. People like things being normal.'. The person leaves home after feeding their pet, a weird monster-like cat. 'They like scrolling Tiktok and having their coffee served to them or whatever'.
First page of Juanele Tamal's 'The red-headed hounds league!'. Sherlock is sitting with his pipe when Watson arrives. 'Sherlock, old chap! Are you indulging in your favored nose candy once again?'. Sherlock replies, annoyed 'Don't judge me, Watson. You know full well I employ it solely to sharpen my faculties. I can discern the entirety of your morning's activities with nary a glance!'. Watson is not impressed and says 'That's an old trick, my dear fellow.'. Sherlock is annoyed, and pointing at Watson says 'Old, you say? Then let me enlighten you! You last bathed three days past, and for no longer than ten minutes, using the most miserly soap available on the market!'. Horrified, mortified, Watson says 'That... is... true!' Sherlock keeps going 'Following which, you sat to dine in the altogether, jellied eels with pie and mash, no less, only to let fall some scalding morsels upon your nether regions!'. Befuddled, Watson says 'It still burns-- but how the devil do you know?'. Sherlock sits back on his chair, satisfied. 'Easy! The cameras I installed in your residence afford me a most splendid view. I do so enjoy watching you slumber.'. Watson is confused 'Wait, what?', and just then the door rings and Sherlock jumps up 'There's someone at the door!'
First page of María Izquierdo Barri's 'Contradictions'. First we see a woman touching her chest, the chest shining while narration reads: 'I thought if I took care of my body I wouldn't get sick.'. Then we see two hands holding, narration reading 'I thought I would marry the love of my life once I met them. But neither happened.'
First page of Tom Truszkowski's 'The Secret of the Haunted Art Museum'. A ghost stands next to the title and says 'Boo.'. Then we see the ghost looking at a painting of trees, the tag reading 'Art by Artist'.
First page of BurnedCoffee's 'Hidden Fire'. We see a little village, multiple silhouettes seeing a stranger arrive. Narration: 'There is so much that we don't know about this world, and though we are curious, we are never quite ready for that knowledge.'We see the stranger is an old man with a long beard, a robe and a long wooden cane. A child arrives at a window where another child, Sar, peeks out: 'Sar Sar! The mage has arrived!', the first child says. Sar replies: 'Oh! Let me get my shoes on.'. We see the mage conversing with a concerned looking adult, as the kids chatter with each other: 'Do you think he'll be able to deal with the Chimer-Cat?' 'My mom hopes so, otherwise the whole town will have to move away from the valley.' 'But... he looks so old.' 'Come on, let's follow the mage!'
First page of Haruka Kanata's 'About a shipwreck'. We see an android in a desert setting riding a bike towards some smoke, planets and stars in the sky. The android says 'The prison ship has crashed'. The bike the android is on talks back to him 'Oh boy. It's been 100 yers since last time.' As they near the wreck, the android stops the bike and walks to the remains of the ship 'Maybe this time someone might be still alive. Organic human beings! It's like mythical creatures on such a remote planet. Must be cool if I can see them alive...'
First page of Bastián Pascal-s 'It's so HOT in here!'. In this page a very sweaty guy dubbed Poor Fella walks through an area warmed by two suns, sun and sun also. He yells 'It's so HOT in here!'. He sees a sword in the distance, in a pedestal, and in his delirium says 'Is that a... frutsi...?'. He approaches it, and the pedestal reads 'for the KING (warning:not a frutsi)'. He reaches for it, saying '5 -second rule'. He pulls the sword out and admires it and says 'All of my problems are obviously solved now.'. A robotic voice comes from off-screen, saying 'ARE THEY?'
First page of María Izquierdo Barri's 'Cultivate'. This comic shows a plant growing, with the narration saying 'When new growth shows up on the plant you've been trying to save for two years -- everything makes sense.' A plant gets watered. 'Love like a gardener.' A woman gives tea to her partner. 'Watering every day without fail.'
First page of 'Plenty of Fangs' by Sprak. We see two young vampires on a living room, one holding a cellphone says “Bro. You gotta help me go thru my matches. You know I’m shit at it.” We then see the phone showing the dating profiles of a vampire in front of a mirror. “Catfish” says the friend. “What. How can you tell?” Asks the first vampire. The friend answers “The reflection is warped. Also a reflection.” Holding the phone, the first vampire says “Oh.”
First page of page of N Toyohito’s 'Dot Dot Dot' We see a woman laying on a bed, she sits up and places her head on her hands. We see her dress up in a jacket and jeans, with a vacant expression, we also see she has a mole on her chin. Then we see her walking through a futuristic street loud with the sound of construction and passing vehicles. In a scene parallel to this we see a smiling child running towards her dad, the sound of the flapping wings of a flock of birds behind her. The child has the same mole on her chin as the woman earlier. Her dad smiling, makes a sign to her to keep quiet. She looks at him quizzically. The dad taps his ear to sign that she pays attention to what she hears.
First page of Mario Gonzales’ 'Terms & Conditions'. A man with a worried expression is lays on his bed at night. The man looks towards the closet in the room and hears rustling. A figure inside opens the closet as it creaks. The man on the bed has a terrified expression. Then the figure from inside the closet appears at the feet of the man, it is a smiling monster with a skeleton head and large eyeballs.
In this page Gamma narrates 'As you read, E.B. initiated a whole new branch of science: Smilology. That is, the study of this elusive... entity, that exists almost liminally. Everywhere, and nowhere, at once. But even though the evidence E.B. collected of the Smiley kept piling up, few would listen, let alone help or recognize their studies as legitimate. Doubt and mockery were what E.B. came to expect of their peers, so they just stopped trying, and focused on finding out more. On their own.'. In the first panel we see the Smiley emerging from the shadows, behind a rock. In the second panel we see a hand holding a picture in which the Smiley appears. In the thid panel we see some shadowy figures mocking and being mad at another shadowy figure that is far behind, while there is a storm.
First page of 'Dead Sight' by Zach Acherman. We see two figures, a man and a woman, each ona horse, rifing through the desert until they arrive at a church that looks abandoned. They enter. The narration, from the point of view of the man, reads: 'It's been 3 days since the vanburen gang has been on our tail. Rescuing Kate from those sick bastards ain't been easy. I did terrible things or that gang. But maybe this will make up for some of it. The gang abducted Kate. Locals claimed she could read minds; the secrets she knew were things people kept close to their hearts.'
First page of María Izquierdo's 'Homesteady'. We see a pigeon nesting on a column, and then it rains and its nest gets destroyed, the pigeon is missing.
First page of Peny0u's 'Wishing Star'. Two figures, a clown and a jester, are walking through a forest in the night. The Clown says 'My dad said I should stop meeting you'. The Jester says 'Eeh why?'. The Clown replies 'I'm about to turn and they don't want me to be like your kin'. Then we see a close up of the Jester's face, smiling coyly 'That's funny', they say. The Clown seems to be serious. The Jester continues as wee see their feet walking. 'My mom actually said the same thing'.
First page of 'Cerberus' by Amelie Shypilova. A person with long hair is shown grimacing, with a scar on their chin. Then we see the person's angry frown, above the narration that reads 'I am not a humble creature.'
First page of Sprak's 'Dungeon Dad'. First panel has titular character standing proud over a dead goblin, in front of majestic mountains. Narration reads: 'Adventuring ain't all it's cracked up to be, you know.' Second through fourth panel shows the titular character partying in a pub, killing a fire breathing dragon in flight, punching the eye out of a Cyclops' butt. Narration reads 'All anyone wants to hear about is the guts, the glory, saving the town from a dragon, that time you punched a Cyclops' eye clear out of his own butt.'. Fifth panel has the character looking longingly at a picture of himself with his wife and kid. Narration reads 'But it's long days away from home. Really puts a strain on the family.'
First page of N Toyohito's 'Rebellious Cocktail'. First we see a bottle with a flaming rag. Narration says 'This is a molotov cocktail. It is really a very simple construct!'. We see a bottle of beer, an old rag and a bottle of flammable liquid. Then we see an anarchist 'A'. 'Usually associated with particular movements... riots... even with terrorism'. We see someone burning down a car, and someone with a face covering throwinf a molotov cocktail. Then narration says 'However!!! It has also become a symbol of rebellion... and of protests against oppression, injustice, 'the system''. We see people protesting on the street, and a bunch of raised fists.
First page of Juanele Tamal's 'No Scandal in Bahamas'. Sherlock Holmes is performing a terrible concert in violin for Watson. Sherlock says 'How lucky of you, Watson, you get to enjoy my unmatched talent as a violinist for free...', and wincing Watson says 'Lucky isn't the word that comes to mind, old friend...'. Mrs. Hudson comes in and says 'Mister Holmes, the industrial mogul Mr. Lottamony wants to speak with you.'. Excitedly, Holmes stops playing and welcomes Mr. Lottamony: 'Oh, a client! Come in!'. Mr. Lottamony says: 'Mister Holmes, this is a matter of the utmost urgency you must assist me!'. Quickly Holmes starts speaking of Lottamony's ils:'Yes! You suffer from explosive diarrhea, your jaundiced complexion and, well, the putrid smell are dead giveaways for...', but Lottamony cuts him off and says 'I... yeah, it is true, but I mean my other problem... I was dating this influencer, but I left her because that's what my weirdo chinless life coach said befits a man of my worth... -- but now I'm about to marry a high society girl and...', he shows a picture of the influencer and Holmes cuts him off again. 'I see! and your ex is threatening with sending yout photos and videos yo your future wife. Am I right?'. Lottamony agrees 'Yes! She has everything in her phone'.
Cover for issue 20 of Fodongo, with hot air balloons.
A drawing of La Rana floating in space.
A drawing of La Rana holding a huge number 2 in its mouth.
In this page a toddler is sticking a banana in his mouth, looking silly. He then squeezes the banana trying to drink the juice. Text reads:'Look ma, no hands. 1 Nanana, 2 bites. Cold pressed Nanana puree.'
First page of 'Re-Run', by Zach Acherman, licensed CCBYSA. First panel shows a person with a Cat head behind a screen, holding a pair of scissors, standing in front of a sign that reads 'Oscar the Cat variety show'. Narration reads: 'The 'Oscar the Cat' public access show quickly rose to popularity in our small town.' The second panel trucks out from the firstm showing the television with the same image as the first panel. Narration reads: 'It aired every Wednesday at midnight without fail. The catch of this show was that he would always name a new person to join the 'cast'.' The third panel has a concerned person walking in front of the TV, which now says 'Eli Rogers'. There is a silhouette of the cat head in the dark. The narration reads: 'And they would always vanish without a trace. The police could never figure out how to stop it from airing.'
First page of 'To my partner', by Alpha Yu. A man looks out of a window into the sky, where a giant space ship floats over a destroyed city. 'If in 50 years we ruin the world, would we turn Vancouver into a Spaceship and take to the stars? What would our home be?'. The Vancuver spaceship floats in space, and see images of life here, an alien buying dumplings, Science World against the void of space, the UBC clock tower touching the sky. 'Would the suns set because we rocket past them? Would we preserve the tastes of Chinatown for our alien neighbours? Would Science World look like just another planet? Would the UBC Clock Tower finally touch the stars?'
First page of María Izquierdo Barri's 'Dilly Dally'. A bird is building a nest.
Cover for Issue 19 of Fodongo, drawn by BootlegPotato
First page of Ale Gámez' "My Shape"
First page of Ivan G Azuara's The Letter.
First page of 'Only One' by Zach Acherman. In the first panel there's a kid looking into the fridge, backlit by it. A narration box says 'Daniel has been having trouble sleeping lately'. In the second panel an adult with a knife behind their back looks at Daniel from behind. The narration continues 'Buth this was the first time he's opened the fridge in the middle of the night... I had grabbed a knife thinking it may be an intruder. Not the best look, sneaking up on a kid.' In the third panel the adult kneels next to Daniel and talks to him. 'Daniel, why are you up so late?', he says. Daniel replies 'Mrs. Whisper is hungry'.
Cover for issue 18 of Fodongo