Every now and then I wax nostalgic about my old comic strip “Dexter,” which I created while I was in college. Cartooning was my first love, before I’d ever set eyes on a computer. Bringing inky characters to life was a thrill that’s since been replaced by designing software, but in both cases the enjoyment comes from creating something out of nothing.

Below is one of my favorite old strips, and it’s funny how I still have a bad attitude about ties (or, at least, any activity that requires one).