Dog Days of Snake Pit

by Ben Snakepit

Ben Snakepit has drawn a three-panel comic strip about his day, every single day, since 2001. This new book compiles the three years of comics from 2016-2018, seeing Ben through the loss of his beloved Peeber and getting to know Frankie, in the low-fi style that he's known for.

Genres: Comics, Memoir

288 pages, Paperback

Published November 15, 2019

About the author

Ben is best known as the creator of Snakepit zine. Snakepit is a comic zine that features a three panel comic about each day of Ben's life. In interviews Ben has cited Jim's Journal by Scott Dikkers, a comic that appeared in The Onion, as his initial inspiration, although Dikker's comic was fictional, while Ben's is factual. Some issues of Snakepit have appeared as a split with zines such as Clutch, Tight Pants, Amazing Adult Fantasy and Gullible. Contributors to Snakepit have included Janelle Hessig of Tales Of Blarg. The zine was published quarterly until 2006.

In addition, Ben released the zine in one-year anthologies from 2001 to 2004. Snakepit was first published in book form by Gorsky Press in 2004. Entitled The Snake Pit Book, it featuring three years of Ben Snakepit's comic life, with a foreword by Aaron Cometbus. A second book of Snakepit comics, My Life In A Jugular Vein, published by Young American Comics, appeared in 2007. After the release of this book, Ben decided to return to the one-year anthology format with the release of Snakepit 2007 in spring of 2008, and subsequently Snakepit 2008 is anticipated in 2009.
Ben has released two one shot zines, Pills and Going To California.
Ben's work has also appeared in zines such as Capitol City 'Zine Compilation and Twenty-Four Hours and he has been interviewed in zines such as Comixville. As well, he writes a regular column for Razorcake zine.
Ben Snakepit is also a musician and has played with a number of bands including J Church. In 2006, J Church released a split single with the band Off With Their Heads, of which zinester Nate Gangelhoff is a member.

Reviews

[Dave Schaafsma]

Ben Snakepit has been doing a three-panel comic every day for now twenty years. I'm late to the party, since this is the first collection I have read from him. If I had read even three or four of these I am sure I would rate it 4 stars, because he would by now be, like, my friend, but in this case I just met the guy. For those who don't know what this particular activity is about, a cartoonist sets this goal of documenting, in three small panels, the essence of their days, one by one.

In this case Snakepit is working a daily job 2016-2018, and putting his yearly collections together and living with his beloved wife Karen. and his best friend, his dog Peebers. He's not the Wold Street, he's a working class guy who works, draws, eats and talks with his wife, drinks a few beers once in a while, and does a comic about it.

What are the highlights? He admits people at work do not think of him as their favorite co-worker, but he redeems himself in our eyes completely as he adores his wife! We love Karen as she puts up with this nice, shleppy guy. He says great things about her almost every day. And he loves his dog, who (big event) dies, which is a source of great grief for him. Then of course he does what we would do, gets a puppy, yay.

I know, why read it? But I like diary comic--Jeffrey Brown LIz Prince and I have maybe 25 books listed in my comics-diary library--and they grow on you. This is ordinary life, and different than the literary stories that typically focus on the extraordinary.

[Kevin]

I never think a daily diary comic of an Austin musician about my age is going to be that interesting but every single collection is more beautiful than the last. I wait in eagerness for my three year fix.

[Denisse]

Me gustó bastante, quiero leer más cómics del señor Snakepit. Por suerte, tengo dos más, pero me da pena tener SOLO dos más.

[John]

Life is worth living (beer, pizza, dogs etc)

[Ollie]

It’s easy to understate the subtlety of Ben Snakepit’s work. He’s like a centaur: a comic book artist torso powered by a punk rock body. There is no doubt that punk rock has shaped who Ben is and his perspective on life. The man has been in more bands that I either of us can count and I am a proud owner of his music. He’s also an all-around beloved guy. But maybe it’s his comics that are his most important artistic expression.
If you don’t know his comics, you should. It’s simply 3 panels chronicling his day, every day, for the past 20 years (give or take). It’s interesting, simple, and engaging. And you don’t have to be a punk, or young, or old, or a yuppie to appreciate it. I would know, because I’ve had many friends get hooked on them as soon as they open the page. And why wouldn’t they? Everyone can relate to these comics. Sure, it’s simplistic on the surface, but when you dig deeper, you find a mirror reflecting humanity. Ben’s life, like most of ours, is mostly monotony. Go to work, buy groceries, see friends, and partake in some leisurely activity. It’s the break from this pattern that stands out and sticks in our memory: a trip out of town, a death in the family, a romantic development, a change in lifestyle which puts us right back when we started. This latest collection Dog Days of Snakepit chronicles 2016-2018 and sees Ben going through a little of an identity crisis dealing with a demanding job, a death in the family, and the ups and downs of being in a long term relationship. It’s narrated in a simple style that everyone can appreciate, and is funny and witty more often than not. After you read through a couple months, you really start to feel connected to his life, like you would a friend. Because after all, are any of our lives really that different?

Like I said, it’s easy to understate how subtle Ben Snakepit’s work is, but it’s also easy to understate its importance. It’s a window into ourselves and humanity as a whole. Whoof. Powerful stuff. Just don’t tell him I said that.

[Emilia P]

Snakepit, our lives are mundane. Sometimes I think about your life is mundane now, and I think about how it was once just mundane in its overabundance of partying and rock shows. The frequent praise of your lady, of Manor, of Billy's, is a balm to my soul. I'm a little iffy on joining the Satanists but you know, a sense of belonging, right? Pretty sure that's it. It feels as growing older as anything else here.

Now we've both left Austin. I knew I would someday, but I never thought you would. ALAS I must wait years for the next one.

[Jake Roth]

Snake Pit books are always something I look forward to getting when they come out, and they stand out to me as one of the brightest stars of the diary comics genre. In a collection like this, it’s neat to watch how life usually moves in a basic pattern, with occasional surprises that make it all worthwhile. He also tends to navigate self-doubt and pity a little more palatable than some similar cartoonists.

If you happen to also follow Ben on Facebook, it’s interesting to be reminded of stuff he posted like 3 years ago as you read through these books.

[Ryanagate]

Sure he's getting older and slowing down but who isn't. Joining Ben on this journey is fun!