The Despair Inc. Blog

WHEN YOU’RE JUST TOO DEPRESSED TO WEAR DESPAIRWEAR…

You’ve already seen his masterful hand at work in Despair’s popular line of Illustrated tees.  Working closely with the deeply embittered writers of Despair, Inc.- he’s produced designs as beautiful as they are tragic, including Despair’s most popular t-shirt yet, the now-no-longer-available Twas The Night Before Christmas.

Has dark humor ever seemed more gleeful? Could someone so gifted at illustrating Despair possibly be anything other than a black-hearted malcontent, a soul laboring quietly in darkness, collecting unto himself ever more grudges and resentments towards his few peers, his broken family, and especially his boss, who demonstrates only a talent for drinking during the workday and for underestimating the amazing worth one particular employee in the department who has proven his value a hundred times over but keep getting marginalized because he dropped out of UT Austin back in the 90s and once made a crack at a company party in 2001 about “Fun/Ed” before he realized his boss actually graduated from that particular institute of higher learning and apparently didn’t find that a cause for shame.

Actually…. The answer, to my continuing surprise, is yes. Apparently there are some perfectly well-adjusted people out there who can weave in-and-out of pessimistic humor without having to live the life of an unsung hero in a marketing department at a company specializing in cynical humor products. How do I know this? Because I actually had a drink with him and some other unhappy Despair employees at Opal Devine’s in South Austin several weeks ago- and despite my repeated attempts to get him to reject his reflex optimism and look on the darkside for a change, he maintained an utterly sunny disposition. And yet- put a mouse in his hand, and five minutes later he’s drawing a picture of the grim reaper as seen through a peep-hole. It’s freaky.

I’m sorry I keep digressing.

Continue reading”6 New Tees from the Artist of Despair Illustrated” »

INTRODUCING THE LATEST DEMOTIVATOR® DESIGN IN DESPAIRWEAR FORM.

One of our most dehumanizing designs to date has finally made the leap to DespairWear form! Our Worth Demotivator joins other classic Demotivator designs, including Consistency, Cluelessness, Wishes, Potential, and Mistakes- and in so doing, makes the already devastating line of surprisingly well-produced t-shirts even more unbearably soul-crushing!

As with all of DespairWear Demotivator Tees, the photographic original has been beautifully translated into illustrated form with artistry and finesse. And for the remainder of the week, Wailing List subscribers can pick up their own Worth Tee for $3 off the retail price- just by using the coupon code “worthless”. (Remember- don’t include the quotes when keying the code in our check-out process, or a $3 Bonehead Tax will be added to your order.)

AN ASTONISHING NEW DOCUMENTARY. FROM LAURA DUNN, A FRIEND OF DESPAIR.

Yes, you read it right.

Despair, Inc. — the occasionally-lovable-but-mostly-irritating-rogues-who-constantly-
pepper-your-in-box-with-advertisements-and-promotions-for-a-truly-dazzling-array-
of-crap-you-absolutely-do-not-need-and-very-probably-should-not-buy – helped to produce a critically-acclaimed, stunningly beautiful new documentary by longtime company friend and collaborator Laura Dunn. And now that the film is beginning a limited-theatrical run, we’d like to encourage you to see it - if/when it opens in your town.

“What is it about?”, you ask, already skeptical.

Watch the trailer.

Continue reading”Despair, Inc. presents: THE UNFORESEEN - a New Documentary” »