James O’Brien created this piece for the University of Minnesota’s Alumni magazine’s summer issue for a short story about the manager of a fast-food restaurant, Mr. Ted.

The story was a mix of humor and melancholy; Mr. Ted was trapped in his career choice and his two young workers at first saw his life as humorous, but eventually gained respect for him.  James sketched some variations of him at the grill with drops and flames (top two rows of thumbnails). The drops pattern serves as a symbol of the environment and the mood; grease, rain, tears, sweat.