Bullshit Jobs (in China)

Sadly based on all-too-true stories https://www.sohu.com/a/432182610_347553

Part Two of a series of comics about late-capitalist gigs in today's China.

Business card inspired by this classic re-sent to me recently by @thanksgaving

Part 3 of a series about late-capitalist gigs in China: STONKS.

Part 4 of late-capitalist gigs in China: "AUTOMATION"

Part 5 of late-capitalist gigs in China: "BLUR ARTIST"

Part 6 of late-capitalist gigs in China: "TWITTER", feat. @visitweifang @VisitWeihai @VisitYantai and @VisitRizhao , with special thanks to @JoshuaDummer

Part 7 of bullshit jobs in China: DADDY YANKEE

. @daddy_yankee notice me senpai

Part 8 (FINAL PART!) of Late-Capitalist Gigs in China: MACHINE MINDERS

This is it for Bullshit jobs, for now. This comic came out of asking myself: what kind of Beijing are we living in right now?

Affluent Beijingers have already largely retreated from public spaces, a transition hastened by pervasive gig labour/on-demand services and siloed gated enclaves. And this was before COVID.

The streets are, increasingly, for the precarious and invisible. But the streets don't belong to them.

Where does "the city" reside anymore? What does social mobility look like in Beijing? What has to be true for these jobs to exist? What had to happen for this category of work to even be possible?

The comics above are as far as my limited knowledge can get me, but I feel like a meaningful discernment of WHAT urban China is becoming lies in the answer to these questions.

For me, everything circles back to music and the shape of music scenes to come - that's where I'll be folding in any future work on labour and jobs, bullshit or otherwise.

Thanks for reading! I've learned a lot from all your thoughtful responses. I didn't draw for almost 8 months, and I'm finally feeling comfortable again with the most bullshittest job of all: comic book artist.

Season 1 Epilogue: Breakfast Buffet Mascots

I'm working on more 'Bullshit Jobs' comics! The plan is to release it as a complete zine sometime before Lunar New Year. It'll have an expanded 'introduction' where we can talk theory and reveal the plot twist that, while set in China, these jobs are not exclusive to the PRC.