This little underground comic started out being made just for my own personal amusement, and also for readers of MATRIXSYNTH and a few other vintage synth geeks who shall luckily remain anonymous here. If you're a musician-slash-"gear whore" than man, this is your toon, particularly if you're into old keyboards. I guess that's not very many people. Regardless, for a brief run in 2005, and for five years from August 2010 through late 2014, monthly Packrat comics appeared in the once-great Keyboard Magazine. In 2018, a few new comics appeared monthly on the Facebook page for The Bob Moog Foundation. As for the future of The Packrat, who knows?


UPDATE 7/8/2022:
Here's THE LATEST PACKRAT ART!



Packrat Comic Archives
Click any thumbnail to see the comic!

2/23/05

Dusting off the Con Brio ADS200. In early May '05 Jose made this cool FAN ART!
3/6/05

Black synths or white synths?
3/20/05

A rat, an ARP 2600, and a timeless question...
3/24/05

What could be better than a Yahama GX-1?
June 2005

The epic tribulations of a rodent gear whore begin at Keyboard Magazine!
July 2005

'80s flashback in this pseudo-semi- autobiographical anecdote.

August 2005

Never bite off more than you can chew, even if you're bucktoothed.
September 2005

Sometimes too much is just plain too much.
October 2005

Tribute to the late great Bob Moog.
November 2005

What exactly do V.S.T.'s mean to an analog freak?
December 2005

O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum, how shiny are your buttons!
January 2006

This toon features copious knobs.

February 2006

Final Packrat toon for Keyboard Magazine explores the dark magic of the keyboard's LOGO.
May 2007

Special new Packrat toon especially for the folks at AHNE 2007!
July 2007

Here's another new one, with shouts-out to CustomSynth and Metasonix!
May 2010

A "Get Well" card made especially Jeff Toman of CustomSynth.
August 2010

New Packrat toons starting up for Keyboard Magazine again! Here's a special half-page toon to celebrate!
Sept 2010

This comic celebrates the awesomeness of the Nord Lead Anniversary!

October 2010

Behold the MAD-Ray, part Memorymoog, part "Spies Like Us."
November 2010

Why YouTube isn't always the most reliable resource.
December 2010

Can Packrat learn from his nightmares? Does earwax float? Wait, I don't know the answer to that, either.
January 2011

Packrat's new invention ushers in an invention of my own: a continuing plotline!
February 2011

At the 1939 World's Fair, Packrat meets the inventor of the "Voder."
March 2011

Packrat appears in 1955, where he gets some scientific advice from a certain learned sage.

April 2011

Packrat meets Dr. Hugh LeCaine, inventor of the first voltage-controlled synthesizer.
May 2011

Dr. Lecaine helps Packrat complete part of his time-traveling journey home.
June 2011

Packrat meets Bog Moog in 1964!
July 2011

Still stuck in 1964, the Packrat heads to San Francisco to find Don Buchla.
August 2011

Buchla is forever changed by his first encounter with a keytar...
September 2011

Packrat figures he's permanently beach-bound in 1967, until he hears the dulcet tone of a theremin!

October 2011

What happens when the keytar's time circuits are amplified by a spherical array of 61 speakers?
November 2011

Packrat hits a time-traveling analog speed bump in the 1980s.
December 2011

Our hero gets a massive analog boost at a notable 1985 synth concert. Where will he end up next?
January 2012

Welcome to the year 2112!
February 2012

Packrat finally arrives home to realize his whole journey was one big joke on him.
March 2012

Packrat's time-traveling days are behind him, but it looks like he's still living in the past.

April 2012

Upgrading software isn't that easy.
May 2012

Are keyboard players invisible?
July 2012

Explore the true "nature" of a signal path.
August 2012

Art should be free, which is why non-artists have no problem charging.
7/29/12

Grainy shot of some art drawn live (on a 18x30 pad, mounted on an easel, with Sharpies!) at the Moog Store in Asheville, NC.
September 2012

Nothing beats a metaphor involving spaceships!

October 2012

As club stages grow smaller, today's keyboardist has to learn to adapt.
November 2012

Why do "keyboard players" need to know about all this other...stuff?
December 2012

Another depressing sign of the times...
January 2013

Values will be re-assessed in the new year!
February 2013

Do you love the synth, or just the idea of the synth?
March 2013

Buddy plays a numbers game with Packrat...

April 2013

Will the keytar truly ever be sexy?
May 2013

Working with limitless gear can sometimes be limiting.
June 2013

Gear doesn't make the player.
July 2013

Packrat begins to get serious recognition for his art.
August 2013

No more hiding behind a stack of keyboards! Featuring my band The Royal Din!
September 2013

A rainbow rack of synths!

October 2013

It's OK to love your synth, just don't love your synth...
November 2013

Buddy and Packs discuss the nerdiness of synth.
December 2013

Do you only care about looking at synths instead of hearing them in action?
5-Dec-2013

Promotional comic for Kiwitechnics that fans of "Back to the Future" will appreciate!
January 2014

Every kind of instrument you might play has its down side.
February 2014

The danger of local pickups for online synth purchases!

March 2014

At what point will synths become infinitely expensive?
April 2014

Every musician I know is always "thinking about starting up something new."
May 2014

Somehow entertainers are the only people who get scoffed at for having the nerve to expect some form of payment.
June 2014

Here's one possible explanation why there ain't too much "synth blues" out there.
July 2014

People who can't read music might have weird brains.
August 2014

Absolute keyboarding corrupts absolutely.
September 2014

Some synth pursuits are purely academic.
October 2014

Every Packrat comic should involve a unicorn mask. Period.
November 2014

Dogs do not belong in the Packrat universe.
December 2014

Synth addiction can just be a bunch of tail-chasing.
January 2015

Why are Future Times for synths so un-futuristic?
February 2015

The Packrat bids a fond farewell.
April 7, 2017

The Packrat returns from the Quantum realm.
December 7, 2017

Gearing up for a comeback!
April 25, 2018

The Packrat starts up an acoustic duo.
May 27, 2018

Celebrating Bob Moog's birthday with all the Packrat's friends!
July 5, 2018

The Packrat teaches a lesson in Synth School.
September 21, 2018

The Packrat decides to raffle off something unnecessary.
November 8, 2018

The Packrat ponders the possibly of opening up his own synth museum.
December 27, 2019

RL Music presents a comic about spending your holiday bonus money on what really counts.
June 8, 2022

The Packrat comes out of hiding for a new Oberheim synth.



Copyright © 2005 - 2018 David C. Lovelace