Cartoon series takes a neurotic look at TTC etiquette

Kurtis Scott is watching you on the subway, and he mostly doesn't like what he sees. Since 2012, the cartoonist has been turning his internal monologue into short animations that skewer messy eaters, people who wear backpacks at rush hour, and inappropriate material on tablet computer screens.

"I'm on the TTC every day and it drives me nuts," he says. "I have no choice but to have these thoughts and it just occurred to me one day that I should be doing this."

When he's not fretting about bad etiquette, Scott works at Smiley Guy Studios, an animation house that produces cartoons for web and television such as Odd Job Jack and Cloud 8. His daily commute is usually from Eglinton to Bathurst stations during rush hour though sometimes if the subway is bad he takes the College streetcar instead.

There are currently 35 videos in the Subway Thoughts series, but not all of them dwell on the little horrors of the TTC. Scott applies his neuroses to mundane activities such as buying pants and people with really shiny heads.

I asked Scott whether he would prefer a perfect subway or more material for his series. "Oh, I think I wish people would smarten up and act better and be aware of things. The backpack needs to come off, that's a big thing all the time - just be aware of the people around you."

"It's like Tetris in a way. You should be playing the game, all the time."

Chris Bateman is a staff writer at blogTO. Follow him on Twitter at @chrisbateman.