Comic Transcripts

MARIO: The secret to avoiding parking tickets is to look like you already have a parking ticket. [[He gestures to an envelope marked VIOLATION on his windshield.]] With an envelope already under your wiper, you can park anywhere you want!

AMBROSE: But won’t the officer making the rounds know whether he’s given you one? Won’t he check the date and time of the existing citation?
MARIO: Let him! He’ll find a citation with today’s date for this exact point on the street. Photoshop lets me customize it for anywhere I park.

AMBROSE: So you plan out where you’re going to illegally park and print fake citations ahead of time? Or do you just print a dozen citations every morning for whatever times you think you might need?
MARIO: Yeah, I’ve got a macro. It’s actually not that much trouble once you make it a habit.

AMBROSE: ?you realize you’re probably spending more on paper and ink and time than the actual citations would cost.
MARIO: Ah, but ruining one’s own life by choice is the very definition of liberty.

{{header: take time for WONDERMARK.COM}}

{{alt-text: ‘Can you believe Mario carries around a box of pre-printed tickets everywhere he goes?’ ‘I know, what a moron! I just keep a color printer plugged into the cigarette lighter.’}}

#664; Spite is the Father of Invention transcribed by in

MARIO: The secret to avoiding parking tickets is to look like you already have a parking ticket. [[He gestures to an envelope marked VIOLATION on his windshield.]] With an envelope already under your wiper, you can park anywhere you want!

AMBROSE: But won’t the officer making the rounds know whether he’s given you one? Won’t he check the date and time of the existing citation?
MARIO: Let him! He’ll find a citation with today’s date for this exact point on the street. Photoshop lets me customize it for anywhere I park.

AMBROSE: So you plan out where you’re going to illegally park and print fake citations ahead of time? Or do you just print a dozen citations every morning for whatever times you think you might need?
MARIO: Yeah, I’ve got a macro. It’s actually not that much trouble once you make it a habit.

AMBROSE: ?you realize you’re probably spending more on paper and ink and time than the actual citations would cost.
MARIO: Ah, but ruining one’s own life by choice is the very definition of liberty.

{{header: take time for WONDERMARK.COM}}

{{alt-text: ‘Can you believe Mario carries around a box of pre-printed tickets everywhere he goes?’ ‘I know, what a moron! I just keep a color printer plugged into the cigarette lighter.’}}

#664; Spite is the Father of Invention transcribed by in

MARIO: The secret to avoiding parking tickets is to look like you already have a parking ticket. [[He gestures to an envelope marked VIOLATION on his windshield.]] With an envelope already under your wiper, you can park anywhere you want!

AMBROSE: But won't the officer making the rounds know whether he's given you one? Won't he check the date and time of the existing citation?
MARIO: Let him! He'll find a citation with today's date for this exact point on the street. Photoshop lets me customize it for anywhere I park.

AMBROSE: So you plan out where you're going to illegally park and print fake citations ahead of time? Or do you just print a dozen citations every morning for whatever times you think you might need?
MARIO: Yeah, I've got a macro. It's actually not that much trouble once you make it a habit.

AMBROSE: ?you realize you're probably spending more on paper and ink and time than the actual citations would cost.
MARIO: Ah, but ruining one's own life by choice is the very definition of liberty.

{{header: take time for WONDERMARK.COM}}

{{alt-text: 'Can you believe Mario carries around a box of pre-printed tickets everywhere he goes?' 'I know, what a moron! I just keep a color printer plugged into the cigarette lighter.'}}

'Can you believe Mario carries around a file box of pre-printed tickets everywhere he goes?' 'I know, what a moron! I just keep a color printer plugged into the cigarette lighter'

#664; Spite is the Father of Invention

  — October 8th, 2010

[ Tags: , , , ]       Permalink: https://wondermark.com/c/664/

Buy a Print

Applications open for Genius Northwest – an IRL gaming competition

May 8, 2026 by David Malki !

Last year, I participated in Genius Northwest, a gaming competition inspired by the Korean gameshow The Genius and its ilk.

It’s a reality show without the cameras — a 3-day, all-inclusive weekend retreat structured around a series of challenges and puzzles, in which personalities and dealmaking matter as much as playing games.

It’s truly a remarkable thing. I came in dead last in the competition, but I still had a great time participating.

The event is held annually in the Pacific Northwest (hence the name) and applications are now open to participate in the 2026 competition!

Learn more — and apply — at GeniusNW.com.


Recent blog posts