Dating Tips
Chris Ross has studied love. Unfortunately, he has conclusions. From the safety of his love laboratory, the self-proclaimed love man tackles the mysteries of modern romance one terrible idea at a time.
Take These Broken Wings — 1 Minute
Two Way Street — 1 Minute
Soothing the Savage Beast — 1 Minute
Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow — 2 Minutes
Burlingame, CA
San Francisco, CA
Pacifica Pier, Pacifica, CA
Professional Sex-Haver and published scientist (really!) Chris Ross explains how to make a woman yours forever using one of the great romantic texts of the modern age: Hoobastank’s “The Reason.”
Competitive bicep curler and published scientist (seriously!) Chris Ross reveals the secret to escaping an expensive dinner bill: make sure your date feels too sorry for you to ask for money.
Worldwide Edging Champion and published scientist (no kidding!) Chris Ross tackles communication, compromise, and the ancient male art of pretending to agree with everything.
Star of NBC’s short-lived Trauma and published scientist (scout’s honor!) Chris Ross demonstrates how music can calm an angry woman, provided you never, ever play Rush.
Dinosaur-denier and published scientist (big deal!) Chris Ross solves the problem of the difficult breakup with one elegant strategy: tell her you’re an alien and your mission on Earth is complete.
Behind the Scenes
Chris Ross Dating Tips came out of a stretch where Daryl was restless and bored, serving as another creative lifeline.
The concept began with a series of facetious, pseudo-scientific relationship advice posts Chris Ross had written on Facebook. Daryl saw an easy sketch format in them and started adapting the posts into short scripts, with the original plan calling for ten episodes.
Production was deliberately simple. Daryl and Becker Von Felsburg filmed Chris Ross’s hosting segments against a green screen in Daryl’s garage, then dropped him into a rotating series of increasingly ridiculous “professional” environments. The dramatizations were built around friends, couples, and whoever else could be convinced to participate.
Michael Martin’s involvement was limited. He only worked on two of the five finished episodes, which fit the broader uncertainty Daryl was feeling about the partnership at the time. The first episode also produced one of those compliments that managed to land sideways. After watching Daryl act opposite Kirsten, Michael told him he was “impressed” and admitted, “I didn’t know you could do that.” Daryl took it less as praise than as evidence that, after years of working together, Michael was still underestimating him.
Only five of the planned ten episodes were completed. The unused material didn’t disappear. When Dollars & Donuts later moved into comics, several of the unproduced ideas were reworked into one-page Chris Ross Dating Tips strips for Dollars & Donuts Showcase.
The biggest casualty was Tip #10: “Baby’s Gotta Have,” intended as the finale. The script broke the format apart completely, with an actress finally rebelling against Chris Ross’s advice and sending the series into a much darker ending. Ross winds up destitute, drunk, and wandering the streets, still insisting to strangers that he is a scientist.
dollars & donuts continuity
Scientist Chris Ross would return years later without actually returning at all.
In 2020, unused green-screen footage and outtakes from Chris Ross Dating Tips were pulled apart and repurposed for Night Dicks: Miami. Lines were taken wildly out of context, reactions were rearranged, and Chris Ross was dropped into the middle of the film’s chaos without shooting a single frame of new material. The result had almost nothing to do with the original dating show, which was the point.
Footage once meant to present Chris Ross as a polished relationship expert was weaponized into something much stranger, turning old outtakes into a new performance through editing alone.
JUst the TiPS!
THE COMIC BOOK
Chris Ross Dating Tips eventually made the jump from video to comics.
Four one-page strips appeared in Dollars & Donuts Showcase. Two adapted episodes that had already been filmed, while two others brought previously unproduced tips to life for the first time.
The comics gave the series a second life, preserving some of its best-known material while finally rescuing a few ideas that never made it in front of a camera.
Read the tips in Dollars & Donuts Showcase, one per issue.
One universe. Infinite detours.
Welcome to the inaugural issue of Dollars & Donuts Showcase, the anthology series bringing the characters, stories, and imagination of Dollars & Donuts Productions to the comic-book page!
Across 48 oversized pages, discover a collection of crime, adventure, mystery, and comedy spanning the frozen wilderness of the Sierra Nevada, the lawless American frontier, the streets of San Francisco, and the highest reaches of the Matterhorn. Familiar faces share the spotlight with new characters in five complete or continuing adventures, accompanied by an assortment of comic strips and special features.
FEATURING:
SHADOWS IN THE SNOW
Adapted from a screenplay by Hank Della
Art by Diego Toro • Colors by Daniele Caramanico
A daring armored-car robbery at a snowbound ski resort sets four criminals against one another in a desperate struggle for stolen money. As suspicion turns to betrayal, the unforgiving Sierra wilderness threatens to finish what the bullets started.
THE WOLF AND THE LAMB
Written by Daryl Della & Brian Grima
Art by Bobby Brice • Colors by Fahriza Kamputra
A young cowpoke discovers that reason and good manners offer little protection in the Old West, where justice is frequently settled at the end of a gun.
MUNCHIE ADVENTURES
Written by Daryl Della
Art by Pietro Frascarelli
The Night Dicks' perpetually stoned acquaintance sets out for the Matterhorn in pursuit of a legendary strain of marijuana. Between Yetis, dragons, and the effects of his own considerable consumption, Munchie faces an expedition unlike any other.
TWO HEADS ARE BETTER THAN NONE
Written by Daryl Della
Art by Wayne Lowden • Colors by Fahriza Kamputra
Professional assassin Jack Knife accepts a contract on a most unusual target: a man with two heads. Naturally, the job proves more complicated than the original agreement suggested.
THE GOLDEN HOOT — PART ONE OF FOUR
Written by Daryl Della & Ray Revello
Art by Mac Radwanski • Inks and Colors by Stas Groshev
Meet Frank Barnett, San Francisco's hardboiled private detective, and Harvey Weebs, his long-suffering accountant, as a dangerous assignment draws them into the pursuit of an ancient artifact with mysterious hypnotic powers. High-speed chases, murderous criminals, and a sinister conspiracy launch Frank's first serialized comic-book adventure!
PLUS! The adventures of Walker Dog Ranger, a miniature Night Dicks mystery in The Curious Case of the Pilfered Pies, and the romantic wisdom of Chris Ross Dating Tips!
Cover artwork by Daryl Della.
The first issue of Dollars & Donuts Showcase, available in a full-color, physical print edition.
One universe. Infinite detours.
The third issue of Dollars & Donuts Showcase brings explosive conclusions, sinister origins, and extraordinary new mysteries to 48 oversized pages of comic-book adventure!
The battle for Holly Avenue reaches its violent conclusion, a notorious killer's past is revealed, and the Night Dicks stumble into a scientific mystery that threatens to overturn everything they know about time and space. Meanwhile, Frank Barnett's pursuit of the Golden Hoot takes another dangerous turn as the conspiracy surrounding the ancient artifact grows increasingly sinister.
FEATURING:
OLDTIMERS BRING HELL — PART TWO OF TWO
Written by Daryl Della
Art by Samir Simão • Colors by Ichsan Ansori
The war for Holly Avenue reaches its explosive conclusion! With their homes and livelihoods at stake, Hank and Jack make their final stand against the forces threatening their neighborhood. The old men have been pushed to their limits, and they're not going down without a fight.
LIVIN' LA VIDA BOBO
Written by Becker Von Felsburg
Art by Bobby Brice • Colors by Tanya Wicker
Before the horrors of Dead Right II, there was Nurse Bobo. Discover the origins of the deranged hospital attendant in a disturbing tale of obsession, surgical experimentation, and the events that transformed an ordinary nurse into a murderous nightmare.
NIGHT DICKS IN “DIAL ‘T’ FOR TELEPORTATION”
Written by Daryl Della
Art by Carlos Reno • Colors by Tanya Wicker
When familiar San Francisco landmarks begin appearing where they don't belong, private investigators Slade McKlosky and Rochester Black follow a trail of impossible clues to the laboratory of Professor Teleporto. But their investigation takes an unexpected turn when two mysterious visitors arrive from the future, accompanied by none other than Tom Arnold!
THE GOLDEN HOOT — PART THREE OF FOUR
Written by Daryl Della & Ray Revello
Art by Mac Radwanski • Inks and Colors by Stas Groshev
The mystery of the Golden Hoot approaches its climax! Frank Barnett finds himself drawn deeper into the schemes of the ruthless Von Beck, whose obsession with the ancient artifact conceals ambitions far beyond ordinary criminal enterprise. With danger closing in and Harvey Weebs increasingly vulnerable, Frank must uncover the truth before the Golden Hoot falls into the wrong hands.
PLUS! Another adventure featuring Walker Dog Ranger and Pedro, and more romantic instruction from the incomparable Chris Ross Dating Tips!
Cover art by Armando Ramos • Colors by Tanya Wicker
Dollars & Donuts Showcase #3, available in a full-color, physical print edition.
One universe. Infinite detours.
The adventures continue in Dollars & Donuts Showcase #2! Across 48 oversized pages, familiar faces return, new villains emerge, and the boundaries of the Dollars & Donuts universe expand from the streets of San Francisco to the snowy heights of the Swiss Alps, with a few unexpected dimensions along the way.
This second installment brings together four adventures spanning suburban warfare, supernatural science, international assassination, and hardboiled detective action.
FEATURING:
OLDTIMERS BRING HELL — PART ONE OF TWO
Written by Daryl Della
Art by Samir Simão • Colors by WEM 7 & Daniele Caramanico
Hank and Jack have spent a lifetime defending what belongs to them. But when a hidden arsenal is discovered and old grievances erupt into new hostilities, the two aging veterans find themselves facing a battle that threatens their homes and their neighborhood. The war for Holly Avenue begins!
LO, THERE SHALL BE A BITCH!
Written by Sasha Boggs
Art by Valeria Burzo • Colors by Daniele Caramanico
Witness the extraordinary origin of Dr. Bitch, the formidable adversary from Night Dicks: Miami! When Dr. Barbara Biche's experiments collide with black magic and the mysteries of the multiverse, the boundaries of reality begin to collapse, revealing a universe far larger than anyone imagined.
JACK ON THE ROCKS
Written by Daryl Della
Art by Wayne Lowden • Colors by Fahriza Kamputra
Professional assassin Jack Knife travels to the Swiss Alps with orders to eliminate a mountain climber on the Matterhorn. What should be a straightforward assignment becomes an international ordeal involving airline disasters, dangerous terrain, and a most unexpected encounter with the local wildlife.
THE GOLDEN HOOT — PART TWO OF FOUR
Written by Daryl Della & Ray Revello
Art by Mac Radwanski • Inks and Colors by Stas Groshev
The pursuit of the Golden Hoot continues! Frank Barnett follows a trail of violent criminals and dangerous secrets toward the truth behind the mysterious artifact. A breakneck motorcycle chase, a confrontation with Jack Knife, and a sinister discovery in an abandoned theater bring Frank and his long-suffering accountant Harvey Weebs ever closer to the forces behind the conspiracy.
PLUS! More adventures of Walker Dog Ranger and Pedro, and another indispensable installment of Chris Ross Dating Tips!
Cover artwork by Diego Toro.
Dollars & Donuts Showcase #2, available in a full-color, physical print edition.
One universe. Infinite detours.
The fourth issue of Dollars & Donuts Showcase brings five extraordinary adventures to 48 oversized pages, culminating in the explosive conclusion of Frank Barnett's first serialized mystery, The Golden Hoot!
From a quiet evening beneath the stars to the centuries-spanning history of an immortal pharmacist, this installment explores new corners of the Dollars & Donuts universe while returning to some of its most familiar faces. Along the way, Bud the Hobo and Lou the Bear take Manhattan, Dallas and Lando face an evening of unforeseen complications, and Frank Barnett prepares for a final confrontation with an enemy whose ambitions threaten the entire world.
FEATURING:
WHEN STARS ARE BRIGHT
Written by J. Phillip Wilkins & Daryl Della
Art by Roberto Rivera • Colors by Carlos Amorim
Brothers Tommy and Chase spend a summer evening beneath the stars, sharing popcorn, memories, and dreams of what might lie beyond the night sky. But when an unidentified flying object appears overhead, an ordinary night in the backyard becomes an encounter neither boy will ever forget.
TIGHT
Written by J. Phillip Wilkins & Daryl Della
Art by Rafael Loureiro • Colors by Tanya Wicker
Meet Thomias Grech, the centuries-old vampire pharmacist whose long and troubled existence has carried him into modern-day South San Francisco. When his path crosses that of Tom Collins, the unstable explosives enthusiast from Tipsy, a chance encounter threatens to bring both their histories to a violent conclusion.
BUD THE HOBO & LOU THE BEAR IN “BEAR-LY LEGAL”
Written by Ray Revello & Daryl Della
Art by Sara Scalia • Colors by Fahriza Kamputra & David Aravena
Bud the Hobo and Lou the Bear return for an adventure through the streets of New York City! After a disastrous romantic entanglement, the pair devise an elaborate scheme to infiltrate a major concert, aided by their latest mechanical creation: Floozie-bot. Naturally, the plan encounters certain complications.
DALLAS & LANDO IN “BRAM STOKER'S NIGHT OUT”
Written by Daryl Della
Art by Carlos Reno • Colors by Daniele Caramanico
A thoughtful gift from Dallas to Lando, an enormous poster for Bram Stoker's Dracula, sets off a succession of mishaps that turn an otherwise ordinary evening into an adventure only one of them anticipated.
THE GOLDEN HOOT — PART FOUR OF FOUR
Written by Daryl Della & Ray Revello
Art by Mac Radwanski • Inks and Colors by Stas Groshev
THE EXPLOSIVE CONCLUSION! Frank Barnett's pursuit of the Golden Hoot reaches its final confrontation with the ruthless Von Beck, whose plans for the mysterious artifact involve a Nazi doomsday machine and nothing less than world domination. With Harvey Weebs under the influence of the Hoot's hypnotic powers, Frank must battle impossible odds to stop Von Beck and bring the case to a close!
PLUS! Another comic-strip adventure featuring Walker Dog Ranger and Pedro, and further romantic instruction from Chris Ross Dating Tips!
Cover artwork by Diego Toro.
Dollars & Donuts Showcase #4, available in a full-color, physical print edition.