Artist Paul Ribera would like to grab the collective internet’s precious ’90s nostalgia by the hair and curb stomp it. At least that’s the impression I got after seeing his “90s Cartoons With Drug Problems” illustration series, which features such grand visions as Tommy and Chuckie from Rugrats dropping acid and Doug Funny injecting something much worse than killer tofu.
Paul was kind enough to take a break from ruining childhoods to grant us permission to publish the series below. Scroll down to see unsettling images of Johnny Bravo snorting rails, Dexter using his laboratory to cook up something sinister, and more. Check out more of his work at his Tumblr and upcoming website, and request signed prints by emailing Paul at priberawork [at] gmail.com.
(Worth noting: In 2001 an economist estimated that the D.A.R.E. — Drug Abuse Resistance Education — program was costing $1.0-1.3 billion annually. SO MUCH money could have been saved in the ’90s by ditching D.A.R.E. and simply showing these convincing drawings to children.)
