A little green alligator with a fishing net. A baby elephant riding on his dad’s head. A whale who just wants a party hat. At first glance, Buddy Gator Comics look like a bedtime picture book.
Then you keep scrolling, and the stories start to sting.
Created by artist Chow Hon Lam, Buddy Gator Comics use soft watercolor art and gentle humor to talk about things we usually avoid: forest fires, ocean plastic, melting ice and the small choices that decide how it all ends.
Below are 20 strips split into two stories. The first follows a forest fire and the one decision that changes everything. The second dives into the ocean with Gator and his friends as they clean up a mess they did not make.
Artist credit: Instagram
Story 1: The Forest Fire and the Choice That Changes Everything
1. Running Late on a Hot, Dry Day
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2. “Someone Is Already Trying to Extinguish It”
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3. Gator Races Toward the Flames
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4. One Stumble, and the Water Is Gone
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5. The Fire Spreads Through the Forest
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6. “Our Home…”
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7. What Is Left After the Fire
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8. The Other Ending: “Let’s Go Help, Dennis!”
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9. A Trunk Full of Water
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10. One Spray and the Fire Is Out
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11. The Forest Friends Keep Playing
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12. “I Love You, Dad”
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This story opens on a hot, dry morning. Dennis and his dad are running late for class when a tree bursts into flames, and Gator is already rushing over with a tiny cup of water. Then Chow Hon Lam splits the story in two. In the first ending, Dad decides someone else will handle it, Gator trips, and the fire swallows the forest, the rabbit’s carrot farm and the squirrels’ home. In the second ending, Dad stops, fills his trunk at the pond and puts the fire out in one spray. Same morning, same tree, two very different worlds. It is a quiet reminder that walking past a problem is a choice too.
Story 2: Gator and Friends Clean Up the Ocean
13. Searching the Deep Sea
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14. The Barrel Inside the Whale
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15. “Everything Will Be Alright”
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16. The Ducks Who Feared the Alligator
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17. Ben the Shark Is on Duty
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18. “You Are Awesome, Isaac!”
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19. Terry’s Plastic Traffic Jam
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20. A Party Hat for Andrew
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Gator spends this story underwater, and he is rarely alone. He hunts for a radioactive barrel with an anglerfish, only to learn it was sitting in a whale’s stomach. He scares a family of ducks who have no idea he is busy sweeping up trash. A shark named Ben is on cleanup duty, a narwhal named Isaac skewers plastic with his tusk, and Terry shows up late because of a traffic jam made of plastic bottles. The polar bear strip hits hardest, with a family floating away from melting ice on balloons. Then Andrew the whale finally gets a party hat, and the story ends with a smile.
