Coughing Up a Storm

This one was inspired by true events:

I was riding the train home from work, very late at night. There was a man, who might have been homeless but I will never really know, laying across three seats at the other end of the car, asleep. Suddenly, he burst out in a huge coughing fit. It lasted for nearly half a minute, as the man unleashed a full repertoire of respiratory statements: dry hacks, wet hocks, slimy wheezes, scratchy throat-clears, even a few curt gasps. It was like a monologue. And then, as abruptly as it began, it was over. I looked around. There were only three other people in the car, and they seemed just as stunned as I was. After the man had fallen back asleep and it was clear that he wasn't in any sort of serious trouble, I pulled out my pen and my sketchbook and started scratching away.

At the time, this drawing came together very quickly. It was partially based on the actual coughing man, and though I (obviously) took a lot of liberties, I've always been very happy with the result.