I have a new comic up at The Nib, “Hide Out”— about facing my old, romantic visions of The End as we find ourselves surrounded by the quiet, disorienting terror of unseen mass deaths, of the actual End Of Things.
This was a very personal comic to make, and I’m so grateful to Matt and everyone at The Nib for publishing it— please subscribe and support them here.
Here’s today’s quarantine drawing— Diamond Mine from Come Again, or Singer Pooping Out Entire Band.
Diamond Mine will be the central characters in my next solo graphic novel, which I’m still writing— more on that in 2021 or so!
Getting back in practice amidst the pandemic, shaking off the cobwebs— here’s a Storm drawing I did yesterday.
One of my chronic bad habits while drawing: I draw at too flat of an angle relative to the paper, which gives me a distorted view while working. Despite how pleased I was with this drawing, as soon as I finished it I realized Storm’s head is way too big.
Always hold up your work to examine it head-on, my cartoonist friends!
Quarantine fun: I made this piece yesterday as a relationship guide to the crew from Come Again and their well-intentioned, loving, super messed-up, horned-out dynamics.
I miss these characters and their world.
Here’s to the therapeutic value of making art when we’re cut off from each other. Here’s to remaining open.
After helping my kid finish organizing her school report on ocelots, I rewarded myself by drawing Silvestri-era Psylocke and Wolverine. Gotta try to keep those inking chops during this months-long lockdown.
If you don’t follow me on social media, you can find me on Instagram and Twitter.
Stay disciplined, stay isolated, and keep your eyes on the prize— we’ve gotta remove this fascist from the White House at all costs. <3
Here’s a fantasy hug. Stay strong, everybody.
I’m honored to be included as a nominee for this year’s Slate/Center For Cartoon Studies Cartoonist Studio Prize for my webcomic, “About Face”!
Hi everybody— I hope you’re doing well, maintaining your health and sanity, and most important, following the health/isolation protocols with sustained discipline. This authoritarian regime will not save us. Only we can save ourselves— and the lives of millions depend on that sustained discipline.
Please, please, please: wash your hands, cover your cough, stay home, physically isolate from other people, and keep surfaces clean. This isn’t the middle of the crisis— we’re barely at the beginning, and are facing a likely incomprehensible death toll which may reach into the hundreds of thousands in the US alone.
Love and solidarity to everyone.
***
In book news, I have a few new projects gearing up which I can’t discuss yet— but soon enough!
Last month, I finished a new book (title forthcoming with a larger announcement)— through two years of work, our social and political reality has changed so quickly that I often felt it couldn’t possibly be published soon enough to keep up.
Now, even 2019’s sense of urgency and uncertainty seems antiquated. Some passages have very meanings now (just a month later)— specifically, a central theme on the urgency of sustained physical protest in a new reality that virtually removes its possibilty.
Stay vigilant, stay mindful, think of your neighbors (in the biggest, worldly sense possible)— and we will get through this.
Here’s a 14”x9” Calvin & Hobbes piece I drew (featuring the injured baby raccoon— a storyline which profoundly impacted me as a kid), which is up for auction to raise money for San Francisco’s Cartoon Art Museum.
Here’s a brand new interview (originally recorded last summer) I did with the fine folks at the PBS program Articulate, just in case you wanna see me flail my hands around while I’m talking!
Bloomington friends: on Thursday, February 20th (John Lewis’ birthday!), I’ll be giving a talk/Q&A about my work at the I Fell Gallery (415 W. 4th, next to Rainbow Bakery). There will also be a one-night-only exhibit of my original artwork spanning the last two decades!
Here’s a link to the same info on my events page.
7pm, free, all as a part of the Indiana Remixed series. See you there!
(Adding this note here, because I know that a certain local crust-punk with a long history of sexual assault, domestic violence, and physical intimidation keeps tabs on me via the internet: you are not welcome at my events. Ever. Do not show up.)
If you find yourself in the Atlanta airport, go check out this amazing installation honoring John Lewis— featuring my original page from March: Book Three, next to the legendary “Because Of You, John” autograph from Barack Obama’s 2009 inauguration!
(photos by, and thanks to, fellow cartoonist and friend Andy Runton!)
I’ve always wanted to release a collection of my amateur band photography, so I finally made it happen as a zine— here’s Parting Shots #1, featuring a bunch of photos I took between 1995-2018. This mostly documents underground punk-related bands, but also branches out into a few mainstream artists I’ve had the privilege of seeing. All point-and-shoot, from the hand-me-down 110 camera I started with to my current Sony RX100 II.
Volume One clocks in at a whopping 84 pages, and I expect to release a second volume in a few months. You can order it here, or in combination with Fluke #17 here. This is a super-limited release, and I doubt I’ll make more than 100 copies total.
One Reason. Caravan, Memphis TN, 2003.
Fugazi. Malcolm X Park, Washington DC, 1996.
Haim. Egyptian Room, Indianapolis IN, 2016.
Fat Shadow. Bloomington IN, 2011.
If you need a breather from our democracy’s collapse, here’s a brand-new, extremely soothing 7-minute interview/process video I did with Payton Knobeloch at [Indi]android, drawing comics while surrounded by puppies and kitties. Enjoy!
(and then get out in the streets to protest en masse, light up that Congressional switchboard at 202-224-3121, and STAY LOUD.)
I have a new illustration in The New York Times today, in George Gustines’ piece about IDW’s collaborative comics line with the Smithsonian!
Hot off the presssss:
I have an interview in Fluke zine #17, plus cover artwork, interior illustrations, and that sweet Soophie Nun Squad family tree centerfold action! Order a copy here.
It’s always an honor to contribute to this long-running, Arkansas-rooted DIY punk staple!
Thanks to everyone who came out in Little Rock and Bloomington to make the release of TWO DEAD such a success!
Writer Van Jensen and I had a panel discussion (and “Anatomy of a Scene” walk-through) on book release day, moderated by Jay Jennings as a part of Oxford American’s “South Words” series— here is video of the whole thing.
Thanks to everyone who braved the cold and rain last Saturday to grab books from colorist Erin Tobey and me at Vintage Phoenix Comics— Erin and I have worked on-and-off with each other for almost 20 years, and we’re both proud to’ve been a visual team on this book.
You can order signed/sketched copies of any of my books directly from me here.
It’s an honor to find the March trilogy included in A.V. Club’s “Best Comics of the 2010’s” list!
“The March books became even more relevant in the midst of the shifting political tides of the decade’s latter half, and with its presence in schools, March gives future generations an accessible, poignant look at why they need to stand up to bigotry in all its forms and continue the fight for human rights.”
Here are some quick flyers for my upcoming Two Dead book release events:
* Tuesday, November 19th in Little Rock, AR with writer Van Jensen!
See you there!
The first shipment of Two Dead has arrived, and the books turned out great!
Gallery 13 will be releasing Two Dead on November 19th (writer Van Jensen and I will be doing a discussion/Q&A/signing on release day in Little Rock, Arkansas, and then colorist Erin Tobey and I will be doing a signing in Bloomington, Indiana at Vintage Phoenix Comics on Saturday, November 23rd).
I’ve already started shipping signed mailorder copies, which means many folks will receive the book before release day— order here.
You may also order Two Dead from your local comics shop, your local indie bookstore, or Amazon.
As always, thank you for your support!
