Another book finished-- and starting the next.

Last week I finished drawing my next original graphic novel, Fall Through— it’s a sweaty, interdimensional 1990’s underground punk soap opera (starring the band Diamond Mine from their appearance in my 2018 book Come Again) that’ll be out next August or so from Abrams ComicArts. More details and an official announcement in a few months!

Next up on the drawing table: my adaptation of the late, great James Loewen’s influential book Lies My Teacher Told Me, which will be released in 2024 by The New Press.

This Saturday-- Evansville, Indiana!

If you live anywhere between St. Louis and Columbus, Chicago and Nashville, come to Evansville, Indiana this Saturday for the Museum Geek & Comic Con! It’s a great, small, varied show in a fantastic venue (411 SE Riverside Drive), and I’ll be there selling books from 11am-5pm.

Here’s the Museum Con’s FB page for more info.

At 2:30pm, cartoonist extraordinaire Chris Schweizer and I will be doing a panel together, talking about our work— see you there!

This is my first comic con in 3 years, so I have a bunch of backed-up stock to sell— for this fall, I think I’ll be offering all 3 pandemic releases (Two Dead, Save It For Later, and Run) together for $50, and all individual books will be $20 or under!

Posters available for my "Comics Are Reading" comic!

I received my own order of my “Comics Are Reading” 18”x24” poster yesterday, and it looks great— excellent print quality and nice paper stock. Educators, library workers, bookshop & comics shop people, and comics lovers everywhere: you can order your own right here.

There’s also a downloadable PDF of the comic from this year’s Booklist Guide To Graphic Novels In Libraries.

'SAVE IT FOR LATER'-- new expanded paperback edition out today!

Today marks the release of a new, expanded paperback edition of Eisner Award-nominated Save It for Later, with 16 new pages of post-2020 conversation between Derf Backderf and myself (including citations), a recommended reading list of work which informed or influenced my book, some creative process images of formative thumbnail and script, and more.

You can learn more and order through many outlets here, or you can order via Bookshop, IndieBound, Powell’s, Barnes & Noble, or Amazon here.

If you’re in Indiana tomorrow (August 10th), I’ll be having a book-launch discussion with Erin Tobey moderating, followed by a signing— Morgenstern Books (849 S. Auto Mall Rd.) at 6:30 pm. See you there!

New "About Face" interview for Gear Patrol

I was honored to speak with Evan Malachosky for this Gear Patrol piece about the infiltration of “tactical” paramilitary aesthetic into every corner of our consumer lives, and how that relates to our social and political reality— it’s a thorough and nuanced look into the history of many outdoor and tactical equipment companies as well as their marketing considerations, and I encourage everyone to read it! I learned a lot along the way.

It remains a profound honor that my comics essay “About Face” has continued to serve such a crucial role in our larger cultural discussion about the crisis of mainstreamed fascism— and how our lives as consumers play into this nightmare. “About Face” is the central chapter of my essay/memoir hybrid Save It For Later, which was an Eisner Awards nominee for Best Graphic Memoir this year. Please pick up a copy if you haven’t yet— thanks!

Bloomington-- SAVE IT FOR LATER book talk & signing, August 10th!

I’ll be doing a local book talk/signing for the new expanded paperback edition of my Eisner Award-nominated Save It For Later on Wednesday, August 10th at 6:30pm— in conversation with national treasure, musician, artist, and Hopscotch Coffee co-owner Erin Tobey!

We’ll be at Morgenstern Books (849 S. Auto Mall Rd.)— bring or buy copies of any of my other books as well, and I’m happy to sign & sketch in them. Thanks— spread the word and I’ll see you there!

"RUN" is an Eisner Award winner!

We’re all deeply honored for our work on Run to have received this year’s Eisner Award for Best Graphic Memoir— a lot of love and dedication went into helping take John Lewis’ final living work across the finish line. Thanks to everyone who voted for either Run or Save It For Later in the Eisners this year, who came out to a panel, who helped John-Miles Lewis feel at home in the comics community, who attended a Save It For Later, Run, or Two Dead signing, and thanks to everyone at San Diego Comic-Con who did a good job following basic health and masking rules— I was encouraged by the general sense of consideration!

I’m still testing negative as of this morning— if you attended, I urge you to continue testing daily until you hit that sweet 3-day mark.

"Comics Are Reading" ALA poster available for download now!

After incredible demand from educators and library workers, I’m happy to announce that my recent comic from the Booklist Guide To Graphic Novels In Libraries is officially available as a downloadable poster, thanks to the great folks at the American Library Association!

The poster is formatted for 18”x24”, and can be printed out at any comparable ratio or size. Please spread the word for any comics-loving people in your community, school, library, bookstore, comics shop, or family!

San Diego Comic Con 2022 schedule!

I’ll be at San Diego Comic Con this weekend, after 3 years away! Here’s my schedule of signings and panels:

SATURDAY, JULY 23:

10am, Room 6DE: Run panel w/ Andrew Aydin, L. Fury, & John-Miles Lewis.

12:00-12:40 pm, Abrams booth 1217: Run signing w/ Andrew Aydin & L. Fury.

1:00-2:00 pm, Room 4: “Express Yourself: Activism Through the Comic Arts” panel w/ Cecil Castellucci, presented in cooperation with the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.

3:00-4:00 pm, Abrams booth 1217: Save It For Later signing— debuting the expanded paperback edition, not available in stores until August 9th!

SUNDAY, JULY 24:

11:00 am-12:00 pm, Gallery 13 booth 1128: Two Dead signing.

Also of note: Both Save It For Later and Run are Eisner Award nominees for “Best Graphic Memoir”— winners will be announced at the Eisner Awards ceremony on Friday, July 22nd!

Two years after losing John Lewis: recollections and a still-urgent warning.

The world lost John Lewis two years ago today, and sharing that loss, I additionally lost a friend, collaborator, and personal hero. Someone who’s guided my approach to parenthood and fellowship as much as he guided my social and political sensibilities— because they’re all intertwined.

I’m re-upping a piece Andrew Aydin and I wrote for CNN two years ago— every word burns brighter, and the warning is just as stark:

It is no vindication that today his mandate is increasingly seen as a necessity for the very survival of our democracy. We've all lived the consequences of nationalist myth clouding our shared history, as well as the struggles endured to maintain a precarious democracy. But we're only at the beginning of those potentially catastrophic consequences. Truth matters. History — told by the people who lived it — can and will determine our ability to sustain and fight for a society holding actual equality, actual justice, actual freedom, and actual peace as ideals.

“John Lewis spent his massive lifetime marching toward that promise, and we must fulfill it. We can. But we must do it together, now, even with the possibility that nothing already lost will return.”

Read the full piece here. Then show up. Truly, everything depends on it— or it all goes away.

"Banned Comics & Education" virtual panel July 15th!

I’m proud to participate in this upcoming “Banned Comics & Education” panel this Friday, July 15th at noon Eastern Time alongside the great Jerry Craft, Laurie Halse Anderson, and Tim Smyth! Please register for the panel here.

If you’re interested, I’ve recently made 3 short comics covering interrelated aspects of the mainstreamed fascist right’s very serious push to enact memory laws and limit access (in schools, libraries, AND private businesses) to histories and fiction featuring the perspectives and voices of people of color and LGBTQ+ people:

Part 1— “Shelf It” via The Nib

Part 2— “Divisive Concepts” op-ed w/ Andrew Aydin via Washington Post

Part 3— “Comics and Their Strengths” info-comic via Booklist

New comic-about-comics at Booklist (and a downloadable PDF!)

I have a new one-page comic in the American Library Association’s Booklist Guide to Graphic Novels in Libraries, specifically outlining the many unique strengths (and one important vulnerability) of comics as a medium/language/format— it’s crucial that educators, library workers, creators, journalists, and comics-readers become familiar with how best to describe the value of comics in light of organized far-right campaigns of book challenges, bans, and intimidation of educators and library workers.

Comics are on the forefront of this push to control who has access to information, history, perspectives, and experiences outside a predominantly white, straight, fake-Christian patriarchal identity.

You can download a PDF version of the comic here! Please feel free to print out and distribute.

I’m currently in discussions with ALA about making an official poster of this comic for distribution in schools and libraries— more info as that develops.

Surprise lifetime achievement award!

A wonderful surprise showed up in the mail today— a lifetime achievement award from this year’s SPACE indie comics expo in Columbus, Ohio! SPACE was the very first Midwestern comics show I ever tabled, and I’ve attended most years since 2004.

Thank you so much to Bob Corby for his dedication to our creative community, and for being a great dude. I’ve got about 50 years’ more cartooning left in me, and I hope to fulfill the promise of this award— thank you for your faith & support!

Expanded paperback edition of SAVE IT FOR LATER arrived!

The first copy of the expanded paperback edition of Save It For Later just arrived, and it looks great! These come with a new topical discussion between Derf Backderf and I, some process thumbnails, citations and a recommended reading list— it’ll be available everywhere on August 8th from Abrams ComicArts. I’ll be signing copies at the paperback debut for San Diego Comic Con, July 22-24th!

You can find out more here, or pre-order via IndieBound, Bookshop, or Amazon here.

Save It For Later is currently an Eisner Award nominee for Best Graphic Memoir— eligible voters, please consider my book and vote by June 8th! Winners will be announced at the Eisner Awards ceremony on July 22nd at SDCC.

More info on signings, etc. soon. Thanks!

2 Eisner Award nominations!

I’m thrilled to announce that both Save It For Later (my solo graphic essay) and Run (written by Andrew Aydin & John Lewis, most art by L. Fury, first chapter/spot illustrations/sound effects by me, lettering by Chris Ross and me)have been nominated for Eisner Awards this year— in the same category, Best Graphic Memoir! Thanks to everyone’s faith in my work— this is a slightly weird situation to be in, so I urge you to vote as you see fit if you’re an eligible Eisner voter.

The new, expanded paperback edition of Save It For Later will be debuting at San Diego Comic Con— more info on signings & panels there soon!

The Eisner winners will be announced on Friday evening, July 22nd at Comic-Con International in sweet sweet San Diego— see you there!