Cultural Footprint
New comic essay, played out Twitter discourse, new ashcan 'zine, new appearances
“Cultural Footprint”, read this full essay at The Nib.
Thankyou to Matt Bors for running this piece, which I think is pretty fun. As I slooowllly start trying to build up momentum for a new middle-grade graphic novel project, these thoughts about where the reality of the covid pandemic should fit in are on my mind. Are readers ready to revisit any of this stuff? Maybe editors, publishers, and older readers are not. But, the 8-12 year olds whom middle-grade is written for, those future readers may be that first wave of people a little bit too young to really remember what the years 2020-2022 were really like. Perhaps for them, laying down a little evidence of what the world went through, is important.
I don’t know if there’s much I can add to the ongoing conversation about what to do with our Twitter accounts now that an actual social media troll bought the company. Over the past week I did the thing where I emotionally detached myself from the app, and it did wonders for my mental health, but concerns about my cartooning career persist. All self-deprecation aside, it was an app where work could be shared and reach new readers, and just as importantly, it made interacting and connecting with people in my industry more possible. The question may quickly render itself moot however, I can tell even in the past week it’s become a quieter place. If there are no readers left on there reading, and no editors on there looking to meet nice up-and-coming new cartoonists like myself and give them assignments, then why keep asking “should I stay or should I go”. Honestly, I’d like to go, but I’d also like somewhere to go to. Maybe blogs? This here feels a little bloggy, right?
Life During Interesting Times
I made a new little ashcan ‘zine! “Life During Interesting Times” is a short cartoon essay about climate change and the generation who went through World War II, what their actual experiences were, vs. the story we tell ourselves about who they were. It was previously published at The Nib, and nominated for an Eisner Award. This new version of the comic features revised text and some playful collage that wasn’t possible before I put the comic into print. This booklet will be made available in my online store soon, but for now is going out to $5 members of my Patreon ‘Zine Club in the month of November. If you would like to join the club, I would love to mail you a copy.
Super Jersey Comics Expo
This coming Saturday, November 5th, I’ll be tabling at the Super Jersey Comics Expo at Bell Works in Holmdel, NJ, selling and signing copies of The Fifth Quarter, as well as my other graphic novels and ‘zines. I haven’t been to a straight-up classic back-issue bins and local cartoonists comic book convention like this in years, I think it will be a lot of fun. If you’re even halfway local, I recommend coming to check out the Bell Works Building. It’s where they film Severance! Honestly an extremely cool place to check out. I just like being there.
I know it sounds like a nightmare, but have you considered TikTok as a way of driving new readers? Especially since you do YA comics (and actually teach kids how to do them) that's kind of the ideal place for you. Has the same problems as all other social media (plus you gotta shoot video of yourself) but BookTok is actually kinda fun.