My Daughter the Jock

+ new workshops and new FUN TIME cover

My Daughter the Jock

This is a busy time of year for lots of people, myself included, with school ending, kids being home, and the transition into Summer. I thought it’d be nice to post one of the most impactful little diary comics I ever wrote. This was a short comic essay I originally published at Slate, but then did a little subsequent reformatting on.

This is like a lot of my diary comics, it’s just me digging in a little bit to what I see going on in the world immediately around me. This particular strip is primarily about me, and it looks at two aspects of my own life and my relationship to sports. I depict myself in my younger years, when I hated gym class, and contrast that to present day, where I’m seeing my own child grow and develop as an athlete, and seeing that sports could help build self-esteem rather than just tear it down.

And it was after I wrote this comic, when I looked back on it, I saw that the part of it that wasn’t about me, the part of it that was about a little kid, who wanted to get better, but wasn’t quite there yet, that I realized that there could be a whole story there, about a young girl who’s determined to raise her game, and her journey to get there.

And as I tell kids in all of my assembly talks and comics-making workshops, I never would have had that idea if I hadn’t first been making it a habit to write regularly about my everyday life. I encourage everyone to write consistently about the world around them, you never know what new ideas might come from it.

Get an autographed copy of The Fifth Quarter here.

Cartooning Lessons at the Carteret Public Library

I had a really big turnout for my comics making workshop at the Carteret Public Library this week. I think it was close to 40 kids, which is a lot for a workshop. Luckily the tables were nicely spaced so I was able to move around the room quite freely to spend some good one-on-one time with each young artist.

I have three upcoming workshops scheduled at different New Jersey libraries throughout the month of July. If you live close to any of these, consider bringing your aspiring young artist out. It’s a lot of fun and they learn a lot. Intended primarily for children aged 8-12.

Tuesday, July 11th, 2PM The Bloomfield Public Library

Wednesday, July 19th, 11:30AM The Wayne Public Library

Friday, July 21st, 11AM, The Jackson Public Library

Comics Writing For Educators

In addition to my cartooning workshops for kids, this Summer I will also be teaching a four-week class for teachers and educators who are interested in becoming more familiar with comics and graphic novels, understanding how they work, and becoming more confident as cartoonists themselves.

Here is a short video clip giving an overview of what I have planned.

New FUN TIME cover

Sorry! One last thing, I know it’s a lot… I’m very happy to share the final cover image for my next self-published ‘zine, FUN TIME FALL 2023, going out to all active ‘Zine Club members in August.

Check out this recent public post up at my Patreon for a little more information about the new issue and some additional interior images. The issue will be 20 pages long, and filled to the brim with short gag comics and mini cartoon essays.

The way my ‘Zine Club works is a little like a BMG record club, where you sign up and pay a small monthly fee ($5), which then gets you print copies of every new mini-comic and ‘zine that I produce. New issues of FUN TIME have been coming out every three months, and I’ve been sending members additional little bonus comics and ashcans in-between.

If you sign up now you will immediately receive a copy of the current “Hot Space” issue of FUN TIME and a little ashcan copy of a recent New York Times cartoon essay, WHAT ARE YOU GOING THROUGH.

Thanks as always for reading along!
Mike