The New Year is currently my favorite spot on the calendar. Halloween starts at the end of September now, and I love it, but it basically kicks off a solid back-to-back block of Big Event Holidays that span from 9/31 to 1/1… it makes the start of Nothin’ Goin’ On January kind of a relief. Plus, we get to reassess, and for a week or two, try to become a New You. It’s the sort of thing I like.
Hourly Comics Day
Is apparently February 2nd. I’m going to give it a try again. One thing I’ve been hoping to do in 2023 is to build up good momentum making Journal Comics again, and I think this exercise could be a great way to work on those muscles a bit. The above panel is from last year’s attempt, as is the one below. I couldn’t complete the whole day in 2022, but it was better than I did the year before.
Upcoming Events
I will be presenting a free “Cartooning Lessons” event at the Verona Public Library next Monday, January 9th, at 4PM. This is a fun one-hour workshop for kids in Grades 3 and above. Learn what makes comics different from other forms of writing, how we “read” drawings, the importance of strong character design, and how writers find inspiration from starting and maintaining a consistent creative practice. A twenty-minute slideshow is followed by some hands-on comics-making with me using my Cartooning Lessons workbook. Register at the link above.
Next week I’ll also be visiting the Middletown Village Elementary School to speak to all the students in Grades 3-5, and I’ll be at the Pennington Public Library later in the month. As always, I will list upcoming events here as they approach. If you’d be interested in scheduling an event at your school or library, more information on my presentation can be found here.
FUN-TIME Digital Bundle
New in my online shop is the FUN-TIME Digital Bundle, where you can buy both issues of my funny, thoughtful, and provocative self-published ‘zines, collecting some of the best of my diary strips as well as all new exclusive material. Only five dollars for both issues, that’s a solid deal.