>> She Must Be Ugly by Jenn Woodall

I made an anti-catcalling sticker. After it blew up online, I started getting backlash.

>> Five Years Ago Today, I Had An Abortion by Sarah Burgess

I don't regret my choice. That didn't make it easy.

>> I Am Not Your Asian American Doll by Feeb Om

You enjoy eating our food, but deny us a seat at the table.

✨ All of our classes and workshops are online and sliding scale.✨

Artist talks 

Artist Talk: Amy Kurzweil The author of Artificial: A Love Story and Flying Couch will talk about her approach to making innovative graphic memoirs. In this one-hour conversation with Crucial publisher Shay Mirk, she’ll discuss her craft and what she’s learned as a cartoonist who works on both single-panel gag comics for The New Yorker and in-depth graphic memoirs. Thursday, August 27th, 5-6pm PST/8-9pm EST

Classes

Building a Sketchbook Practice with Anna Sellheim: In this four-week class, we’ll build a sketchbook practice that actually sticks. By the end, you’ll have a sketchbook that feels genuinely useful and the tools to keep it going long after class is over. Wednesdays, August 5th – August 26th, 4pm-6pm PST/7-9pm EST.

Advanced Graphic Storytelling with Sanika Phawde: For this in-depth, six-week class on creating compelling graphic narratives, Sanika will walk participants through building a big project from an idea to the pencilling stage, with a focus on finding the core of a story and pacing a comic to express its emotional beats. Thursdays, September 3rd – October 8th, 4pm-6pm PST/7-9pm EST.

In Graphic Detail: Horror Comics with Mel Gillman is a four week course about writing and drawing horror comics. Students learn about topics like tension building, creating strong narrative surprises, creature design, and horror character building and character arcs, and typically draw a short original horror comic of their own to bring in for in-class show and tell at the end. Tuesdays, October 6th – October 27th, 4pm-6pm PST/7-9pm EST.

Upcoming One-Off Workshops 

Intro to digital drawing with Procreate: Want to get into drawing digitally? Or maybe you’re a seasoned Procreate user looking for some new tips and tricks? This beginner-friendly workshop with Audra McNamee will go over a basic comics-making workflow in Procreate. Monday, August 3rd from 4-6pm PST/7-9pm EST

Intermediate Digital Drawing with Procreate: You’ve been around the block with Procreate a couple times, but you’re not totally comfortable with alpha lock and clipping masks, or you want to be more efficient when you’re coloring your artwork. This project-based workshop by Audra McNamee will challenge you to use new Procreate tools and settings as you make an illustration. Saturday, September 12 from 10am-12pm Pacific/1pm-3pm Eastern.

Free Meetup

Chronic Illness Comics Club: This is a chill, creative meetup for making comics about bodies! The next session is led by Sameena Anis and will focus on the prompt “turning an emotion into a character.” Join the zoom link here. Monday, August 10th, 5-6pm PST/8-9pm EST

→ Check out all our upcoming classes

Around the country, local activists are taking literal aim at surveillance. From Minnesota to New Mexico, anonymous citizens have been destroying and disabling Flock cameras, which police use to film intersections and track both people and cars. This activism calls to mind Coded Resistance, a comic published by the Electronic Frontier Foundation and The Nib in 2023, that documents the history of how Black communities in the United States have fought back against surveillance for hundreds of years.  

"Coded Resistance is not just a poignant history lesson, but a recount of creative resilience and acts of resistance that define the African Diaspora,” says the author of the comic, EFF Engineering Director Alexis Hancock. “I reflect on these stories every day as I work to ensure that communities can use technology to defend their rights.” Check out the whole comic here. 

Read a nonfiction comic we should feature? Please send recommendations our way and we’ll plug them in the newsletter!

» Hey California cartoonists! Every month, the Center for Cultural Innovation offers $600 grants to California artists and arts nonprofits to fund professional development—like going to a conference or enrolling in a workshop. The applications restart every month, so you can apply now for August.  

» Want to write about comics? The online comics literary magazine SOLRAD is looking for people to write critical analysis, essays, and interviews about comics. They pay $100 an article. Check out all the details here!  

» Last chance! July 31 is the last day to apply to Seattle’s Short Run festival and for LA Zine Fest, which coincidentally are both happening on November 7th. 

This newsletter was written by Chai Turner and Shay Mirk. Crucial Comix is supported in part by our backers on Patreon and by the Sequential Artists Workshop.