» No Place Feels Like Home by Mike Centeno: Watching Trump’s overreach into Venezuela from abroad. 

» Lyft Ride by Jaz Malone: Finding connection with a stranger about feeling unsafe in the place we call home.

» Excited to Love More - Moments from My Trans Pregnancy by Will Betke-Brunswick: Being pregnant is a journey—especially when you're transgender.

Art and Music from Venezuela

Want to understand more about Venezuelan culture? Artist Mike Centeno shares a graphic novel, album, and prose novel that will help readers dig deeper into Venezuelan life.  

• Nido by Laura Guarisco: A powerful graphic novel by one of my favorite contemporary Venezuelan cartoonists. Guarisco crafts a tale in which we witness the struggles of Venezuelans who cross borders into neighboring Colombia, through the eyes of one single protagonist. Her work is full of empathy and tenderness while still unafraid to show the raw truths of a forced exile.

• “Musica Moderna” by Augusto Bracho: a contemporary study in Latin American folk which serves as a repository for Venezuelan folklore traditions. This record is filled with heart and melancholy, yet it carries with it a great pride  in a country which, for many of us who have left it, seems to not exist anymore 

• It Would Be Night in Caracas by Karina Sainz Borgo: A dystopian novel set in Venezuela where a woman is constantly pushed out of her own home, inch by inch, as the country she calls home continues its descent into dehumanization and lawlessness.

Artist Talks

✏️ In our Artist Talks series, cartoonists talk about craft and share their comics-making process. All talks are online and by donation.

» April: Author and artist Thi Bui will talk about her approach to making emotionally rich nonfiction comics. Thi is the author of the groundbreaking graphic memoir The Best We Could Do and is currently working on a book about anti-deportation and prisoner support work. RSVP here. Tuesday, April 28th, from 5-6pm PST/8-9pm EST

One-Off Workshops

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

» Fundamentals of Digital Coloring: Learn color theory and tricks of the trade for handling color in comics in this two-hour workshop taught by professional colorist Xenon Honchar. Thursday May 28th at 4-6pm PST / 7-9pm EST

» Intro to Digital Drawing With Procreate: Just picked up a new iPad? Want to get into drawing digitally? This beginner-friendly workshop led by Crucial Comix editor Audra McNamee will go over a basic comics-making workflow in Procreate. Saturday, May 16th from 10am-12pm PST/1-3pm EST

» Queer Monster Lab: Draw new queer monsters and villains in this two-hour workshop taught by Berlin-based artist HX. From Jafar to Scar, Frank-N-Further to Ursula, Poison Ivy to Mystique, our heroes, anti-heroes, and beloved pop culture queer villains (AKA our queer childhood crushes) are finally getting company. Thursday, June 11th at 9am PST/12pm EST/6pm CET

» Chronic Illness Comics Club: The next session of our free, monthly meetup for making comics about bodies, health, and disability will be facilitated by cartoonist, science journalist, and podcast host Arielle Duhaime-Ross. Come hang out! Register here. Sunday, May 3rd at 11am-12pm PST / 2pm-3pm EST 

Multi-Week Classes

» Sexy Comics for Shy People with Joaquin Golez: Our most popular class of 2025 is back, baby! This five-week class is all about writing and drawing erotic stories… even if the thought makes you blush. Celebrate Pride month by drawing steamy queer-and-trans-centric art! Saturdays May 23 – June 20th from 10am-12pm PST / 1pm-3pm EST

» Make Your Dang Comic with Kane Lynch: Whether you’re new to making comics or an experienced illustrator looking to push yourself through an artistic block, this eight-week-long beginner-friendly class will kickstart your creativity and put you on track to create a finished comic you’ll be proud of. July 7 – August 25, on Tuesdays from 4pm-6pm PST/7pm-9pm EST.

→ Check out all our upcoming classes

Crucial is tabling at a couple rad regional zine and comics fests in the spring! All of these festivals are free and are a great way to connect with artists. Catch us here: 

🌽 Madison, Wisconsin: Print and Resist Zinefest on Saturday, April 25th, 11am-4pm 

🌭 Chicago, Illinois: CAKE on Saturday/Sunday, May 2nd and 3rd, 11am-5pm 

🍁 Toronto, Canada: TCAF on Saturday/Sunday, June 6th and 7th, 10am-5pm

» Comics about abortion care: A graphic medicine team is working on a comics project to tell stories from frontline providers of abortion care—and they’re looking for comics artists! Cartoonists hired for the project will be paid $1000 to create a four to eight page nonfiction comic. Check out the details here. 

» A tantalizing list of artist fellowships and residencies: BOMB magazine puts together a list every season of open fellowships and residencies around the world. The list for visual artists in Spring 2026 has some exciting spots, ranging from residencies pay for to ones that provide artists stipends. 

» A map of art book festivals! If you want to sell your work at zine and comics conventions, it’s hard to keep track of what festivals are happening and when you can apply to table. Shout out to very handy new website called Art Book Fairs, which hosts a searchable list of festivals and a map to search for upcoming events in any region of the world. 

✨ Not a paid opportunity, but a cool Kickstarter to support: Several Crucial artists are featured in the anthology How to Touch Grass: Comics to Get You Outside, which is currently raising funds for its first print run. Check out the campaign and snag a copy!

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