>> The Dirty Politics of Denying Science by Laura Athayde

 In Brazil, the new act of rebellion for right-wingers is to drink soap. Yes, soap.

>> My Mother’s Grief by Anna Sellheim 

When my dad died, my dynamic with my mom flipped completely. She no longer took care of me—I took care of her.

>> The Way We See Danger by Papin

A creative comic about parenting, drawn by a dad, mom, and their baby. 

>> Off Script by Whit Taylor 

Grappling with AI and digital blackface

✨ All of our classes and workshops are online and sliding scale. Reply to this email to ask about free spots for low-income students in any class!✨

Classes

Comics Editing with Shay Mirk and guest teacher Whit Taylor: In this popular five-week, hands-on class we offer only once a year, two cartoonists who each have over a decade of comics-editing experience will guide you through editing other peoples’ nonfiction work while also improving your own. Wednesdays, September 23rd-October 21, 4pm-5:30pmPST/7pm-8:30pm EST

Introduction to Comics Coloring with Xenon Honchar and Ali Holmes: Getting the right colors is hard with millions of options to choose from. Professional colorist Xenon Honchar and comics editor Ali Holmes co-teach this five-week class exploring practical ways that comics artists use color to tell stories. Participants will learn about color schemes, comics tricks-of-the-trade like spot color, and discuss color from an accessibility perspective. Mondays, September 28 - October 26, 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 

—> TONIGHT: Pitching Your Graphic Novel Are you trying to pitch a graphic novel but aren’t sure how to break in? In this two-hour workshop, artist Al Benbow will go over the key components of how to pitch a graphic novel, including writing a successful graphic novel pitch, querying agents, and submitting to publishing house open calls. Wednesday, September 9th at 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.

→ Check out all our upcoming classes

Back to School!

With back to school season quickly approaching, here are five graphic novels set in schools that I’d recommend. — Crucial intern Skye Zufelt

Drama by Raina Telgemeier - From the author of beloved YA comic classics such as Smile and Sisters, Drama is about the awkwardness, extreme highs-and-lows, and overall drama of being in middle school. Being both fun and quite serious at times, it is a great middle school story, with thoughtful introductions to conversations around coming out sprinkled in as well.

Junior High by Tegan and Sara, illustrated by Tillie Walden - Queer music iconics Tegan and Sara Quinn’s first graphic novel (illustrated by the incredible Tillie Walden)  is, you guessed it, a memoir focusing on junior high. Junior High explores the twins’ experiences in middle school, primarily focusing on music, friendships, and the beginnings of discovering their queer identities. Walden’s art style adds even further to the tone of the comic, skillfully depicting the sweetness and the less-than-savory aspects of navigating discovering your individual identity in middle school, while also being an identical twin. 

On a Sunbeam by Tillie Walden - Written and drawn by Tillie Walden, On a Sunbeam is a masterpiece for both youth and adult audiences. Originally a webcomic, On a Sunbeam is a skillful work of dreamy visual storytelling, bouncing back and forth across time and space. The narrative centers on Mia, who attends a boarding high school, where she feels like she doesn’t quite fit in—until she meets Grace. 

Bring Me the Head of Susan Lomond by Harper Brown - Both the story and art of Harper’s comic are unique and wonderfully silly. This short-but-sweet comic focuses on Monroe, an evil genius teenager, who is set on destroying her sworn enemy: highly popular football star Susan Lomond. Things seem to keep going wrong along the way.

Lindsey Cheng Dates a White Boy by Asia Miller - A very recent release, Asia Miller’s charming rom-com about big feelings has been compared to the “Scott Pilgrim” series. Lindsey Cheng is a college freshman trying to navigate life with her friends and her band—plus her new rather self-absorbed boyfriend and his band.

» Artists who need a bit of breathing room: Canadian nonprofit Artist Ally is offering nine grants of $140-600 for visual artists from any country who draw or illustrate their work. Deadline is September 30.  

» Queer cartoonists with a passion for print! Queer and trans small press Diskette Press is taking submissions of comics to publish in 2027. 

» All praise the Boston Comics Arts Foundation, which is offering two grants: 15 micro-grants of $150 for people tabling at MICE who have unpublished mini-comics and $250 “lightning grants” for any cartoonist in Massachusetts. The MICE grant is open until September 30th and the next lightning grant cycle opens November 2nd, so get ready.  

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