Issue 23: Mini Comics, an Art Challenge, NIF, + More!
Hello hello, friends and good folk, and happy October!
I'm super excited to be back with y'all after a few months away, and I'm even more excited about this newsletter refresh! I decided it was time to change up the imagery to better go along with my work. I hope you enjoy this new look!
I’m also working on emailing y’all about twice a month moving forward since the once a month ones can get a bit long, and I’d prefer to break them up. I’ll also be naming them by issue number, too, starting with today’s at Issue #23!
I got a ton of sewing done these last few months, and I'm happy to report that the sewing bug has been scratched enough to return to my regular work. I'm also really pleased to have some new items in my wardrobe, like this comfy squirrel dress:
My friend and I love watching wildlife together when we get the chance, especially the squirrels and all their antics, so I’m hoping to wear this with her when we do that next.
This summer was a really busy one-- I got a lot of sewing done, stocked up our freezer with food to fuel our annual fall cleaning to prepare for the winter months, did a ton of stuff for the Cartoonist Co-op (which you’ll see as you read!), did some drawing and work on some comics, read a bunch of comics, and so on.
All in all, a productive yet rejuvenating break! Thanks to all of you for being here while I took that time! 💖
IN THE STUDIO
In August, I created and gave a presentation to the Co-op called Crafty Characters: Sewing 101 for Cartoonists, where I shared information about sewing from a cartoonist’s perspective. We talked about common visuals and sounds cartoonists could include in their work, as well as things that would influence their character’s depiction, like sewing basics, social issues that arise in the community, tools, and so on.
The presentation and the event recording are shared in the Co-op’s private library for members to access, but I wanted to share a couple of mini comics I made for it:
We talked a lot about how cartoonists can incorporate their character’s sewing into the comic by addressing character motivation and planning worldbuilding through questions like these:
Why do they sew?
What do they sew?
Who do they sew for?
Who do they sew with?
When do they sew in their life?
When in time do they sew?
Where do they sew?
How do they sew?
And of course I had to make sure to get some disability rep in there!
I really enjoyed making these and the presentation itself, and the attendees were such kind people! It was fun to hear a bit about their projects with sewing characters and their own interest in sewing.
If you’d like to see the recording and presentation, you can join the Co-op to get access to our private library!
OCTOBER ONGOINGS
October is the start of the holiday season in our home, and this year is promising to be busier than ever!
Challenge designed by Buttercup and Jessi Eoin | @btrcp and @jbeoin | Art by Jessi Eoin | Font by Sara Linsley
I know I talk often about how much I love being part of the Cartoonist Cooperative-- that's because I can't help it! It's so much fun!
One of my favorite parts is collaborating with other artists on projects, and today, I'm super excited to share that the lovely artist Buttercup and I have teamed up to create the Co-op's first official, public art challenge, launching today: Cartoonber!
What originally started as an idea for a simple prompt list for October turned into a two month challenge designed to encourage people to work together in a way similar to many professional comics jobs in the industry. Buttercup is a really thoughtful and kind collaborator, and I love the way we worked so well together.
Buttercup described wanting to promote social connections with the prompts, then I designed the challenge based around this concept of working together in a way that mirrors industry conditions, then Buttercup created these wonderful prompts to go together in a way that works seamlessly for either a mini comic or as four separate comic pages. It was such fun to put this all together this way!
(By the way, Buttercup’s beautiful comic UM, about a nonbinary apprentice midwife and occult polyamorous plant dad, debuted last month at SPX— check it out!)
Whether you're an artist, a writer, or someone who's never made a comic or art before in your life, you're invited to be part of this challenge and try something new this year! 😃 The details are on the graphics above, give it a shot! If you’re looking for a place to find others interested in participating, you can check the comments section under any of the Co-op’s announcement posts on social media 💖
Art and Course by Polly Guo | @ItsPollyGuo
I'm feeling super lucky and thankful to also be participating in Polly Guo's six month online comics intensive this fall! Polly generously invited five Co-op members to participate, and I was very excited to get the last open slot!
We had our first class last month talking about visual storytelling principles and doing art + writing exercises, and I'm really enjoying not only working on the project but also just being part of a group focused on making and loving comics. So fulfilling!
I can't wait to share more with you as we go along!
IN THE SHOP
My mini comic A Long Eviction is available in the shop! It’s a short autobiographical comic, originally made for #MiniComicSummer, about finding ways to deal with anxiety and trauma.
4 page digital PDF comic | Self-published in 2023
OCTOBER COMICS BINGO!
If you've been here a while, you know that October is one of my favorite months of year, especially for reading comics with fall vibes-- and of course horror! And you know I can't resist a good comics list, too, so here's a new October Comics Bingo card for you in celebration of the season 🎃💖
I’ve included some lighter, but still thematically relevant comics at the top rows for those of you who aren’t super into horror. The further down the rows you go, the creepier the stories get. How far can you make it? 👀 Lemme know on BlueSky when you get a bingo!
Like with the Queer Comics Bingo in June, I’ve made a downloadable PDF with links to all the comics available for you on my website!
CARTOONIST COOPERATIVE
In more Co-op news, I'm ALSO super excited to announce that a big project we've been working on behind the scenes has gone live!! I'm part of the committee helping to create a new online comics festival called Nib + Ink Fest!
It's a free online event coming in May 2025, and we'll be hosting public events on the weekends and a marketplace where you can buy digital comics directly from Co-op members from all around the world, as well as giving out free comics samplers and selling a zine called Oops All Comics to fundraise for the Co-op!
Art by Mariah-Rose Marie | Lettering by Becca Carey
I really hope you'll join us in spring! We've got some cool events planned (ahem, potentially including yours truly 👀), and I'd love for you to check it out and have some fun with us! If you're interested, be sure to subscribe to our NIF Mailing List (which I’ll be making and sending!) to receive updates and sneak peeks at what's to come.
Join the NIF 2025 Mailing List! —>
RECENT READS + FAVORITES
I decided to start using a graphic for these newsletters to share what I've been reading lately! I'll also be sharing a curated selection rather than listing all of it out— for example, I really don’t think you need to see every cover for all of the 30+ volumes of Ranma ½ I read in September lol
I’ve also created a blog page just for my newsletter subscribers sharing links to all the comics listed in this Recent Reads section! I also share a select few mini comics on there as well.
And here are some of my favorite things from the past few weeks:
Eating: homemade crunchwrap supremes (we also add refried beans to ours and use two tortillas per wrap to contain it all!) with homemade nacho sauce
Watching: Halloween Baking Championship
Listening: CHIKA
How about you? What have been some of your favorite things lately?
I hope this week is being kind to you so far 💖 Thanks for reading! See you soon!
