My Stress Routine (est. 1994)

Sep 29, 2022

For months, I was stressed about attending SPX, a comics festival in Maryland. Most cartoonists start tabling at festivals long before they get published, but I'd managed to avoid tabling because it scared me, and I get very overstimulated in crowds.

When facing something that scares me, I followed the pattern shown above—where I freak out to the point of panic, then I work very hard, before finally I end up calm and prepared for the thing that scared me so much. I just wish I could skip the "freak out" stage of the process, but long-held patterns are hard to break!

In the end, SPX was a real pleasure, and I made connections with many cartoonists and readers and had a wonderful time. And it felt good to overcome something that had scared me for so long!

Book Research

There’s nothing quite like in-person research and it’s especially fun when it involves horses!

Writer Nicole Kronzer and I are working on a young adult graphic novel set in 1891 which revolves around a woman who works with horses. Since neither of us are "horse people" we reached out to Cris Stetler who was kind enough to let us visit her stable in Minnetrista, MN and answer our many questions and film her doing horse-related things.

The Instagram Reel that I made about the visit to the stables was one of my most popular of the last few months:

Events & Talks

In a few weeks, I'll be tabling here:

Twin Cities Book Festival
Saturday, October 15, 2022
10:00am to 5:00pm
Minnesota State Fairgrounds
Progress Center and Fine Arts Building

This free festival allows readers to meet writers and participate in literary-related activities. I'll be selling signed copies of Gatsby, prints, art, and zines.

I'd love to see you there!

Recent Talks

This summer, I gave virtual lectures on comics at The Center for Cartoon Studies, Sequential Artists Workshop, and Rhode Island School of Art and Design (I'm pictured below in Paul Karasik's RISD class).

Just a random drawing of the weeds in my yard:

Book Recommendation

Salt Magic by Hope Larson and Rebecca Mock

Salt Magic is a simply marvelous graphic novel which combines some of my favorite genres—historical and fantasy.

It's a perfect combination of historical fiction, fairy tales, and a coming of age story. It's unique and exciting and the art charming and beautiful.

I've been recommending it to everyone I know!