The Lazarus Return

 
The Gregory Brothers  Published on Sep 9, 2013

October 10, 2013

It's 6:12am on a still sunless fall morning.  I'm reading articles about Alice Munro whose just won the Nobel Prize in literature.  I have a youtube video of Kanye West's Kimmel interview on pause.  It's been nearly a month since I was fired from my day job, and in another day I can request the sum of my retirement which I hope to use for a new path in life.

I've been  trying to make art all month.  I've been drawing, rifling through old notes & sketches, rustling up drawing tools & tablets of paper.  The weekend past was 24 hour comics day.  The month has been rededicated Inktober.  Alternative Press Expo and New York Comic Con are this weekend and already people are arriving. 

Since the crack of dawn I've been sorting files on my computer, making mental notes of things I had hoped to get to and what year or season or month I'd first acquired them.  It has suddenly become clear to me how important it is to write things, to get thoughts out, and to jog up the memory and excercise one's use of language.

I hope to be a creator.  I hope to have a way to provide for myself and my life while being a creator.

October 13, 2013

It's a beautiful, serene Sunday afternoon.  I'd been listening to Welcome to Nightvale until a brown out shut everything down for a few seconds.  I've been active this week and it's felt invigorating.  Last night I hung out with Ian and Vince.  We played a little D&D at the local game shop, before abandoning our campaign in search of food.  Had some excellent buffet, then wandered the local state college with aching bellies to find our friend at the bowling alley in the student center.  The night was abuzz with vulgar humor and our concerted efforts to stave off ennui.  I wish I had held onto my character sheet in which I had drawn my monk character, Tony Shalhoub, as well as a couple of masturbating giant spiders & cameos of the other players.

Today I've completed my laundry early and sketched Ian's character, Ugly.

The week began with the internet's pathos & rage over Copic-gate.  I got reintroduced to Little Thunder with her recent cinema comics. A couple of people reblogged Annette Marnat's work.  But Boulet stole the show with his child memoir comic here in English and French.  Kate Beaton was back in the news after posting this fun Black Canary comic, as well as announcing a Fat Pony project at NYCC. Victoria put me up on this beautiful memoir and ode to Sailor Jupiter and gender ambiguity and teenage confusion.  The government shutdown was still in effect.

I began the week with thoughts of sexism, feminism, Wonder Woman, and fiction that reflects lived struggle.  Erin & Jenny kept me company all week with so much comedy twitter.  I got Food Zine in the mail and read it all in one sitting!  I also read Wonder Woman War Killer, Batman Then & Now, and started Batman & Robin and Night Fisher.  I ate a lot of cheese this week and midway somewhere my daytime sleeping schedule reset, although I was getting up at like 2am.  The Last Halloween updated for the first time.

I felt a lot of self-loathing this week but my buddies kept me sane, especially Jenny & Erin who made up an imaginary band and included me in it.  So I fantasized about moving to Portland again.  Also we all hate leaf-blowers together.  America's Best Comics 2013 debuted with work from Kate Beaton and Faith Erin Hicks.

On Thursday I got away and visited with my friend Vince & we hung out late at a coffee shop mulling over story ideas until we were hilariously interrupted by some guy trying to sell $1 drawings.  Getting out on Saturday was another welcome social event and it's helped me get a little perspective on my situation.  I feel pretty confident about facing the coming week.

James Harvey's 24 hour comics Plantains and Rice.
James Harvey's Edinburgh 2013 diary comic.
Jared McCallum's SPX 2013 journal comic.
Ugly the Tengu | Wonder Woman fan art


latenight Published on Oct 8, 2013