banned books week

This year, Banned Book Week has celebrated comics and graphic novels that have been banned. You can read about that here and about Banned Book Week here. 

To celebrate Banned Book Week, I put together a list of graphic narratives that I have read and enjoyed. I think most people would also find joy in reading these books:

1. Persepolis - Marjane Satrapi
An autobiography about her childhood and young adult years in Iran during the Islamic Revolution

2. Maus - Art Spieglman
A beautiful autobiography about Spieglman interviewing his dad about the experience of being a Polish Jew and Holocaust survivor. It was the first graphic novel to win a Pulitzer Prize. 

3. Blankets - Craig Thompson
An autobiographical coming of age story that depicts Thompson's Christian upbringing, first love and early adulthood. It's a great story about being an individual and finding your way through it's pitfalls. 

4. Where the Wild Things Are - Maurice Sendak
An imaginative children's book with only 338 words. It depicts Max dressing up, wreaking havoc in the house and being banished to his room without dinner where he imagines the place where the wild things are.

5. Watchmen - Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons
Though it critiques the superhero concept which is a source of imaginative escape for myself, Moore creates a brilliant reflection of contemporary anxieties. 

6. The Book of Bunny Suicides - Andy Riley
Just a funny book with no real purpose other than to provide your imagination with a diving board to cruel black humor.

7. Captain Underpants - Dav Pilkey
It's about a hypnotized adult that can change in a snap. If it wasn't for this book, I probably wouldn't enjoy reading as much as I do.

8. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian - Sherman Alexie (Illustrations by Ellen Forney)
A fun read about a boy growing up on an a reservation near Spokane. An insightful look into Native American culture. It's a great story of feeling outside the group and how to overcome that.


There are also others that I still need to read that I found out have been banned such as Pride of Baghdad, Sandman, and Bone.

I enjoy my banned comics and other books. If it wasn't for Captain Underpants and Harry Potter (both of which have been banned before), I wouldn't have such a huge love of reading. I would be a regular underachiever.

Books and comics help me to believe in a better world and a better me.

up to speed.

The last few months have been a blur. I'll try my best to catch you up.

My last blog post, I was going to work on a Zine and try to get other people to contribute. I've decided to do it myself because it's hard to get submissions. That's not to say that I won't take help, but I'm going to make a zine with all my own material. It will be a series of my short comics that I have been writing recently.

Now to fill in up to what I am currently doing, I need to take a moment to recognize that I haven't been on my blog for over 4 months. A lot has happened and changed in my life.

For Easter, we went on a family trip to San Diego. We got to witness an Eagle Scout Court of Honor on the deck of the USS Midway. I didn't pay much attention to what was going on because I was fascinated with the sail boats in the Harbor making their way to the deeper waters of the distant ocean.

Summer came and was beautiful. I went on so many adventures and saw many things. I went hiking and to nature to get away from everyone. I often went alone, but I was never lonely.

I went on a sweet road trip with Nathan Barnhurst. First we went to my sister's high school graduation. We then spent Memorial Day weekend in the Grand Staircase area of Utah with my dad and Rika. We did lots of hikes and enjoyed not showering. I came back from that with surfer bum hair. I shouldn't have cut it the week after that.

Early June, I took my brother Walker on a camping trip that my friend Nathan Cowlishaw organized. We backpacked to Havasupai in the Grand Canyon. There was always the sound of calm, flowing water. We saw all the major waterfalls we could around there (Navajo, Havasu, Mooney, Beaver). We had fun playing with the reservation dogs, making food on little camp stoves, and swimming in the water.

The World Cup happened. Brasil and USA didn't win. I don't want to talk about it.

I visited cool places with friends. I went to Kanaraville Falls, Cedar Breaks for sunrise, Brian Head (I buildered there), The Subway in Zion National Park, the reservoir on the hill to play beach soccer, climbing at Grave Side Matter, the Renaissance Faire, Battle Creek Falls, Bridal Veil Falls, the Castle Valley Pageant, The Wedge in the San Rafael Swell, a free Wallflowers concert, and many more. I also spent time listening to music, doing yoga, watching movies, and sharing wonderful uplifting conversations with them. 

Lots of things happened in people's lives over the summer. I had a lot of friends get married, but most notably my friend Justin Cox. I was one of his groom's men. It was good being able to see him and lots of other friends that were there too.

I also had to hear about my old friend Elder Matos who passed away. He was a good friend on the mission. He and his wife had so much love for us. I know he understood the purpose of life and was living right. He was happy.

My summer ended a little earlier in how much "vacation" I had because by the second week of August I was out here in Washington DC for a congressional internship. I'm working in Congressman Jason Chaffetz' office and having my own urban adventure.

Capitol hill is an interesting place to work. I pass the Pentagon, National Mall and Capitol Building everyday on my way to work. I take people on tours of the Capitol building. 

Since being here, I have visited lots of museums, went to Gettysburg, visited Luray Caverns, camped in the misty woods, went to an open mic poetry night, saw a free Shakespeare play, etc.

One of the big things here in DC is that I have started to draw and write more. I hadn't been working on my own creativity, but I have started to get some of my own stuff done. I went to the Small Press Expo in Bethesda, Maryland and met Lynda Barry, John Porcellino, Charles Burns, Jules Feiffer, Anne Koyama and others who made me want to keep working on my art. I got in free to the expo because I volunteered. Being a volunteer, I also got a few free things.

On that note, I am working on getting my own zine put together. I have some good content and have done some art that has stretched me as an artist and also as a story teller. It's not the best stuff, but I can't have everything perfect. The important part is that I am getting stuff done. 

I've had lots of firsts here. My first full-time desk job, first metro ride, first 9th floor apartment, etc. It's cool being surrounded by people, but I do like when I can find a time and place just for me.

That's why I love going to the roof and working on my art up there. It's nice to feel like I'm on top of the world doing something I love.

So, expect some comics and writing appearing here shortly.