new comics day: li'l depressed boy

Yesterday was new comics day. Every Wednesday is new comics day, but I haven't been buying individual issues for a few months because of monetary concerns. That being said, there was one comic that I couldn't miss yesterday: Li'l Depressed Boy (LDB).

Now before you go off referring me to emotional counseling or something (which many have when I have received packages from the Li'l Depressed Boy website or when I read the comics in public), you need to know that this is one of the most poetic expressions of a normal life, in a normal town, involving realistic circumstances. It's a perfect expression of the journey of life and the little joys we can find to brighten what could otherwise be a pretty bleak existence.

Life often doesn't go as we plan. LDB often gets what many would call the short end of the stick. His life often sucks, but he finds solace and joy in friends, comics, and his various adventures. The narrative of his life shows us that even though life is hard, we can find things around us that will help us through.

The creators of this comic had taken a break (one and a half years to be exact) so that they could get ahead on material and release more content. Now they are back and releasing more of this wonderful comic. I was excited to get a new chapter of the story this week and was elated to find that they had published a letter I had sent to them about my story with the comic. It was one of the best new comic days ever.

zine: a collective project. an anthology.

I'm making a zine and I need all your help!

zine noun \ˈzēn\ : a small magazine that is written by people who are not professional writers and that usually has stories about a particular subject. 

This last weekend I went on a road trip. When I am driving alone or when I have time, I listen to a podcast by Dan Berry called Make It Then Tell Everybody. Dan generally interviews people who have jobs in the comics industry to help other people formulate ideas on how they can self-promote and break in to the comics world. 

Anyway, on my trip, I listened to probably 7 episodes. Each episode is about an hour and that's about how much time I spent in my car alone. I learned about nib pens, brushes, comics in academia, etc. One of the things that was reoccurring was the volume of comics creators that started by publishing their own works to sell at conventions. Many of them had only simple zines that they would sell for print costs to get their name out. 

One of the things that I want to do in my life is help other people to tell their stories. We all have them whether they are emotional poems, creative fiction pieces, or though provoking personal essays. We all use different mediums to tell our stories. Some use photography, painting, and sculpting. Others write, dance or act. My hope is that through this zine I can help people to tell those stories.  

What I'm asking right now is for everyone to submit things that I could publish on a page. Maybe we'll start a vlog-zine soon with other works to showcase dance, theatre, music, etc, but for now we are just doing print. Send me sketches, comics, paintings, photos, poems, personal essays, short stories, etc. Lengths can and should vary. Send me all the submissions you care to send. I want to get the first zine put together by the end of May. If you want to be in this one, send me your submission by May 10, with any contact info you care to include so that people can follow you on twitter, etsy, instagram, your blog or where ever else you post your creative work for people to see. You can also include a little bio. 

The theme that has come to my mind is life and living. I think I may title the zine "Live". It will be a collective of readers and artists that produce art to help each other to keep making art. It can be funny, uplifting, deep, emotional, etc. Like Neil Gaiman said, "Make good art."

To all those who we choose to be in the publication, I'll send you a copy of the zine. I am also going to try to put them in some coffee shops, book stores, and comic shops. I want people to see you story and feel the impact of your art. 

I love helping people to tell their stories. Help me tell yours.

Dream Catcher

Cerebral Vomit in notes

Graphic Poem

Splash Page

Self Portrait