Take a BREAK From the MEDIA

(For older folks, IRL means In Real Life)

Since the surprising election last week, for many in the arts community it seems like a giant wrench has been thrown into our lives (to say the least).  For me, everything seemed to be going fine with art projects pre-Trump.  I was just getting into a great routine doing semi-regular nightly personal art coming off of Inktober.  But now, post-Trump, I've found myself being glued to news sites and the media to see what the new "chaos of the day" is and am realizing that too much news is unhealthy.

Yesterday I saw a movie (Dr. Strange!) with some coworkers, and it was SUCH a nice break from all the negativity!  The movie was very inspiring to me artistically - a refreshing boost!  And that night, instead of googling the news during dinner, I researched more about the original Dr. Strange comics.  So I've decided to give myself an extended break from the news and limit myself on Facebook (which is just as bad or worse, because of so many fake news articles and people ranting).  Pre-Trump, I wasn't interested in the news much unless a major event happened (like an ISIS attack).  Some people have criticized me for this, but it allows me to focus more on my artwork and get more done.   I even had a professor who told students to not bother with the news, because it's so fleeting, and just do your art. 

Now, I'm not saying escapism is the ultimate answer.  It has been revealed that our country has many problems to sort out and it will take much time and understanding from both sides to resolve, which we should take part in a positive way.  But in the meantime, it's OK to give yourself a break and do something fun and inspiring.  You deserve it!

The 500th Daily Misfortune! TRUMP!

As I knew the 500th comic of The Daily Misfortune was approaching, last week I thought it was time for #500 to be the end.  After all, 500 is a LOT of misfortunes, and I have other comic projects I want to work on.  I'm actually surprised I did this many without being redundant.  I created the first Daily Misfortune on 5/17/12, and have loved creating funny misfortunes from the totally fictional bizarre to the disturbingly too-close-to-home ones based on real life.  Earlier this week, I thought "I have to come up with a zinger for the last one."  After this election, now you have it.  However, I've been re-inspired, and this will NOT be the end of The Daily Misfortune!  Sadly, it looks like our country, and possibly the world, will have many more misfortunes to come.  The hard part for me will be putting a funny spin on them.  

Now, I'm not usually a very "political person," (I don't even keep track of news often - too busy making art) so this doesn't mean that from now on each Daily Misfortune will be a political rant.  I really don't want friends and family fighting on my Facebook wall about this.  But whether you voted for Trump or not, you can bet the next 4 years will be very tumultuous.  To balance out all the misfortunes, I'll try to offer a positive note.  As you have seen, truly ANYONE can become president.      

Motor City, Voting, and Lost Shuttle Buses!

Motor City Comic Con was even better than last year!  Thank you to everyone - old friends and new fans - who visited me!  My parents (above) even came by to help at my table for a bit and check out the show.  I told them the convention would be crazy, but I don't think they were fully prepared for the amount of people and utter chaos of Saturday.  Oh and the shuttle bus they took got lost.  To alleviate traffic jams for parking, MCCC had some off-site locations to park, one of which was at a high school where people could take a shuttle bus.  Good idea!... until one or more gets lost.

This sketch wins the Most Random Sketch Award for the convention!  A guy was asking artists to draw elements of the periodic table.  I asked if he was a fan of Neil DeGrasse Tyson, which of course he was!  I got the element Caesium (pronounced "see-zee-um").  After some thought and a bit of googling, I came up with this critter.  To my surprise I found out that the guy had trouble finding other artists to illustrate the other elements, probably because they just weren't sure of how to tackle the subject.  But hey, I love the challenge, and sketches like this are the most fun and original!

The tally is in for the voting jars!  When I have the luxury of a big table, it's fun to have something extra like this.  The question was "Which candidate would be better for cartoonists?"  There was much discussion from passerby about "better in terms of drawing" or "better in terms of policies," but it was open to interpretation.  Even though I added a Trump jar after the initial Instagram post, and even though some people said he'll create jobs (he did win the MI primary after all), and he's better to draw (the political cartoons of this era are unrivaled), Trump still got ZIP!  ZILCH!  NADA!  $0.00!  Hillary wasn't too far behind, earning ONE CANADIAN CENT!  The girl who dropped the coin in made sure to emphasize that it was Canadian.  Coming in 2nd place was a QUARTER for libertarian candidate John McAfee - a very thoughtful vote!  (drumrolllllllllll) And the WINNER... with a total of a whopping $6.76... was BERNIE!  He had whole dollar bill$ up in there!  Definitely the underdog and person for the people, Bernie has won the hearts of artists and indie peeps nationwide... but will it be enough??  Well, it's enough to buy me lunch!  Thanks, Bern - I'm feelin' ya!

Come to think of it, the last time I was on a shuttle bus in Brooklyn, the driver got lost too!  HOW CAN WE STOP THIS MADNESS??!!

MoCCA Fest THIS WEEKEND!

My friend Nadia "Toughspirit" Burgess and I will be sharing a table at MoCCA Fest this weekend!  Table D153 ... on the FIRST floor this time!  Not 4th like last year... the new venue only has 2 floors thank God.  It's at "Metropolitan West" 639 West 46th St, right by the Highline and the Intrepid!  Only $5 per day to get in!  Kids under 12 are free.  Saturday April 2 and Sunday April 3 from 11A-6P both days. 

A major special guest this year is my former cartooning professor, Phoebe Gloeckner!!  Her work The Diary of a Teenage Girl, an account of her teen years in prose and pictures, was recently adapted into a critically-acclaimed and award-winning film!  The book "received notable recognition as well as controversy for its honest portrayal of teenage sexuality with themes of drug use and childhood traumas.She'll be part of the official programming, going on at Ink48, around the corner from the fest (653 11th Avenue at 48th Street).  VERY EXCITING!!

But MoCCA Fest isn't an April Fool's - that's happening for real ;)