Sometimes you put comics on the Internet and nobody gives a shit. Sometimes you unwittingly make comics about Things People Care About On The Internet. That, my friends, is a totally different story. Hoo boy.
Category: Main
The massive post-poly/mono-comic site traffic explosion (more on that later) has tapered off somewhat, but I still feel bad that people seem to be checking back and I have yet to do anything new. So, here are some Crimean Bros to be going on with. Bask in all their muttonchoppy glory. A choppy sea of mutton. And so on. The comic that I’m working on around these studies will be up by Sunday, so check back thereabouts for fun new material that has nothing to do with my previous work (sorry, you fierce poly-mono debatin’ dudes). Might also have a quick bonus comic done in the next few days. Keep checkin’.
ON WITH THE MUTTON.
This is a thorny one.
Our first assignment for the Graphic Novels and War course at Reed this semester asked us to explore a conflict. Specifically: “the largest conflict you’ve become aware of in the past year and how it has shaped you.” I tried to pick something a little more distant and less self-involved than my angsty issues about relationships, but if I’m honest, the questions outlined here have changed me drastically over the past 12 months.
It’s hard to post things of this nature out on the Internet for all to see. Partly because these characters are recognizable to the people who know them, partly because I move in a lot of circles that are heavily populated with poly and open folks. I should point out that I’ve talked with many of them in the course of this saga, trying to understand who’s making it work and how, where the nuances and challenges lie, and discussing whether I’m crazy to stick to my guns on this issue. Should I sacrifice my beliefs and emotional safety for the sake of staying with someone I love deeply? The answer seems easy on paper. But things like this are never simple.
Everyone is different. Everyone has preferences. Levels of trust and communication between individuals vary wildly, people’s emotional history is scattered all across the map. There is no simple answer. This was just an attempt to organize some sort of response to what’s been happening — even though I’m still far too caught up in it to feel like I have any real distance.
So with all that serious disclaimer stuff out of the way, here’s some art.
That’s all for now.
Finally got around to properly photographing the sculptural container I created for the preliminary Wherefore illustrations last term! Woo!
The premise of this project was the creation of an interactive structure that could contain the six illustrations I completed while integrating text from Hélène Cixous’ Coming to Writing — an extremely beautiful and provocative essay about cultural identity and the power of the multiplied voice. I highly recommend it.
There was a vague thought of making the final volume of comics small enough to fit in said box along with the folding art/text piece, but I realized the resultant work would have to be laughably small. Still, there’s the potential for a massive Turkish Delight box in my future if I want to create one that can contain a full-size book.
Anyway, on with the piccies!
Baggywrinkles 1 & 2 are now back in stock! Git dem orders in.
<3 and comics,
Lucy
First off, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to everyone who came out to the Zine Symposium and braved the musty stench to chat, browse, buy comics, and generally make my weekend totally awesome. It was a great experience and has me really excited to get going on a number of new projects. Pictures will probably materialize in the next couple weeks.
On a connected note: the Symposium was such a success that I’ve actually sold out of Baggywrinkles No. 2! I am a) mad at myself for not printing more in the first place and b) completely thrilled in spite of a. This was a completely unexpected turn of events, but rest assured I’ll be getting it reprinted as soon as I can. Orders for the single issue and the Combo Pack will stay open on PayPal, but just be aware that there will be a 2 week delay on those shipments. My sincerest apologies for that, but I’ll be out of town for the coming week and won’t be able to tackle the printing until I get back. If you’re in Portland, there are several copies still available at Reading Frenzy downtown, so if you can’t wait I’d say that’s your best bet.
In featured Portland events, I’ll be dancing as a finalist in the Portland Blues and Jazz Dance Society’s Annual Strictly Blues competition tonight at 10:30! The venue is at SE 6th and Alder in Lenora’s Ballroom. Admission is free for first-timers, there’s a lesson for newbies at 8:30, and the dancing goes until 1am! Nothin’ to lose there. The lineup is going to be fantastic and I’m utterly thrilled to be dancing with such rockstars, so come out and see us strut our stuff!
Finally, I’ll be going home to Ojai for the next week or so to get some concentrated work done on Wherefore (that autobio graphic novel project about dual citizenship and cultural identity I was going on about all the time a few months back). I’m behind on my goals, so getting out of Portland will be a good impetus to power through a lot of a pages. As a result, I’ll be off the interwebs for a bit, but rest assured, updates will resume very soon indeed!
Thanks for checking in, and I’ll see y’all in a week!
Hey sailors (and non-sailors)! Just a reminder that I’ll be at the Portland Zine Symposium tomorrow with a bundle of awesome stuff to sell. “What kind of stuff would this be?” you might ask. I WILL TELL YOU.
There will be Baggywrinkles 1 & 2, Tales from the Fragment, nautical button packs(!!!), squeaks of the coveted squeaky walrus (only 5 cents!), and (new for this event) genuine Monkey’s Fist necklaces! Check out this knot-tacular action:
A little bit of background, for those of you not familiar: The Monkey’s Fist is a knot generally tied around a spherical, heavy object (like a lead ball or, in this case, a marble) to create a long-flying projectile. The proper term for such a thing is a heaving line, which was often attached to heavier mooring lines when the distance required to get them to dock was too far for a sailor to throw the line itself. With the heaving line attached to the mooring line, it was possible for a sailor to launch the former a long distance (due to its weighted end) and then let those ashore haul the mooring line across.
While flinging heaving lines is damn good fun, it can become a bad habit for docking, so remember kids: they’re a privilege, not a right. And throwing a mooring line on its own inherently makes you more of a badass. So don’t get lazy.
EH-HEM. ANYWAY.
SOME BUTTONS!
I don’t know why having buttons makes me freak out in an “OhmygawdI’marealcartoonist!” kind of way (possibly because everyone seems to have them and they’re “cool”), but I’m really excited to have them. I’ll be selling them in packs of three, but if you ask nicely I’d probably sell you one on its own for 50 cents or something. There are a few nerdy sailor ones, several that say “Stay Baggy,” a rare few that say “The entire ocean is broken,” and some general nautical varieties. If I have leftovers from the Symposium this weekend I’ll get them up on the site.
That’s all for now! I really encourage you all to come out this weekend, since the event is free (FREE!!!) and there will be something like 140 awesome people tabling. Unfortunately we don’t get table assignments until the morning check-in, but if you really have to know where I am before you come, I’ll be posting my location on Twitter once I’m set up.
Hope to see you guys tomorrow!
Hey everyone. So, in honor of my birthday (which is today), I’m releasing all my exciting news in one fell swoop. We’ve got new comics, reprints, a fan page, and a convention appearance all up in here, so read on!
First, and most importantly, Baggywrinkles #2 is FINALLY HERE!
***
It’s been too long in the works, but I’m very proud to see it out in the world at last. This volume, as those of you who have been following its glacial progress here on the blog probably know, is all about traditional sailors’ tattoos. Superstitious ones, useful ones, boastful ones, all in there. Eight pages, like the last one, but this time I’ve switched it up with a BLUE cover.
Oh yes. Bold strides.
Both issues will soon be available for physical purchase in the following fine Portland establishments: Guapo Comics and Coffee, Reading Frenzy, Floating World Comics, and (hopefully) Powell’s Books!
I’m also offering a deal through the site and at the Portland Zine Symposium in August: Both issues of the comic and a bonus nautical button for 5 bucks! Saves you a dollar. Everyone likes having an extra dollar. Check out the Emporium for more info!
SECONDLY:
Tales from the Fragment has been reprinted and is ready to ship!
If you remember way back last year when I first wrote about this project, it’s a sculptural foldy comic which incorporates its hand-cut wrapper into the storytelling process. Silly meta stuff, but I had so much fun with it that I wanted to make some more to share with folks. They’re going at 5 bucks a pop to cover all the arthritis surgery I’ll need one day from going around all those tricky stalagmites with my X-acto knife.
THIRDLY:
If you’re the kind of person who likes keeping up with news via Facebook, Baggywrinkles (and, by extension, my other artistic adventures) has its own fan page! My understanding is that if you “Like” it you get sweet updates on all my comics-related doings. Hot damn!
AAAAAND FINALLY:
I’ll see you all in person at the Portland Zine Symposium on August 6th and 7th! It’s free, and there will be a ton of awesome folks there, so you really have no excuse not to come.
Thanks for sticking with me, folks. I know this isn’t the most regular of update schedules, but I’m really excited to share all this stuff with you.
Preview of the final structural form for all those Wherefore illustrations I posted a while back.
Hey, y’all remember when I was doing that nautical comic thing way back in the day? The one I said would be finished “in a few days” about 6 months ago? (At least, that’s what it feels like…) Well, hopefully I can make good on the promise soon, but just to prove I haven’t utterly forgotten: some inks! Half of them, even! (Easy to say when your story’s 8 pages long.)
There are technical tweaks left to be done on the blackboards, since I need to make them, well, black. But apart from that they’re pretty well finished. I’m trying to move beyond straight “line art” into something that’s a little more dimensional, so critiques are welcome. The latter 4 pages are more complex, so I’ve been procrastinating on them for some time, but the plunge will come sooner rather than later, I assure you.
Shutting up now so I can get on with the last few projects of the semester.
SO CLOSE, YOU GUYS. SO CLOSE I CAN TASTE IT.
