June 24, 2022 Not talking about art or illustration or nerdy pop culture, this day. I could of course stay silent on today's events as befits my unearned privilege as a middle-aged cis white male, but: staying silent in the face of such horribleness is to give it tacit approval. And make no mistake: I do not approve. So... pushback time. This is precisely the dystopic future that The Monitor's Guild banded together to fight against, in the first place. And it isn't going to stop here. Turning women into second-class citizens was only the beginning. They've openly --nay, gleefully-- stated that they still have a long list of targets to eliminate. Most of it grounded in the 14th Amendment's expectation of right to privacy. Meaning birth control. Same-sex marriages, LGBTQ+ rights in general. Mixed-race marriages, eventually. And, yes, patient confidentiality. That means HIPAA, that oft-cited-but-rarely-understood law governing medical disclosure, is now also on the chopping block. Yeah. "Unintended consequences" is kind of an understatement, at this point. Write your damned Senators and Representatives. Especially your state representatives: that's where the real safeguarding has to happen. Make triple-damned-sure you and everyone you know are in fact registered to vote --lotta states playing coy games about that. And then kick some money to The Brigid Alliance, or perhaps The Lilith Fund, or The Yellowhammer Fund, if you're so inclined. And of course there's always Planned Parenthood. Look out for one another my friends. Lotta ugliness coming --we can't let it engulf us. June 1, 2022 A blessed Pride Month to all. A bit of a recap of some powerful Black leaders and key LGBTQ+ figures who've had to endure two separate and distinct forms of prejudice: May 7, 2022 I hope everyone has a truly wonderful Free Comic Book Day. Drop by your local comic book store and join in the festivities! And by all means indulge all the free swag, but also... buy something. Pick up an old favourite. Or perhaps try out a new title. But do show your local retailer some love. They really do pour a lot into this most holy day. (Have to sit this one out, this time around, my dears. But I'll be back at it soon. Love you all.) December 15, 2021 Yeah, it's Bill of Rights Day and that's always worth celebrating, studying, and reflecting upon. But let's also not forget that with rights come responsibilities in equal measure. Our cranky suspicious Antifederalist founders didn't feel the need to enumerate those because... well, they should have gone without saying. But it is part of the equation. To have one without the other isn't Liberty ...it's just institutionalized cruelty. #gasp #howdarehe #libertariansacrilege Yes, exercise your cherished individual rights to free speech, religious observance, firearms ownership, peaceable assembly. But be responsible about them. You live in an interdependent society (the fact you're reading these very words on the internet proves that). There are an awful lot of voices lately that sure seem to be fond of preaching "personal responsibility" but conspicuously don't back up those words with appropriate behaviour. Lying, stealing, inciting, and (especially) bullying are what the Bill Of Rights is supposed to guard against, not enable. C'mon folks. We're all in this multi-car pile-up together; at this point looking after one another should be the baseline standard, not the rare exception. #getvaccinated #maskup #teachtruth October 19, 2021 With the addition of modern-day voting rights icon Stacey Abrams, this brings us to 104 biographies. Not stopping this illustrative series by any stretch, but: I am taking a bit of a pause. In the meantime keep studying, my friends. Lotta work to do. #blacklivesmatter #goodtrouble #teachtruth #dothework October 4, 2021 What a wonderful weekend at the Upper Valley Comic Expo! Grateful thanks to all who came by, all who participated, and especially all who organized and ran the event! History was made and I dearly hope to continue to be part of it. September 3, 2021 I dearly hope everyone has a delightful --and safe-- time at FANEXPO Boston. With you guys in spirit, I assure you. Looking ahead to next month, I do hope to see everyone drop by my table in Lebanon, New Hampshire for the first-ever Upper Valley Comic Expo. In the meantime... look after one another my dears. The bullies are getting louder (and bolder) and more folks are getting scared. It is incumbent upon us to push back against this darkness that is threatening to engulf us. And I don't just mean the pandemic, here. I promise one day I'll gush all about Shang-Chi and Suicide Squad and Doctor Who, but... just now I'm reaching back to an older nerdy fandom from which to draw a little strength. "We have to help. Or else we won't have learned a thing." #resist July 31, 2021 Just about that time again (at last!). Looking forward to seeing all of you in Rochester, NH at Jetpack Comics for the long-anticipated return of Free Comic Book Day! I'll be doling out my usual assortment of free swag and ready (more than ready) to discuss all things nerdy. Drop by my table and let's catch up! older entries

Recent Pieces... Commitment, Abby. ...but some carry tubes.