Cover Page

Dumpia is in post-production now; I am spending time editing dialogue, perfecting hand-written font, and designing print layout.  I really can't wait to be done with this first episode, so I can start on the second! We have generated a longer story arc that draws on outer space and under sea (all the nerdy things I love) that I'm really excited to dig into.

Here is a sneak peak at the cover (which went through several iterations before this version).  If you are interested in hearing about the release date and getting a first edition copy, please send me a message with your email on my contact page. 

Department of Oxygenation and Malodorous Phylotration

I am nearing the end of a project, the longest and most elaborate body of work I've ever attempted. Dumpia is a comic and a story about garbage. Its been a seed in my mind for many years and now that I am within grasp of seeing it fulfilled, as an autonomous object, I am filled with doubt. 

I look back at the pencils (now traced, watercolored and lined over with pen) and think they look much better than the finalized pages: more lively, organic and tactile.

I wonder who, if anyone, will read it when its done. Will they get it? Like it? Be moved by it? Will they buy less plastic? How do I know I am communicating my desired message? The mystery of semiotics can be frustrating when trying to make meaning through fictionalized narrative and drawing. 

Where does confidence come from? Why are some people born with it and some battle everyday for just a glimmer of it? I wish it were available as a 6-pack (in aluminum, of course, highly recyclable) so I could have one in the morning to help me get out of bed and another in the evening when uncertainty arrives with the darkening sky.

Doubt is not a warm bedfellow, even as I try to shake it, it grips me ever more tightly. But it is not going to stop me (just slow me down and distract me). The end is near! I can see the light! 

Dumpia is coming. 

 

Hollywood Racism

Another procrastination comic, the last for a while I hope. And an attempt at dismantling a small part of this country's institutionalized racism. 

Bibliography of sources below. 

Film posters: The Legend of Tarzan, 2016. Bad Moms, 2016. Free State of Jones, 2016. Marvel's 'Captain America: Civil War', 2016. The Martian, 2015. Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice, 2016. Ghostbusters, 1984. Ghostbusters: Answer the Call, 2016.

Characters: Maz Kanata (as portrayed by Lupita Nyong'o) from Star Wars: The Force Awakens, 2015. Krall (as portrayed by Idris Elba) from Star Trek Beyond, 2016.

Quotes: "Ava Duvernay on Hollywood's Inclusion Problem" NYT, 1/25/2016. Moya Bailey.

Procrastination Comic

I've been working on a comic called Dumpia for a few months now. Its about the future of garbage. The idea has been in my brain for years and now I'm finally getting it on paper, but it is taking so long! Last week I had to put it down and do something else: this is what came out. A quick & messy diary comic. Enjoy!