Beaver Brook (117 Ridge Road in Hollis; 465-7787, beaverbrook.org) has hikes on the schedule this weekend. On Friday, Jan. 29, it’s a Full Moon Hike, which starts at 6:30 p.m. Definitely take the advice to dress in layers; admission costs $15 per person. Recommended for ages 12 and up. Beaver Brook also has kid-focused events during weekdays. See their website for information on multi-week programs, including the Kids Fitness Hiking Club, homeschool programs and events for the pre-K crowd.
More wildlife
The Squam Lakes Natural Science Center (23 Science Center Road in Holderness; 968-7194, nhnature.org) has Wild Winter Walks on the schedule for the next few weekends. This weekend, the walks take place Sunday, Jan. 31, at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. The walks (recommended for ages 6 and up) offer an outdoor look at the center’s animals during the winter. The cost is $10 per person; register online.
Putting on a virtual show
Kids with theatrical dreams might want to check out the Palace Teen Company’s “Take Over Show,” with the teens performing their “Broadway dream roles,” according to palacetheatre.org, where you can buy a $15 ticket to this virtual show, happening Friday, Jan. 29, at 7 p.m.
Crafting and bouncing
Cowabunga’s (725 Huse Road in Manchester; mycowabungas.com, 935-9659) is offering a String Art & Bouncing activity on Friday, Jan. 29, at 6 p.m. The craft is a string-art heart (materials will be provided) and kids will have a chance to bounce while waiting for part of the craft to dry. Tickets cost $15; see the website to reserve a spot.
I have an assortment of older comics. They are not in the best condition, but I thought you might be able to provide advice as to a value, if any.
Karl
Dear Karl,
I have to start off by saying that comics is a very specific field, and even if I can give you my thoughts on them, you should do more research and or see someone who deals in them.
My experience with comics is that the closer they are to mint condition, the higher the value. Most are in very used condition from reading, so to find mint ones makes the value on some soar.
Collectors look for older ones, limited ones and specific issues. You can’t really group your comics without checking on each one individually. One rare comic can be worth more than $1,000 in mint condition. In poor condition the same one could be worth $50. That’s still a value that could add up with an assortment of them.
Common older comics can still have values from $5 and up, even in used condition. There is a specific scale used to judge the condition of them. This is why I suggest you do further research before assuming you just have a lot of used comics. Even if they are only in the $5 range each, it still adds up!
If you need help in doing research I could refer you to a person who could help you in this field. Drop me an email and I will put you in touch.
I’ve been growing vegetables organically all my life. I use no chemical fertilizers or pesticides. I don’t often think about the reasons I do so, any more than I think about breathing — it’s just something I do.
I recently picked up a book written by Maria Rodale called The Organic Manifesto: How Organic Farming Can Heal Our Planet, Feed the World, and Keep Us Safe (Rodale Press, 2010) and it reminded me why I do so. I’d like to share some of the important points with you here.
In the introduction Eric Schlosser (author of the fabulous book Fast Food Nation) presented some stark facts: American farmers use 1.2 billion pounds of pesticides each year — four pounds for every man, woman and child. Some of these pesticides — the organophosphates — were first developed in Germany in WWII as chemical weapons. The federal government does not require reporting of usage, and testing is done by manufacturers, not the EPA or USDA. Most food has some pesticide residue — except for organic foods, which shouldn’t have any.
One of Maria Rodale’s reasons for eating only organic food might surprise you: It has to do with climate change. Soils treated with chemicals, including fertilizers, do not have robust populations of microorganisms. Organic soils do. Key among these living beings are the mycorrhizal fungi that coat the roots of plants in organically tended soils. These fungi sequester huge amounts of carbon, taking greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere and holding it in the soil. But they are virtually non-existent in soils treated with chemicals. Grow organically? Eat organically? You are helping the environment.
Secondly, irrigation water for commercial agriculture, particularly in the West, uses large quantities of water, depleting aquifers and polluting ground water. When I traveled through the Midwest in the early 2000’s I was amazed that supermarkets designated entire aisles to jugs of water — no one wanted to drink from their own wells. And there is a dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico that is bigger than New Jersey caused by agricultural runoff of chemicals from conventional fields.
Children are particularly vulnerable to chemicals used in commercial farming. Rates of childhood cancers, asthma, diabetes, autism and other debilitating conditions continue to increase. Ms. Rodale attributes (with copious footnotes to scientific studies) many of these changes to the chemicals children consume. As she says, “Cheap food equals high health care costs.”
The “organic” label on food also means that no genetically modified organisms were used in producing your food. Back in 2010 when Rodale wrote the book, 91 percent of all soybeans and 95 percent of all corn produced in America was genetically modified to be tolerant of a weed killer called glyphosate, sold under the trade name Roundup.
There has been much controversy about Roundup, and whether it is harmful to humans. Ms. Rodale points out that Roundup cannot be washed off food: It has a surfactant that allows the chemical to penetrate the cell wall. And since corn and soy are used to manufacture many foods, from ice cream to baby food and ketchup, it is everywhere. The federal government does not consider Roundup a problem, though many scientists do.
Ms. Rodale never once, in this book, criticized conventional chemical farmers. Organic or conventional, she recognized their hard work and a desire to work their land and support their families. She recognizes that transitioning to organic farming takes time, money and education.
So what can you do? You may not be able to afford to buy nothing but organic food. But you probably can buy your meats from local farmers that do not use the feedlots of the Midwest that feed their cows and pigs antibiotics. And you can get eggs, as I do, from a local teenager who treats his hens well. (Thank you, Ian’s Eggs.)
For vegetables, you can probably grow some of what you require for vegetables in summer, or buy from a local farm stand. Many farmers are happy to tell you about how they grow their vegetables. The supplier of the local farm stand near me uses an approach called IPA or Integrated Pest Management. This method encourages farmers to use natural controls and to use pesticides only when a crop is threatened. They cultivate crops to root out weeds instead of spraying herbicides like Roundup.
But the bottom line is this: The more you grow organically, the better your soil will be. If you use only organic methods, you can avoid many chemicals in your food that might be present in grocery store foods.
I recognize that I cannot change the world with what I do. But I have learned to grow plenty of vegetables and to keep them for eating out-of-season. So think about a bigger vegetable garden this summer, and I will tell you about how to put food up for next winter when the time comes.
Winter fun is still on the schedule as The Hotel Concord and Intown Concord host their third annual Winter Fest on Friday, Jan. 29, and Saturday, Jan. 30, outside on the Statehouse lawn.
“The nature of the event — it being outdoors with people generally spread out — lent itself to having a safe version this year, so we thought it had some potential [to still take place],” said Jamie Simchik, a member of the Intown Concord board and Winter Fest committee and co-owner of The Hotel Concord. “Fortunately, Intown Concord and the city were interested and wanted to bring some activity back into downtown.”
The highlight of the event is its ice carvers, with ice carving demonstrations on Friday and a live ice carving competition on Saturday.
“People will be able to see the ice carvers in action as well as their final products,” Simchik said.
Five New England ice carvers — Eric Knoll, Dave Soha, Dennis Hickey, Michael Legassey and Alexander Bieniecki — will participate, which is the most Winter Fest has ever had.
“Many other ice carving competitions have decided not to move forward this year, which is unfortunate but kind of a blessing in disguise for us because as a result our ice carving competition got a lot more interest from ice carvers looking for an opportunity to compete,” Simchik said.
An award ceremony will close out the event on Saturday. The top four carvers will receive a one-night stay at The Hotel Concord, and the top three will additionally receive cash prizes — $100 for third place, $250 for second and $500 for first. After the event, Intown Concord will post a poll on its Facebook page, where members of the public can vote for their favorite carving to win the People’s Choice Award.
The sculptures will remain on display through at least Monday, Simchik said.
On both Friday and Saturday, Winter Fest will also feature games and activities like cornhole, warmup stations with s’mores and hot cocoa, music over a sound system and a Winter Shopping Stroll at downtown Concord’s restaurants and retail shops.
“It’s been rough, obviously, for the businesses affected by the pandemic, so helping them out is one of the goals for the event,” Simchik said. “Our vision is that we bring more people downtown in a safe fashion, and businesses take advantage of that.”
As for Covid safety precautions, mask-wearing and social distancing are required, and attendees are asked to register in advance, providing their contact information and the times they plan on being at the event.
“It allows us to get an idea of who is coming and who is there so that, if [a positive Covid case is reported], we can do contact tracing and notify people appropriately,” Simchik said.
Concord Winter Fest
Where: Downtown Concord. Winter Fest activities, the ice carving demonstration and the ice carving competition will be held at the Statehouse Lawn (107 N. Main St.). The Winter Shopping Stroll will include restaurants and retail shops on Main Street.
When: Friday, Jan. 29, from 3 to 9 p.m., and Saturday, Jan. 30, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Ice carving demonstrations will take place all day Friday, and the ice carving competition will take place on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., with an awards ceremony at 4 p.m.
Cost: Free
Covid guidelines: Registration in advance is requested for contact-tracing purposes. Mask-wearing and social distancing as per state and city guidelines are mandatory.
More info: Visit intownconcord.org/index.php/winter-fest or call 226-2150. Registration for the event is through Eventbrite (search “3rd Annual Winter Fest & Ice Carving Competition”).
Featured Photo: A previous Winter Fest in downtown Concord. Photo by Steven Lipofsky.
The latest from NH’s theater, arts and literary communities
Art by new NHAA member John Kessler, featured in “A New Day” exhibit. Courtesy photo.
• Call for actors: Powerhouse Theatre Collaborative, a new theater program at the Belknap Mill and the resident theater company of the Colonial Theater in Laconia, is holding auditions for two upcoming play festivals it’s producing in collaboration with the Community Players of Concord. The Zoom Play Festival will be held virtually on Friday, April 16, and the Rotary Park Play Festival will take place outdoors at Rotary Park in Laconia on Saturday, May 29, and Sunday, May 30. Both festivals will feature short original plays by New Hampshire playwrights. “With the pandemic continuing to affect theater productions around the country, we have decided to give people the opportunity to get back ‘on stage’ in as safe a manner as possible,” Powerhouse producer Bryan Halperin said in a press release. Auditions are by video submission, and roles are open to college-aged through senior citizen actors. The submission deadline is Monday, Feb. 1. Instructions for the video submissions can be found on the Powerhouse Theatre Collaborative Facebook page or by emailing powerhouse@belknapmill.org.
• Art by new NHAA members: Catch the New Hampshire Art Association’s exhibit “A New Day,” before it’s gone on Sunday, Jan. 31. Viewable online, in the front windows at the NHAA’s Robert Lincoln Levy Gallery (136 State St., Portsmouth) and at the gallery in person by appointment, the exhibit features work by 35 new NHAA members. “We are thrilled to welcome so many talented artists into NHAA and are happy to provide them opportunities to show and sell their work,” NHAA board president Renee Giffroy said in a press release. “The fresh perspectives they bring help everyone in our community continue to grow.” Among the featured artists are Carla Zwahlen, a landscape painter from Mont Vernon; John Kessler of Windham, an oil painter of landscapes and still life; and Howard Muscott, a nature photographer from Amherst. NHAA’s next jurying opportunity for new members is scheduled for March. “We look forward to having more local artists join us next year,” Giffroy said. Call 431-4230 and visit nhartassociation.org.
• Virtual author event: The Music Hall in Portsmouth presents a virtual event with award-winning author, podcast host and culture critic Rebecca Carroll on Tuesday, Feb. 2, at 7 p.m., as part of its Writers on a New England Stage series. Carroll will discuss her new memoir, Surviving the White Gaze, which chronicles her struggle to forge her identity as a Black woman in America after growing up in rural white New Hampshire. Carroll will be joined in conversation by Peter Biello, host of New Hampshire Public Radio’s All Things Considered and The Bookshelf, an ongoing segment featuring local and regional authors. An audience Q&A will follow the discussion. Tickets cost $5 for access to the event, which will be livestreamed on Crowdcast. Writers on a New England Stage will continue with author Diane Rehm, presenting her new book, When My Time Comes, on Tuesday, Feb. 23, and Nobel Prize winner and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman presenting his new book, Arguing with Zombies, on Tuesday, March 2. Visit themusichall.org or call 436-2400.
• Community exhibit: The Lane House Arts Center (380 Lafayette Road, Hampton) will have a community arts exhibit “Winter Blues,” on view in person from Friday, Jan. 29, through Saturday, Feb. 27. The exhibit features art in a wide range of media created by more than a dozen local artists. “Community art exhibits provide much-needed opportunities for area artists, while enabling us to invite a broader segment of the community into the gallery,” Karen Desrosiers, founder and curator of Lane House Arts Center, said in a press release. Gallery hours are Wednesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and by appointment. Call 926-1111 or visit lanehousearts.com.
Artists and authors talk about their latest comic books and more
New Hampshire comics creators have faced plenty of challenges in the past year, like publishers and distributors shutting down, comic conventions being canceled and collaborative processes taking longer than usual. But more time at home has meant more time for creating, new inspiration for story concepts and themes, and virtual events that reach a wider audience. Nine local comics creators reflect on the past year — the good and the bad — and talk about their latest and upcoming projects.
Shiv
Leary by Shiv. Courtesy image.
The Manchester comic artist who creates under the pseudonym Shiv has a portfolio full of standalone comic art prints and commissioned fan art, original characters and portraits, but has never released a full comic series. That’s about to change. The pandemic provided Shiv (who uses they/them pronouns) the push they needed to move forward with a sci-fi webcomic series. Shiv is co-creating the series with their partner and it’s been a long time in the making.
“That’s kind of been my big, looming comic project,” said Shiv, who preferred not to reveal their full name so as to keep their work as an artist separate from their day job. “Normally, I’ll find any reason to procrastinate, but … Covid life has changed … my motivation. I’ve found myself really on the ball artistically while being stuck inside.”
The series, which is “basically about a big treasure hunt in space with pirates and all that,” Shiv said, will most likely launch next month, and they will continue to add to the series over time.
“Who knows when the entire project will be done since it’s meant to be a series, but … my main focus right now is getting the webcomic up and running,” they said.
Shiv said the events of 2020 have been “very inspirational” for the absurdist humor that they often incorporate in their art, and that they’re interested in exploring that more in their future work.
“Who knows?” Shiv said. “Maybe I’ll make a comic that harnesses the strange and unfortunate emotions that were produced this past year.”
Check out Shiv’s work at shiv-art.square.site, on Twitter @shivyshivon and on Instagram @ohnoshiv.
Ryan Lessard
Ryan Lessard of Manchester, creator and writer of the sci-fi comic series Sentinel, released the second issue of the series in the fall — but not without some setbacks.
Sentinel, second issue, by Ryan Lessard. Courtesy image.
In January 2020 the Kickstarter-funded comic was in the process of being colored and Lessard announced that it was on track to be sent out to backers in April. Then the pandemic hit, and his colorist had to work double time at his day job at his state health department, “squeezing in time to do colors when he could,” Lessard said.
“So it took a few months longer than expected,” he said. “You do your best estimating when people will get their books, but sometimes stuff happens, and a global pandemic happened to everyone.”
Set in a spacefaring future, Sentinel follows an alien reporter through the investigation of a terrorist attack that nearly killed her and set off a chain of events.
Lessard said he’s hoping to launch the Kickstarter campaign for the third issue in March. So far, his goal has been to have one campaign a year, but now, having completed the scripts for at least another eight issues, he’s looking at the possibility of doing more.
“As my audience grows, I may be able to increase the frequency of production,” he said, “like maybe making two books at once, for example.”
Lessard has also been brainstorming and writing scripts for some graphic novels and one-off comics. He has already recruited an artist for a one-off about a hitchhiking robot, which he anticipates starting production on later this year, and is more than halfway done with the script for a space horror graphic novel, which he said was inspired by Covid life. The story, Lessard said, follows a crew of eight people who, having been stuck on the same spaceship together for a couple of years, are “bouncing off the walls with boredom before things take a dark turn.”
“The original idea and its main twist came to me in a dream,” he said, “but the tone and feel and the idea of being cooped up — I’m sure that came from living in lockdown and quarantine for the better part of the past year.”
The first two issues of Sentinel can be purchased locally at Double Midnight Comics in Manchester. For updates on Ryan Lessard’s upcoming projects, visit orionnewsservice.com and follow him on Kickstarter at kickstarter.com/profile/ryanlessard/created.
Stephen Bobbett
At the start of this year, Dover comics creator Stephen Bobbett launched Earth is the Worst, a new webcomic with a full-color four-panel strip added every Tuesday. The series largely follows two aliens living on Earth as they provide commentary on the absurdities of human culture.
“It’s inspired by a lot of the newspaper comics I grew up with in the ’90s, like Calvin & Hobbes and The Far Side,” Bobbett said. “It even has a grainy print style as an homage to that era.”
Earth is the Worst, a webcomic series by Stephen Bobbett. Courtesy image.
While some of his other comics “delve a little too deeply into world-building,” Bobbett said, he created Earth is the Worst to be more accessible and appeal to a wider audience in the same way that many of the classic “old-school” newspaper comics did.
“Since Covid has put us all in a state of forced isolation, I think it’s become more important to make art that people can instantaneously connect with,” he said. “With Earth is the Worst, I wanted to make a comic where the archetypes were instantly recognizable, where you didn’t have to read multiple pages to get the story, and — most importantly — where you might get a good laugh in the middle of a rough news day.”
Bobbett said he plans to continue adding to Earth is the Worst weekly for now. He’s also currently working on a dark comedy/sci-fi graphic novella series called The Big Crunch, which centers on an interplanetary city revolving around a black hole.
Two to three times a week Bobbett streams his art process on Twitch and answers viewers’ questions about comics and illustration. He’s been doing the streams for around five years now, he said, as a way of “turning visual art into an educational and social event.”
“But this year it took on special significance as a way to stave off people’s loneliness during quarantine,” he added. “It’s been a godsend.”
For more on Stephen Bobbett, visit stephenbobbett.com or catch him on his Twitch channel at twitch.tv/FancySchmancy. See the Earth is the Worst webcomic at earthistheworst.com, with a new strip added every Tuesday.
Ed Smith
Ed Smith of Bedford is currently working on a few comics projects; as of last week he was finishing up a four-issue graphic novel called 2nd Place, co-written with Ben Goldsmith. He’s also working on a monthly sci-fi serial strip and writing a book based on a story idea he had in high school.
“When drawing comics it’s usually a good idea to have as many irons in the fire as possible,” said Smith, who works professionally as a graphic designer but aspires to be a full-time comic book artist.
From 2nd Place by Ed Smith. Courtesy image.
2nd Place is about an intergalactic bodybuilding competition that takes place between aliens. The two main characters are best friends who wish they were living each other’s lives. Smith said it’s an introspective look at them examining their own lives.
“The whole thing is done in a mockumentary style, like The Office or Best in Show,” Smith said. “So even though the theme seems pretty emotional and dramatic, it’s got a lot of humor to it. … I [also] like to draw stuff in the background as little jokes and Easter eggs, so the readers can have more than just a quick page glance when they read it and get their money’s worth.”
Smith describes his work as very clean, emotive artwork that allows the reader to feel motion and emotion. It also transfers well from print to screen, he said, something he’s focused on since he read The Tick as a kid and then watched the TV show that was created based on the comic.
“It looked horrible to me,” he said. “I made it a mission of mine to create artwork that will go from the page to the screen and still look good.”
The serial strip that Smith is working on is for a sci-fi magazine; it’s written by Alex Collazo, as part of his Manalex novel series.
“It’s sci-fi meets martial arts swords-and-sorcery type of books,” Smith said. “I usually handle funny and cartoony styles and stories, so I’m doing my best to make sure that the … author is content with my perspective of his character. … “It’s given me an opportunity to stretch my artistic muscles and do something outside of funny pages.”
Smith is also drawing for The Life and Times of the Supertopian, a book about stories that take place across the lifetime of a superhero that really existed in this comic book universe, written by Rich Woodall. And he has a personal project in the works that he plans to self-publish, a book about a boy who grew up next to a town full of superheroes but was always too insecure to try to be one himself.
“It shows kids that if you have a dream or a goal for yourself, you should never give up. You should always follow it, because you’re worth it,” he said.
While everyone has had to navigate a Covid-19 world, 2020 was especially life-changing for Smith, who had a heart valve replaced at the beginning of the year. At first, he fell into a post-operative depression and reached out to a friend for support. Smith speaks fluent sarcasm and appreciated his friend’s response — something to the effect of, “Gee, it’s really tough for us artists who can use what we do as a way to emote.”
“I started putting out a lot more work and it started to get better,” Smith said.
The pandemic did affect his work, though. He’s explored artistically as well as emotionally through a lot of different story lines. He’s also become much more adept at connecting with his readers, and other artists, online.
“I was really inexperienced when it came to social media, so a lot of contact with my fans was at conventions or through Facebook or Instagram,” he said. “Now I understand social media more; I can interact with fans and post videos.”
Smith said he misses that face-to-face interaction at conventions, but staying in touch with fellow artists hasn’t been a problem.
“Artists are very emotionally raw, so we tend to support each other as much as possible,” he said.
You can find some of Smith’s work on his Facebook or Instagram pages, or on his website, cartoonistatlarge.com.
— Meghan Siegler
Emily Drouin
As a full-time professional illustrator, children’s book and comic book artist, video editor and animator, Emily Drouin of Raymond is always creating.
Drouin is best known for her kids sci-fi action-adventure comic EPLIS, but with many comic conventions canceled due to Covid, she has turned her attention to commission work, some of which was new territory for her.
From EPLIS, a comic book series by Emily Drouin. Courtesy image.
“I’ve had more time to work with more clients, which has really opened up some doors for me and [provided opportunities to] improve my art and work on new skill sets,” she said. “That’s one of the things I love most about my job — the variety of projects. I love the challenge of doing so many different things.”
One of her biggest jobs was doing the illustrations for two books in The Pumpkin Wizard series, a children’s anti-bullying fantasy adventure series written by Dover authors Derek Dextraze and Caitlin Crowley. Some of her other recent projects are illustrating a cover for a young adult book by a local author (she’s not at liberty to reveal the title yet, she said) as well as some coloring activity books, including one with notable figures from Black history.
Drouin also spent a lot of time reinventing last year’s Kids Con New England, of which she is the founder and organizer. Typically held in Nashua in June, the just-for-kids comic convention was converted to a free two-day virtual event in May, featuring creative workshops, special guest comic creators, book readings, sing-alongs and musical performances, a puppet show, tabletop gaming, costume contests, a coloring contest and more.
“We wanted to capture as many of the in-person events as possible,” Drouin said. “It was actually a more unique experience, because we were able to connect with comic creators and families from across the country, so we had even more people than we would have had at the in-person event.”
At present, Drouin is back to working on comics, including the fifth issue of EPLIS and a new horror comic.
“Children’s comics and children’s book [illustrations] have always been my thing, and this [horror comic] is about vampires and stuff, so it’s a totally new thing for me,” she said. “I’m excited to expand and do something different.”
Check out Emily Drouin’s comics and other work at emilyatplay.com. Recordings from the virtual Kids Con New England event held last May are free to watch at kidsconne.com.
Marek Bennett
After a successful Kickstarter campaign, Henniker comic artist Marek Bennett is finishing up the final draft of his contribution to The Most Costly Journey, a nonfiction comics anthology scheduled to be released in February that tells the true stories of Latin American migrant workers working on dairy farms in Vermont.
Marek Bennett works on his Freeman Colby series. Courtesy photo.
It’s one of several projects that Bennett is currently involved in, though he admits that the future is a little fuzzy right now.
“I have some plans that I was supposed to visit in 2020, and they’re on the calendar now for spring 2021, but honestly, there’s no guarantee,” he said.
The biggest upheaval in Bennett’s work has been his involvement with local schools; most years from January through May or June, he’s working in schools several days a week. He was in the middle of a residency in Epping when schools shut down last spring.
“[Those residencies] are 50 or 60 percent of my annual income, and that was just gone,” he said. “[But] If I focus on the money, it’s really stressful and depressing and it’s not why I got into cartooning.”
Bennett spent the rest of the spring trying to figure out how to reach an audience that he could no longer work with in person.
“I’m doing some regular live draws,” he said. “That’s really the bedrock of what I’ve been doing since the summer … and Zoom sessions.”
The live draws are every Monday and Friday, for anyone who’s interested but also for those school groups that he can’t otherwise connect with right now.
“If a classroom dials in, that’s one view or one share, but it’s 20 kids who get to draw — that’s so much more valuable than selling a mini comic for a dollar,” Bennett said. “I’ve been doing as much as I can through Facebook live and YouTube live, just so it’s a little less prerecorded, [although there are] archived videos [too].”
Along with trying to maintain that connection, Bennett has used some of his newfound time at home to go back to his sketchbooks and do more creative, aimless doodling that leads to new ideas.
“Amidst all the upheaval and the uncertainty, having an excuse to be still … has helped a lot,” he said. “Quarantine and isolation is tough, but to a cartoonist, in some ways it’s kind of an ideal scenario to get things done.”
Other projects that Bennett is working on include a series of drawing activities created with a USDA grant that address toxic lead contamination in lakes and toxic materials in cosmetic and self-care products, and a series around federal sedition laws that explores the implications of current events.
“I’m taking those laws and drawing them out in very simple cartoons [and] making videos,” he said. “I get so stressed about the news, but creating art about it, there’s a sense of relief.”
Bennett is also working on Vol. 3 of The Civil War Diary of Freeman Colby, and he’s going to do more work with the Vermont Folklife Center, which is producing The Most Costly Journey. The next planned project is a book of comics drawn by New Hampshire and Vermont cartoonists based on the life of Vermont storyteller Daisy Turner, who was born in 1883 and lived until 1988 and whose family’s oral history reaches all the way back to early 19th-century Africa.
“There’s just an incredible body of lore there,” Bennett said.
Marek Bennett’s work can be found at marekbennett.com or through patreon.com, a website that allows fans to support their favorite artists in exchange for exclusive insider access to previews, future projects, workshops and more.
— Meghan Siegler
Brian Furtado
As a creative writing and graphic novel storytelling instructor at New England College, Brian Furtado of Manchester found himself with a lot of unexpected free time when many of his classes for 2020 were cut due to Covid.
While the “weeks upon weeks of struggling with unemployment” were difficult, he said, the silver lining was that he had a rare opportunity to focus on his own comic series, Re-Verse, which has been years in the making.
From the upcoming comic book series Re-Verse by Brian Furtado. Courtesy image.
“It wasn’t exactly a stress-free writing retreat, but I did get a lot of work done,” he said. “I got a lot more work done on this comic in 2020 than I think I could have any other year.”
Furtado described the series as “an absurdist, satirical sci-fi comedy about a disgraced pop star turned private investigator who also happens to be an anthropomorphic duck.” It’s the first comic that he is creating entirely by himself, doing the writing, penciling, inking and coloring.
“It’s been a long and arduous task,” he said. “My experience and education are in writing. … Until this project, I never really considered myself an artist. I’ve had to teach myself a lot more new things in order to get the artwork of this book up to the same level of quality I’d expect from an artist I [would] commission to draw it.”
Furtado said he expects to have the artwork for the first issue of the seven-issue series fully completed within the next few weeks, “fingers crossed.”
“Now that I’ve developed my own art style and drawing habits, I should be able to crank out [the artwork for the] issues much more quickly,” he said.
Furtado has started the outlining and writing on a few other comics, which he plans to develop more once he releases the first issue of Re-Verse. For those, however, he’ll be commissioning artists to do the artwork; he’s got his hands full doing the art for the next six issues of Re-Verse.
“I think doing all the writing and artwork on multiple projects at once would actually kill me,” he said. “[Commissioning artists] will free me up to write scripts for other artists to work on while I do all the artwork on Re-Verse.”
Check out Brian Furtado’s art on Instagram @SuperBri64.
Joel Christian Gill
Joel Christian Gill of New Boston is best-known for his graphic novels that tell the lesser-known stories of Black history in the U.S., but his latest book, Fights: One Boy’s Triumph Over Violence, released in January 2020, tells a different kind of story.
“It’s a graphic memoir that chronicles my life growing up and is kind of about how kids deal with emotional abuse, sexual abuse and violence,” he said. “It’s definitely a departure from the books I’ve done previously.”
Fights, a graphic novel by Joel Christian Gill. Courtesy image.
Also in 2020, Gill created a series of humorous comic strips called S— my Students Say, which was published in The New Yorker.
His next book, the third volume in his Tales of the Talented Tenth graphic novel series, will be released later this year, he said. It tells the story of Robert Smalls, an enslaved African American man who stole the U.S. Confederate warship The Planter and sailed it to the Union army.
Currently, Gill is collaborating with Ibram Xolani Kendi, author and the director of the Center for Antiracist Research at Boston University, to create a graphic novel adaptation of Kendi’s 2016 nonfiction book Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America. Gill said the graphic novel is projected for release in 2023.
An associate professor of illustration at Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston, Mass., Gill has also been busy teaching remotely and presenting numerous virtual lectures, panels and workshops on comics.
“Not having to travel has given me the opportunity to say yes to things that I normally wouldn’t have been able to say yes to,” he said.
But having to do virtual events in lieu of the in-person book signings for Fights that he had planned has been disappointing, Gill said.
“Not being able to connect with people in the way that I’m used to has been the biggest hit for me,” he said. “Seeing people in real life and being in a room with them is just different, and I want to get back to that.”
Learn more about Joel Christian Gill’s work and upcoming events at joelchristiangill.com.
Rich Woodall
All things pandemic considered, work has been going well for Somersworth comics creator Rich Woodall. He lucked out last March when his comic book Kyrra#1 hit shelves on the last day of new comic book releases before the Covid shutdown brought comic book presses to a halt; and he got to create the first three issues of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin and is starting work on the fourth and fifth issues now. But his biggest achievement over the last year has been launching his own horror/sci-fi imprint.
The Recount, by Rich Woodall. Courtesy image.
Woodall and comic artist Joseph Schmalke, with whom he co-created, co-writes and co-illustrates the popular horror comic series The Electric Black, are the co-publishers of the imprint Black Caravan, which is housed under their series’ publisher Scout.
Starting out as a publisher during the pandemic had its challenges, though, Woodall said, the biggest one being that Black Caravan’s distributor had completely shut down.
“We had to change our distribution system entirely,” he said.
Woodall and Schmalke concluded that their only option was to take the distribution process into their own hands. It’s an unorthodox practice and normally frowned upon by retailers, Woodall said, but under the pandemic circumstances, retailers were more receptive.
“Covid really kind of forced their hand,” he said. “Not many comic [publishers] were putting out comics, and some had shut down for good. [The retailers’] shelves were empty, so they didn’t really have a reason not to work with us.”
Black Caravan has published eight titles so far — six of which Woodall has contributed to creatively through writing, coloring, illustrating, design work, character design or lettering — and there are more on the way.
“I think we have about 12 different titles under our belts now … and roughly 30 individual issues coming up,” Woodall said. “[Schmalke] and I have a lot of plans. We’re going to continue creating new stuff and building up Black Caravan even bigger and better.”
Find Rich Woodall’s comics and Black Caravan publications at theblackcaravan.com.
