Traveling this weekend and hoping to catch up on an effload of photos from the past few months … this one’s a favorite, even though I missed Bryan’s guitar 🔪🔪🔪 EEL // Rock Rock (Pgh) // 4/6/16 🗡🗡🗡 #goseethem #EEL #mutantcity #punks #have #thawed
Nonfiction cartoonists – send links to your recent work to The CoJo List … We especially want to read more work by and about people of color, women, and LGBTQ folks!
(Details in the link above or email us at: thecojolist@gmail.com)
Today >> @joshpkramer and I sent out our first CoJo List – a newsletter roundup of comics journalism and nonfiction comics from around the world! We’re hoping these monthly newsletters will reach the eyeballs of fellow cartoonists and journalists, *as well as* readers who love good stories but aren’t aware of all of the incredible work that’s being created these days.
And a link if you’d like to subscribe: http://tinyletter.com/cojo (gmail users >> make sure it’s going to your “updates” section, rather than the trash heap)
Contact us at thecojolist@gmail.com. We especially encourage submissions by and about people of color, LGBTQ folks, and women.
Fun exercise in design and color using cut paper and acetate – thanks @juan.jose.fernandez for the invite and for hosting the comics salons! (And @rrraaaaiiiinnaaaa for staying late at lili!) ✂️ #analog #drawing #butts #comics #funwithtangents #mutantcity #heartskull
Here’s a bit about my process for the my @pghcitypaper comics (new one on newsstands tomorrow) >>> Sifting through reporting notes/research/tape … writing … panicking about how to cram everything on ONE page … slashing my word count … panicking about drawing on the blank page … pumping my brain with music and podcasts … DRAWING … dogwalking … inking … scanning … factchecking … final copy edits … SEND! Cookie rewards. 💥💥💥 #comicsjournalism #process #drawing #comics #inking #nosleep #journos #freelancing #veganbaking
OK so I’m a little late. But since @emdemarco and I are starting The Cojo List up to bring you the best new nonfiction comics, I thought I’d revisit some of the best stuff from last year.
The last time I took stock of the year’s progress in nonfiction comics was at the end of 2013. Here were my predictions:
Higher-profile freelance pieces in national publications, new and exciting books, and new ways to post comics online that are intuitive and offer a natural reading experience.
I think we’ve definitely seen all three since I wrote that, and I want to pick out some examples of each.
Higher-profile freelance pieces in national publications: So many! I loved Ron Wimberly’s snapshot of New Orleans in the printed pages of the New Yorker. Online, Julia Wertz has been creating hilarious mainly history-based pieces for the NYer, including this one with a delightful IRL surprise at the end.
new and exciting books: I have loved books One and Two of “March,” by Congressman John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell. Powell’s cartooning is amazing and the story is fantastic and really needs to be told right now. Next year will bring some exciting books by Andy Warner, Sarah Glidden, and the Illustrated Press.
Another trend this year: More than ever, there are plenty of stories that blend drawing and writing successfully in ways that might not be comics, but feel like something besides illustrated essays. Richard Johnson, who was until recently Senior Graphics Editor at the Washington Post, did a number of amazing stories, like this one, that integrate live sketching and other elements. This horizontal slideshow about soccer “Ultras” on Italian site Graphic News by Brochendors Brothers really charmed me. Susie Cagle has done a lot of long text stories featuring her art, and her longread about Housing First was great and about an issue very important to me.
Other stories that I really jumped out at me this year:
And so many more! Again, these are just my subjective favorites from 2015.
My prediction for 2016 and on: More and more, I think nonfiction cartoonists are realizing what they have in common with writers of what has been called “narrative nonfiction,” “the New Journalism” or more recently, just “longform.” (We’re not the only medium with an identity crisis). This influence has always been there, but comics journalism has always leaned pretty heavily on documentary tropes. I think we’ll see more character-driven longform stories, and more interest from longform readers. On the technology side, I’m hoping for more solutions towards making text in comics searchable. Project Naptha’s chrome extension is a good start but has a really hard time with hand-drawn typefaces.
Starting a new project with @joshpkramer >>> The CoJo List – A monthly (or thereabouts) roundup of recent nonfiction comics.
As Josh puts it:
“We’re on the lookout for the best true comics stories to tell people about, and we need your help! Email us at thecojolist@gmail.com with your suggestions. We especially encourage submissions by and about women, people of color, and LGBTQ folks.
