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onward and upward

January 7th, 2007

Thank you all so, so much for your generous condolences about Julia. The stories about your own animals, the T.S. Eliot cat poem, the Jeanette Winterson column, the Eurythmics song (which I’d never heard before, and was perfect), each kind thought and observation you shared —all of this is helping to knit up my unraveled self. Read the rest of this entry »

Julia, R.I.P.

January 5th, 2007

My beloved cat Julia, my constant companion, the small sun I’ve been orbiting for the past eighteen years, died on January 3rd.

I’ve been going through my vast photo archives in order to collect all her pictures in one place. It’s been strange and intense poring over this visual record of my life, sort of like watching a very fast-forwarded video of everything I’ve ever done. I guess the most striking thing is that by far the majority of the photos are work shots—the reference pictures I take of myself posing for drawings. So I’ve been watching not just my real life unfold, but Fun Home evolve, and the DTWOF characters’ lives progress.

But the funny thing about the work photos is that in some of them, Julia just happens to be in the frame. Passing through, or interacting with me, or sleeping.

So I’ve made a little movie of these shots, and posted it on YouTube. I think these incidental images explain better than I possibly could in words the extent to which my life was intertwined with hers, and what a vast, gaping void she’s left.

These photos were all taken between 2002, when I got my digital camera, and 2006. She’s tricky to find in some of them. Actually, not all of them are incidental–there are a few where she’s actually posing for me, or with me. The last shot, strangely enough, is one I took of her when I was working on the strip last fall where Mo’s cat Vanessa dies. There’s no soundtrack on the slideshow, but imagine John Lennon singing Julia as it plays. The last thing I need right now is to be sued by Yoko Ono.

Moderation

December 30th, 2006

Wow. I haven’t checked the blog for a couple days, and was a bit shocked to see some rather illiberal comments on the last post. I was very impressed by how many of you pitched in to try and moderate things–first by reasoned argument, then by kindness, then by gracefully changing the subject.

It never occurred to me that I’d need to actually moderate the blog, and I’d really rather not spend my time that way. I haven’t deleted any of the problematic comments, because some subsequent posts referred to them, and I didn’t want to revise the record. And also, you’re all (I think) grown-ups and don’t need protection. It’s pretty cool how how you all managed this situation. I hope this can continue to be a self-moderated forum. But I’d love to hear any thoughts people might have on the topic.

Sketch Diary 12/26. Metrosexuals are taking over my Y.

December 27th, 2006

It’s hard to imagine I used to be intimidated by the guys in the free weight area Read the rest of this entry »

Bloody hell again.

December 22nd, 2006

Okay, I’m sorry if this is getting tiresome. But here’s yet another amazing Fun Home thing. I knew it was going to be on Entertainment Weekly’s “best of 2006”  list, but I didn’t know it was going to be their number one nonfiction book. Thanks to the folks who just emailed me about it. I haven’t actually seen it, and would have been skeptical except for this photo a kind person just sent me.

This number one business can go to a person’s head. I’m getting an urge to invade Poland.

On that note, for a little reality check…has anyone seen this op ed piece in today’s New York Times? The White House forced the editors to delete all kinds of information from an article about US-Iranian relations, stuff that’s already in the public domain. Chilling news on an otherwise unseasonably warm day. Thanks to my pal Val for passing this along.

If that harshes your buzz, consider taking part in the Global Orgasm for Peace before midnight. Thanks to Maggie Jochild for alerting me to this earthshattering event.

Family Values

December 22nd, 2006

Longtime denizens of this site will recall my erstwhile assistant Cathy Resmer, who left me a year ago when she and her partner were about to have a baby. Last summer Cathy did one of those StoryCorps things with their sperm donor, Jules. It aired on Vermont Public Radio, and now NPR is going to run it again on Morning Edition. It was a very charming, well-done piece–their story is such a compelling mix of conventional values and hard core dominant-paradigm-subverting. But don’t take my word for it. Check out Cathy’s own link-filled blog post here and listen to their story. But make sure you have some kleenex handy because it’s a real weepie.
Oh, the other reason why I like Cathy and Jules’s story so much is because it reminds me of my comic strip. And in fact, I’m pretty sure I saw Jules riding his bike around town the other day, hauling a trailer with his three-year-old in it. I had to do a double-take, because he looked just like Stuart. Except with more hair.

sketch diary, 12/22

December 22nd, 2006

I’m experimenting with different kinds of paper and pens, but haven’t come up with a combo I really like yet. For this drawing, I used one of those fancy brush pens. I like how freely it moves, but I can’t get enough detail with it. And for some reason I keep doing the sketch diary drawings on tracing paper. I think that gives me the illusion that it’s only a draft, even though it’s not. Next time I’ll try to commit to bristol board from the get go. Read the rest of this entry »

Bloody hell.

December 22nd, 2006

I had tea this afternoon with my friend Lenna from London, and she said I should have titled the Time book of the year post “bloody hell” instead of “fuck me.” I liked the sound of it, so here it is.

I’m sorry I haven’t been responding to all your kind comments on the Time thing. Yes, it’s a great moment for all of us. But beyond that I guess I just don’t feel up to being very articulate about it right now. I’m very pleased and grateful. Now I’m trying to get some work done.

I just skimmed your latest comments on the Time Mag post, though, and I don’t feel quite so bad now that I see nearly half of them concern Silvio Soprani’s orange cake. Man, that’s gotta be the most blogged-about dessert in the history of the internet.

Oh. And for the record? I’d “date” Sydney any day of the week.

sketch diary 12/20

December 21st, 2006

Read the rest of this entry »

Fuck. Me. (redux)

December 18th, 2006

I already used that title several months ago, but I should have saved it for a better occasion. Like this one. Fun Home is Time Magazine’s #1 Best Book of the Year.