This week, we published two excerpts from graphic memoirs recently published by Graphic Mundi.

» Bald - When I lost all my hair due to alopecia, my perspective on relationships and work—and myself—radically changed.

» Shrink: Story of a Fat Girl - My experiences inhabiting a large body in a world that is constantly warning me about the medical and social dangers of being "too fat."

Panels from the zine “Piss Off, Python!” by Meg Lentz and Carly Shooster.

Last Summer, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis decided to not just cut arts funding, but to cut all arts funding. He chose to veto the entire budget, impacting 700 local organizations, because he didn’t like that some funding went to two festivals that host drag shows. Or, as DeSantis put it, “too much into the DEI, into the woke stuff.” This budget decision based on racism, homophobia, and transphobia gutted arts and cultural organizations which (just FYI) the state’s own analysis found generate $6 billion in economic activity for Florida. Now, DeSantis is considering restoring some of the funding, but only to organizations and events that the governor’s office deems “appropriate for all age groups.” That means organizations celebrating BIPOC, queer, and trans artists would likely be left out. 

“It was a gut punch,” says Carly Shooster, assistant director of the Sequential Arts Workshop, a comics school based in Gainesville which instantly lost $25,000 in funding. The school has helped build a comics community around the country by running free Friday night comics workshops every week since 2020. With writer Meg Lentz, Carly created the zine featured above to help raise both awareness of the cuts and money for the school. 

In the face of the budget cuts, Florida artists are staying resilient and turning toward helping each other, says Carly. “DeSantis can’t take away our culture and beauty. What I'm noticing is Florida communities being like, ‘Fuck this!’ and a lot of volunteers coming through.” It’s important to recognize that while Florida is known nationally for its conservative politics and ridiculous headlines (see: the Florida Man meme), it’s also home to vibrant arts communities, environmental activism, punk scenes, and legendary LGBTQ culture that has thrived for decades—regardless of who’s in political power. 

“I want everyone to know that queer people live here and love it here. Florida isn't some evil place. People think of Florida as a joke and write it off. You know, it's not just ‘Florida Man,’ DeSantis, and hurricanes. There's a huge culture of mutual aid and community care. The arts are not dead here, if anything, we're all rallying with each other.”

All of our classes are sliding-scale and offered online, so they’re affordable and you can join from anywhere. We also have free spots available in every class and workshop for people who can’t afford the price—get in touch if you’d like to request a free spot!

Workshops

Forms and Folds: Innovative Shapes for Zines: Unfold new possibilities for storytelling in this hands-on, two-hour workshop exploring the art of forms and folds in comics! Jillian King leads this workshop on how to reimagine the single-page zine, experiment with accordion folds, and dive into the basics of pop-up techniques to transform your comics into interactive and tactile experiences. Wednesday April 23rd, 5-7pm PST/8-10pm EST

Big Fat Comics:  Do you find yourself gravitating towards drawing one type of body image in your work? This two-hour workshop led by Nicole Testa LaLiberty playfully examines fatphobia in comics art and offers a couple fat-positive prompts to explore.  Wednesday, May 14th at 4pm-6pm PST/7pm-9pm EST

Navigating Climate Anxiety and Grief Through Comics: Artists Denali Sai Nalamalapu, author of Holler: A Graphic Memoir of Rural Resistance, and Madeleine Jubilee Saito, author of You Are a Sacred Place: Visual Poems for Living in Climate Crisis, team up to lead this timely and reflective two-hour workshop.  Tuesday, May 20th, 2pm-4pm PST/5pm-7pm EST

Free Meetup 

Chronic Illness Comics Club: This very chill monthly meetup facilitated by Zareen Choudhury is all about building community through art. The workshop begins with a drawing prompt reflecting on living with chronic illness, then participants are encouraged to share their work. Sunday, April 6 at 11am PST / 2pm EST

Banned Together pulls together 15 artists responding to book bans across the United States. Graphic novels, especially ones centering on LGBTQ characters, have faced fierce challenges in schools and libraries. 

Cry When the Baby Cries collects the darkly hilarious and way-too-relatable parenting comics of artist Becky Barnicoat, who wallows and revels in the wobbly roller-coaster of raising a young child. 

In her On Making a Book series, Madeleine Jubilee Saito beautifully reflects on the process of creating her upcoming book, You Are a Sacred Place. It’s gorgeous work.

• Absolutely delightful comics newsletter The Gutter is open for submissions to their annual print anthology, Riff Raff. The theme is “cycles.” Contributors will be paid and the deadline for submissions is April 1.  

• Video game fans! An anthology called Free to Play is looking for comics about video games. Comics are paid $25/page and submissions are open now through March 31. 

• Want to make a zine about disability justice? Wild Ramp publishing is offering four $250 micro-grants to creators who want to make disability-focused zines. Applications due April 18.

• For artists who need time to work on a longer project, applications are now open for the Center for Cartoon Studies Cornish Fellowship. This is a month-long, paid solo residency next fall in a rural spot in New Hampshire. If you’re looking to get away from the distractions of city life, applications are open through April 1.

This newsletter is written by Shay Mirk. If you have comics or opportunities you think we should feature, email Shay at [email protected]. 💌