Manatee Power

For those of you in the vicinity of Anacortes, Washington, some of my original art is on display at The Business record store. The featured comic was never before seen by human eyes because it was drawn for an upcoming anthology that is for dogs only. Right now the only way to see it is by patronizing The Business, where you have the option of purchasing it for your home. And even in the future after the anthology is published, the only other way you will be able to read it is by stealing a copy of the book from a dog – an act that is not only immoral but also wet and slimy. The art is hanging in The Business because new owner Nick Rennis likes all this – all this stuff I draw that you seem to like – so he asked for it. So you can assume that he has asked others for things that you like, or that you will like, so if you’re in Anacortes, stop by The Business!

I will be at Boston Comic Con April 30 and May 1, and would very much like to see you! It’s at Hynes Convention Center, which is a bigger space than last year, and boasts hundreds of artists. You may even get to meet R2D2 or a Ghostbuster.

After Stumptown a couple of years ago, I drew this convention anxiety meter:

I’m now much more comfortable at these things, but I have to admit this one is making me nervous. I’ve never done a mainstream con before and I don’t know who will be interested in my little handmade comics. And the vibe, by the nature of the event, will be different than, say, a zine fair. But I was pretty nervous before my first zine fair too.

To those of you who suffer from anxiety (and it seems like there are many of us), I don’t have a solution, although I’ve definitely made strides in the past few years. I’ve found that if the anxiety is vague enough, it can just wear itself out. If I try to shoo away my comic-con anxiety, it doesn’t leave. But when I let it dance around, eventually it just runs out of things to say and exhausts itself. When it starts to come back later (and it will), I recognize it and say, “oh hello, we’ve met before,” and it slinks away. Now, this doesn’t work if your particular anxiety happens to be telling you something specific, like part of your brain is swelling against your skull and is about to kill you. It’s our daily worrying that I’m talking about – don’t distract yourself, don’t get upset, just stop and listen to what it has to say and eventually it will run out of things to talk about.