About September 2024

Aug08
by on August 8, 2025 at 1:25 pm

ON TIME A four panel comic, rendered in combinations of green and magenta and teal and orange. In the first panel, Emily sits curled up on a couch, drawing in an iPad, concentrating intently. The narration begins, "I've been alternating levels of worried about SPX for weeks." In the second panel, colored teal and orange, a younger Emily stands behind a convention table, smiling nervously. The narration continues, "I can't help but think about my first--only--SPX: 2019, right before I moved to Chicago, desperate to find my place--in comics, in the world as a whole." In the third panel, we return to Emily in the present, looking pensive and downward, thinking. The narration continues, "Five years later, I'm a very different person. I know where my home is, where my community is. I put so much pressure on myself then that the only lasting memories are ones of self-doubt." In the fourth panel, present Emily reaches up to take past Emily's hand, the former smiling warmly. The narration concludes, "So for her, for me--I want to prioritize my comfort this time." -- ON REST A four panel comic, rendered in green and magenta. In the first panel, Emily stacks boxes in front of an empty convention table, looking tired and wiping sweat from her brow. The narration begins, "SPX has come and gone." In the second panel, Emily, now home again, looks out her window to observe leaves flitting past. The narration continues, "There's a distinctive chill in the air." In the third panel, the sound of rain drifts from outside as Emily sits on the couch, reading a book. The narration continues, "And for the first time, at least in a long, long time--" In the fourth panel, Emily has slid down to fall asleep on the couch, her book and glasses resting on her stomach, the rain lulling her to sleep. The narration concludes, "My only priority is rest." -- ON HEAL A four panel comic, rendered in green and magenta. In the first panel, Emily sprints across a street crosswalk, big boots clomping on the pavement as she runs. The narration begins, "I have wasted so much time--" In the second panel, Emily, winded from her run, takes a seat at a bar next to her friend, Kevin, sliding past him and remarking "you are NOT allowed to open a tab," to which Kevin responds with bellowing laughter. The narration continues, "--worrying about the way my heart inherently seems to be." In the third panel, Emily and Kevin continue to chat as they wait to order drinks. Emily, with authority, says, "no one buys their own drinks on their birthday," while Kevin responds, "you're right, you're right!" The narration continues, "the way it skips around in conversation from moment to moment, quivers with love for my friends, grows at the sound of laughter, loud and unabashed." In the last panel, Emily and Kevin clink glasses in cheers. The narration concludes, "I hold the shame in my hands gently, like a scared animal, as if it say look--there is nothing here to be afraid of." -- ON NESTING A four panel comic, rendered in green and magenta. In the first panel, Emily, with exhaustion in her face, folds laundry. The narration begins, "I've felt held together by strings over the last few days." In the second panel, folded shirts sit among a pile of unfolded laundry on the bed. The narration continues, "Like one movement too quick will snap the thread." In the third panel, Emily wraps herself up in a blanket as she crawls onto the couch, music weaving in from the background. The narration continues, "so I wrap myself up in softness, try to treat myself gently--" In the last panel, Emily pulls her phone out, forces herself to text friends. The narration concludes, "And swim against the instinct to isolate myself."

Another batch of About comics for ya! Thanks as always for reading!

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