In the News, Again: A SAW Nonfiction Comics Anthology
Recently I had the pleasure of joining a nonfiction anthology, In the News Again, edited by Emma Jensen and Karlo Antunes.

Above is the first page to my small entry. I wanted to do a comparison of attending a comics convention pre-pandemic vs. post-pandemic. I signed up for a two-page entry because I don’t have much experience with anthologies and did not want to over-promise. I remember thinking, as I created this incredibly short story, that I was slow and awkward and shouldn’t be making comics.

Then I realized…You know what, not everyone commits to 2- and 3-pt perspective in their comics. And not everyone puts crowd scenes in multiple panels. There are some things that just take time to draw.

To read the second (and final) page, consider buying a copy of the anthology here. Though my contribution is lighthearted and harmless, the anthology contains “stories that explore themes of sex, death and grief, mental illness, suicide and abuse, racism, slavery, surgery, trauma, animal cruelty, and violence.” As such I can only recommend it for adult readers.

I may release the second page to read for free at some point in the future, but for now I’m keeping it locked away in hopes of tempting book sales. Here are some other samples from the anthology, graciously provided by book authors:

“A 6-page non-fiction comic about Lee Falk’s The Phantom (the world’s first costumed crimefighter in comics) and the ‘Phan’ community. I interviewed multiple fans, who come from different walks of life, to get their personal take on the character. The most creative aspect for me was depicting people’s real-life memories based on my own imagination. The best compliment I received was from an interviewee who said my ‘deviations from reality’ were a great improvement on the real thing!”
~ Aman King

“The Way Above is a meditative tour with Adrean through her memories of growing up Deaf and walking the Saint Paul, Minnesota, skyways as an adult. It illustrates the complexities of the city’s unique pedestrian route. Also available as a printable zine at https://ko-fi.com/s/ce2f357eeb“.
~Adrean Clark

“The Secrets of Mud is about the author’s discovery of a frog orgy in the middle of the woods on a rainy February. From the congregation of birds around the site to the sounds of the frogs diving beneath the water at the first sign of danger, the discovery is not obvious but pieced together from details scattered through the forest.”
~Mae Wilson

“Thinking of Thumbs is Lynn’s reflection on MIchel Montaigne’s essay, ‘Of Thumbs,’ written in the 1500’s. She describes his fascination with the destructive power thumbs endowed on humanity and wonders why a Renaissance thinker overlooked the thumb’s contribution to civilization.”
~Lynn Bernstein