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[thebombbag]

Yesterday we finished our month-long comic book workshop with the Latin American Youth Center (LAYC)/Latino Youth Leadership Council (LYLC). Under the coordination of Shout Mouse Press and their story leaders, Santiago Casares, Liz Laribee, Evan Keeling, and I led a series of nine workshops aimed at teaching first-generation Latinx teenagers how to express themselves through cartooning. The end result of the workshop is a collection of cartoon memoirs about their experiences before and after coming to America. Why they immigrated, the troubles they faced, and what they want their futures to look like.

These teenagers are BRAVE. They told us stories about death, depression, struggle, and hope. They cried. We cried. And they came back every week, ready to continue the process of sharing their stories. 

July 3rd was the first workshop. The teenagers invited us into their house and initiated us into their circle of trust. We each had to get up in front of them and tell them who we’ll be dedicating our work too. We each got up and talked about the people who have had profound influence in our lives and in the lives of our families. We spoke our palabra, and began the process of earning their trust. 

The first week was dedicated to stories. The second week was dedicated to layouts. The third and fourth week had us moving from thumbnails to non-photo blue pencils, inks, and markers. Many of the teens lacked confidence in their drawings, at first. But, by the end, they were proud of the comics that they made. They didn’t worry about every little line, about every bit of perspective. They pushed through their fears and doubts and found ways to express themselves in tiny boxes upon tiny boxes. 

On our last day, we spent about an hour in a circle again. This time, everyone got up and talked about their experiences. Everyone expressed their gratitude. When it was my turn, I looked at these teenagers and I just saw STRENGTH. I told them that I see my cousins in them, that being here feels like family. I told them how proud I was of them. I knew they all saw that I was crying, but I didn’t care. I was overwhelmed by what we accomplished as a team. By what they did week after week.

At the same time, word was coming out that Donald Trump and the GOP were enacting a plan to halve the number of immigrants who are allowed in this country. While our teens were putting final lines and text on their stories of impossible decisions and absolute courage, a handful of men were rolling out policy that would have an extreme negative impact on their lives, on their families lives, and on their friends lives. 

To listen to these 16 teenagers talk about the lives they lived, and what they’ve been through - to listen as their throats became scratchy, at times, and their eyes occasionally welled up in tears - and to understand that they wanted to make their lives better AND this country better - and to hear the talk coming from our current administration yesterday...it was a lot. It was a lot to take.

We’re publishing their memoirs in 2018 through Shout Mouse Press. The book will have their comic memoirs, interviews, and biographies. You will understand their struggles and their dreams the same way we did when we were leading these workshops, and you’ll understand why the policies of the current administration are hurtful and wrong. 

You can find more information on the project at this link: http://www.shoutmousepress.org/layc

[thebombbag]

In February of 2015, Kathy Crutcher wrote me on the recommendation of friend and fellow comics editor Matt Dembicki, and asked if I’d like to do a comics workshop at the Gaithersburg Book Festival in exchange for a free table. Kathy’s email signature had her as the founder of Shout Mouse Press, a non-profit publisher that specialized in coaching teen writers, primarily from disenfranchised communities, and publishing their creations. I loved Shout Mouse’s model, and as I was packing up on my table after the book festival, I told Kathy I’d love to work with them in the future.

Later that year, in November of 2015, Kathy wrote me because she just finished reading ARISTS against POLICE BRUTALITY, the anthology I co-edited with Bill Campbell and John Jennings for Rosarium Publishing. Shout Mouse had just published OUR LIVES MATTER, a book where 30 teen authors from Washington DC wrote personal essays about race, inequality, violence, and justice against the backdrop of the #blacklivesmattermovement. Kathy and I had a drink and discussed the similarities between our books and ways that we could work together in the future.

The opportunity came in late 2016, two weeks after the Presidential Election. I just finished sending Colonial Comics: New England, 1750-1775 to my publisher and was planning Civics Tracts when Kathy wrote and asked if I’d be interested in participating in a project where first-generation Latinx teens would speak back to the current political climate by telling their personal stories in comic book form. I was on board from the start and started putting together my comics team.

Liz Laribee and I met with Kathy in December. We brought Evan Keeling and Santiago Casares on shortly after. We found a partner in the Latin American Youth Center (LAYC) and submitted a grant application to the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. The grant was approved, and starting in July we’ll be running a series of 8 comic-making workshops for a book that will be released in early 2018.

I’m very proud to be working with this team. We all met for the first time last night, and the amount of passion and energy in the room was infectious. We’re all coming together with the mission to help 18 young teenagers, young LEADERS, tell their stories of why they came to America, their hopes and dreams, and the problems they deal with day-to-day.

Workshops begin July 3rd. The book is set to be published in early 2018. Please follow the attached link for updates on the project. And thank you, as always, for your continued support.

[thebombbag]

Washington DC! I’ll be on two panels this year at Awesome Con. 

On Saturday June 17th @ 12:30PM I’ll sit with Arsia Rozegar and Carolyn Belefski to talk about my experiences with Kickstarter, primarily with my recent project THE LITTLE PARTICLE THAT COULD. This board book about particle physics (written by me, illustrated by Noel Tuazon, colored by Rob Croonenborghs, lettered by Jason Hanley, and with a cover by Dylan Todd) was originally asking for $4.5k and went on to raise $11.5k. I’ll be talking a lot about the marketing I put into the project, scaling to well above my expectation, and fulfilling rewards, I’m sure.

And then at 3:30PM on Saturday I’ll be moderating a panel on using comics to tell the history of DC. I did a short on the 1865 Washington Nationals for DISTRICT COMICS, but mainly I’m gonna sit back and let editor of DISTRICT COMICS and reDISTRICTED, Matt Dembicki, talk about his projects along with Jane Freundel Levey, managing editor of Washington History and consulting curator for the new George Washington University Museum, Rick Rosendall, immediate past president of the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance of Washington, and Mary Ann Zehr, English teacher at the Francis L. Cardozo Education Campus If you’re around, come on by! I won’t have a table at the show this year but I will have some copies of THE LITTLE PARTICLE THAT COULD and COLONIAL COMICS with me if you want to buy some, guerrilla style. 

[thebombbag]

That's all he ever wanted out of life... was love. That's the tragedy of Donald J. Trump. You see, he just didn't have any to give.

[thebombbag]

Trump, the Mad Titan

[thebombbag]

COLONIAL COMICS will be represented at this year's American Alliance of Museums' Annual Conference in St. Louis! #TransformiveEd: Exploring Difficult Subjects through Comics will discuss how museums can use comics to present and explain some of the difficult subject matter from their collections. Colonial Comics editor Jason Rodriguez will join:

- Evan Keeling, cartoonist and Smithsonian exhibit specialist, - Jenny Robb, curator of the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum, - Rafael Medoff, director of the David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies, and - Lawrence-Minh Davis, curator of the Smithsonian's Asian Pacific American Studies Center

in a panel moderated by Liz Laribee, Colonial Comics II contributor and the cartoonist behind Amira in America, a comic book and reference guide on refugee resettlement.

If you or anyone you know will be at #AAM2017, stop on by the Forces of Change track on Tuesday May 9 10:30-11:45 am!

Additionally, there will be two comics workshops at the show lead by Evan Keeling! CFM Lounge: Imagining Comics Futures Workshop on Monday, May 8, 2-3 PM and Tuesday, May 9, 2-3 PM. I'll be hanging around the workshops, most likely, making some comics.

[thebombbag]

Jason Rodriguez, aka @thebombbag, was lovely enough to grant me an interview about his work on the Colonial Comics New England series, out from Fulcrum Publishing. What makes these books special is their focus on the stories and the voices you haven’t heard before. Even the most ardent history buff will find something new here! Comics readers will be pleased by the amount of exploration and innovation with the medium on display. Jason offers insightful commentary on the process behind the books and the challenges endemic to creating a work that allows critical engagement with history at a younger grade level. Go check it out!

[thebombbag]

Update #11: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/JasonRodriguez/the-little-particle-that-could/posts/1808854, wherein my godson models his new SCIENCE LIFE tattoos and I talk about the importance of keeping our kids creative and curious. Excerpt: Kids have always fascinated me. They’re tiny scientists from the moment they’re born. Opening their eyes is their first experiment. Then it’s testingmuscles and neurons - figuring out how to control a hand. How to stand and how to walk and how to form words. One failed hypothesis after another; always trying a different approach to a task they’re trying to master. It’s kind of depressing to think that we now have to assure them that, yes, science is real. Yes, climate change is real. Yes, vaccines are safe. Yes, evolution is real. These kids have spent their early years as some of the bravest scientists imaginable - sacrificing life and limb just to figure out how to pull themselves onto your lap - and we have to tell them: “Yes. Curiosity and perseverance and methodology will continue to produce observable, repeatable, and defensible results. That is a real thing, no matter how many people tell you that it isn’t.”

[thebombbag]

This must be what talking to DJT is like.

[thebombbag]

We're announcing the Little Particle Street Team! Every week I'll be announcing new promotions that'll get you some free swag. All you have to do is follow the instructions for that week and you'll get that swag for FREE with your reward.  

Sharing is Caring - 2/1/2017-2/7/2017: Street Team! Who wants free stickers?  The purpose of this Kickstarter is to print a book, sure - but my purpose with this book is science advocacy. And what better way to show you're an advocate of science than with some fantastic, high-quality stickers to put on your laptop? How do you get these stickers? Simple - all you have to do is share the Kickstarter on any social media platform and send me a link to the share via the Kickstarter messaging system (here's a handy link for you). If your share isn't public (i.e., friends-only on Facebook), send me a screenshot of the share. If you share the link to this Kickstarter, you'll get one sticker. If you share the link AND say a little bit about WHY you supported this book and why others should, as well, you'll get both stickers. NOTE: This offer is only available to Street Team members who get a physical reward. It is not available to people who pledge at the $1 or $5 level.

If the project is successfully funded, these stickers will be offered as add-ons, but the Street Team gets free swag.

Back The Little Particle That Could here!

[thebombbag]

Good morning! We launched THE LITTLE PARTICLE THAT COULD Kickstarter today. Story by me, art by Noel Tuazon, colors by Rob Croonenborghs, cover by Dyan Todd, and letters by Jason Hanley.

I know there's a lot going on right now and the question some of you may be asking is, "Why are you launching a Kickstarter?"

The answer is: because there's a lot going on right now. Through the COLONIAL COMICS series, I've been able to put out nonfiction comics for middle graders/young adults that teach them about a history we're forgetting. In the future, I'll be co-editing the CIVICS TRACTS series to teach young adults (and a lot of adults) about the roles and history of our government. THE LITTLE PARTICLE THAT COULD represents the first step in a third track I'd like to focus on - science. Science is wonderful, and I want to help kids understand exactly how wonderful science is, because science is under attack right now.

THE LITTLE PARTICLE THAT COULD is the first step towards making difficult but fascinating science (in this case, particle physics) accessible to kids. The book is about two elementary particles who try to become friends. One is a graviton, a theoretical particle that guides the force of gravity; this invisible thing that pulls you down to earth (we say theoretical because the graviton hasn't been found yet - we just think it exists). The other is a photon, which is the source of the electromagnetic radiation we know as light. There are a countless number of these two tiny particles all around us. We can't see them, but one's keeping us from floating into space and the other's responsible for everything we see. The story follows the two particles away from earth and across the universe and into a black hole, a place where there are so many gravitons that they pull photons towards them.

If that doesn't capture a kids imagination...I don't know what will. Please like, share, pledge, etc. I promise you - this is my first step in a long journey towards defending science for the sake of future generations, part of a longer journey focused on teaching our history and our government. If we have a successful KickStarter, it will go towards seeding similar projects.

This is how I want to spend, at the very least, the next four years of my life. Thank you for your support.

[thebombbag]

Hello everyone! Today is the official release date of COLONIAL COMICS: NEW ENGLAND, 1750-1775. It's a beautiful book that I'm very proud of, and all of the creators involved have done a truly wonderful job bringing to life underrepresented stories from the period.

It's a really great book. A timely book. In an era of division and protest, it's nice to be able to draw parallels to a time when we came together as a series of colonies to form a new country. We didn't have all the answers then, and we have made a lot of mistakes since, but the COLONIAL COMICS series likes to celebrate the people and stories who were largely lost to our American narrative so that they can be celebrated as the heroes (and villains, in some instances) that they were.

Over on the FaceBook page (https://www.facebook.com/ColonialComics/) I've already shared previews from 10 of the stories, including stories about Nathan Hale's college days, young Benjamin Franklin, Crispus Attucks and Newton Prince, Colonial-era counterfeiters, Molly Ockett, the New England triangle trade, the Stamp Act riots, and Mercy Otis Warren.

I'll continue to post previews through Monday, as the stories get closer to the American Revolution and feature tales of grave robbers, the tea trade, civil disobedience, and a shot heard around the world.

Please feel free to share the FaceBook page (we're approaching 500 likes!), or any individual posts on the page. Tell your local bookstore to order a copy (we're published through Fulcrum Books and distributed through IPG), or order/share the book through Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Colonial-Comics-II-England-1750-1…/…/. If you're interested in a review copy, please reach out to me and let me know!

Thank you all for your continued support. And don't forget to check out the first volume in the series, COLONIAL COMICS: NEW ENGLAND, 1620-1750: https://www.amazon.com/…/dp/1938486307/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_2…

[thebombbag]

Fast forward 30 years.

[thebombbag]

It's been a week, and I've done a lot of convalescing and thinking over that week and not as much posting, but now I think I'm really ready to start doing something. And that something is CIVICS TRACTS - a series of disposable comics tracts aimed at educating the public on the role and function of government and their part in this complicated machine.

My friend Chris Artiga-Oliver turned me onto this,we started a FB group, and I just posted my first information gathering post. I wanted to introduce the group on Tumblr, so that I can direct some folks to it in an effort to bring some early helpers in. Here’s a high-level look at what we'd like to do.

Jack Chick, for all of his faults, develop a publication and distribution model that worked very well. Disposable comics with a consistent format that aimed for maximum distribution and education on a topic. Of course, he was educating people on a pretty hardcore concept of Christianity, and his distribution was targeted primarily at perceived sinners, but the model was sound. We want to emulate that model, but substitute Christianity for non-partisan civics lessons and substitute perceived sinners for the people who may not understand the role and function of government. My thought is that an informed populace will make for an informed voting population, and comics would be a great way to educate the public.

The tracts will have a simple, four color cover, B&W interiors with footnotes to sources for additional information, and pointers to a Civics Tracts website that has additional tracts, resources, and data. We will probably Kickstart the efforts two or three tracts at a time,at first, focusing on micro-donations with rewards being nothing but packs of tracts that the funders would distribute themselves - to family and friends, local comic and book stores, coffee shops and diners, DMVs and doctor's offices. Either targeted distribution in cooperation with these places or just leaving them lying around, waiting to be picked up.

We have needs. Civics and Kickstarter experts. Writers, historians, and artists. People who work within the government. Reviewers and devil's advocates. Web developers and designers. Distributors and fans. But, mainly, people who believe in the concept and who want to see it succeed, but who won't feel the need to shoulder any burden outside of what they have time for. And all of this done regardless of what side of the political spectrum you fall on. These are going to be educational, non-partisan comics. Plenty of my friends are signing on to handle the partisan stuff, I'd like to do something non-partisan and educational.

I'm going to be setting up some administrative stuff - webpages and templates, style guides and rules. And I’m hoping that my friends in history and comics join the group and help us shape it into something meaningful and worthwhile. This is something that I really believe in. Hopefully some of you will, as well, or at least help me make it into something you can believe in, too.

[thebombbag]

I was over at Donald Trump’s twitter page and realized that he only follows 41 people. While I was looking at who he followed, I quickly realized that it was almost entirely surrogates, friendly reporters and news organizations, and family. Considering how much time Trump spends tweeting, and assuming that Trump probably gets a lot of his news from his twitter feed, I decided I wanted to try and see the world as Donald Trump sees it. I set up a twitter account (https://twitter.com/TrumpFollowing) and followed all 41 accounts that Donald Trump followed. I then scrolled down through the past 24-hours of content, copied everything on the webpage, pasted it into Excel, deleted all of the extraneous lines of text (“so-and-so retweeted”, the likes and reply lines, etc…it took A WHILE), and dumped the remaining text into a word-cloud generator (https://tagul.com/). I dropped some words – really only words we see in webpages (http, bit, Ly, com, etc.) – and put the result into a nuclear detonation shape, since Trump is exploding right now.

The result was pretty interesting to me. Lots of mention of Trump and Clinton, as to be expected, but a lot of the other prominent words are indicative of Clinton scandals or conspiracies. “Email” is a very popular word, undoubtedly discussing HRC’s email “scandal” but probably also discussing Wikileak’s Podesta dumps (both Wikileak and Podesta are pretty prominent in the cloud). “Debate” was pretty popular as were “State” and “Haiti” and “GOP.” We see “corrupt” and “crooked” standing out. “CNN” and “Obama”…basically, Trump’s twitter feed is filled with people lashing out against Clinton, Democrats, the media, and the GOP. That’s what he sees…all day.

Clinton’s, on the other hand, is remarkably different. First of all, Hillary follows 758 people. Sure, a lot of them are state offices and special orgs for Hillary Clinton, but a lot of them are just people. They’re actual people with protected accounts who do more than tweet about Donald Trump and his controversies. Hillary rarely sends her own tweets and I doubt she ever scrolls through her feed; It’s probably mostly seen by staff. But I followed all of the people she was following, copied and formatted the text, and made a heart-shaped word cloud because #ImWithHer. I couldn’t pull 24-hours’ worth of tweets, I had to settle for 2 hours since her feed is significantly busier.

So, what’s in her cloud? With the exception of a HUGE “Trump” right there in the middle…there are really not a lot of “negative” Trump words at the top. In fact, the second most popular word on Hillary’s feed is “vote,” which should at least be somewhat indicative of the enthusiasm and the ground game. Other dominant words tend to be just POSITIVE: new, day, today, go, women, elect, here, support, follow, talk, poll, etc.

You have to really squint to see negative words like Giuliani and…what else is there in that cloud? I don’t see a whole lot.

So, basically, when Donald Trump (and his staff) log onto Twitter, most of what they see are hit pieces against Hillary Clinton. When Hillary Clinton (and her staff) log onto Twitter, most of what they see are people mobilizing folks to get out and vote.

I’ll take Hillary’s world, any day of the week. PS - If you want to play with the data, I uploaded Trump’s followers tweets (https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B37Zh0hxMkwieEt6eFRaWDJsVVk/view?usp=sharing) and Clinton’s follower’s tweets (https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B37Zh0hxMkwia1o5elF4YWw3dE0/view?usp=sharing) on the internets. Enjoy!

[thebombbag]

If you’re wondering why the past 72 hours have been so painful, it’s because we’re all BASICALLY rewatching BREAKING BAD’s “Ozymandias.”