HAPPY WORLD BOOK DAY! Fact: One of the cruelest questions a person can ask a book lover is to name their favorite book. Rather than compiling my definitive “Favorite Books Ever”, here are some of the books I love. What about you? What books do you like? Do we share any of the same favorite…
The Seeing-Spectacles of Aberdeen Gray: a Short Story / Zine by Jess Smart Smiley Check out this 8-page mini zine I made out of a single sheet of paper and keep reading to find out how you can print and fold your own copy! What’s Inside The whole story is in this tiny, pocket-size zine…
The Book No One Wants to Read by Beth Bacon Wow! What a brilliant, wonderful experience! This book tells jokes, keeps secrets, plays games, and makes deals with the reader (while also endearing the reader to the power of words in the most delightful and clever ways). This wildly subversive celebration of literacy (including visual…
Honeycomb by Joanne M. Harris with illustrations by Charles Vess 432 pages Dark Fantasy / Mythology / Folk Tales / Fantasy / Adventure Aesop’s Fables meets the Brothers Grimm in this brilliant, glittering, gushing collection of fantastic fairy tales and folklore, written in thoughtful prose and masterfully illustrated by living legend Charles Vess. From the…
Read on to learn more about: Creating my 224-page rough draft in 3 weeks while stuck in bed Finding beta readers to proofread my graphic novel Setting up surveys and forms to gather feedback from beta readers Using reader feedback to revise my graphic novel Hi! My name is Jess Smart Smiley. I’m an author/illustrator…
Over the last 4 or 5 years, PEOW has quickly become one of my favorite indie comics publishers. Founded by Elliot Alfredius, Olle Forsslöf and Patrick Crotty, in Stockholm, Sweden, PEOW publishes a unique brand of beautifully-produced risograph comics from around the world. While the heavy shipping costs to the US have been cost-prohibitive for…
I teach comics workshops to children, teens, and adults. Most of my students are new to writing and/or drawing, and come with equal parts excitement and anxiety. I feel like my role is to make the creation process fun and accessible, while allowing the students to pursue whichever styles/genres/approaches interest them most. Week-long comics workshops…