When I started this Substack in 2023, I worried that it wasn’t a great idea to waste time sharing silly sketchbook comics about my youthful adventures, when the current world situation called for something much more serious. In 2026, I still feel that way. Last week, when I read about what was going on in Minnesota, I couldn’t bring myself to post anything. Who needs comics, in the face of events like these?
Last week, when I was asking myself that question, I remembered this conversation from comic strip written after September 1, 2001. (I’ll share the whole thing another time.)
He was right, and I never forgot that conversation. Art is important, even in terrible times. In fact, the more terrible the times, the more important it is, to make art! So, this week, I’m back to post my next episode. But before you read my old comic, here’s a shout-out to a project that’s using the power of visual stories to share information and create community, in a way that’s much more connected to the current situation.
A couple of weeks ago, cartoonist K. Woodman-Maynard put out a call for cartoonists to write and draw about what’s happening in Minnesota (and elsewhere in the US) right now.
#ICEOutComics
Together with Minnesota cartoonists Jason Walz, and Trung Le Nguyen, as well as the awesome Indiana-based graphic novelist Nate Powell, Woodman-Maynard used the hashtag #iceoutcomics to “call out to cartoonists and artists to make four-panel comics about the personal impact I.C.E. is having on their lives.” I found out about this powerful initiative when I saw a comic on Instagram by Canadian cartoonist Susan MacLeod. Here’s her first panel.
Susan was not the only non-American to contribute. When I looked at the Instagram post calling for cartoonists and artists to share their stories, I saw something pretty amazing: Dozens and dozens of responses from artists around the world, volunteering to illustrate other people’s experiences, offering to use their skills to help tell these stories. That gives me hope, and it reminds me of the power of comics. To find out more, you can read about the project in this article for The Daily Cartoonist by Alan Gardner. You can follow K. Woodman-Maynard’s Substack (I just did!) and read her post about why she wanted to do this: I found it extremely relatable, as well as inspiring. It reminded me that the people who are going to get us through these hard times, are ordinary people like you and like me. We just have to do it.
American travel comics
After all that, here’s this week’s episode. It was supposed to continue a web comic I started in 2001. It just happens that the first few pages were about travels to America. This story is not about anything important, but I decided to post it anyway. It’s a record of how things used to be, back when it was no big deal (for me, at least) to travel back and forth across the border between Canada and the United States. I think that it’s useful to keep these kinds of records. Things were not always the way they are, now. That’s good to remember, sometimes.
(A little reference to an excellent Bob Dylan song on that last page, “Tell Me That It Isn’t True.”)
Walking around downtown Chicago on my layover, I found “Victoria’s Secret,” a store I’d heard about, but never seen, because it wasn’t in Canada back then. I felt obligated to go in and check it out. Apologies for the scandalous picture!
The next pages tell the story of another American trip: this time, to San Francisco. I invited my then-boyfriend to come along.
Looks like the Adelaide Hostel is still around. I remember I chose it because it was near to Union Square, where our flight crew hotel was located, so I knew my way around that part of town.
Why did I go to San Francisco? For the Alternative Press Expo, which was happening in the Herbst Pavilion (here’s a 2015 article I found about the history of this cool building, right on the waterfront). A few months before, I’d contributed to a comics anthology called 9-11 Emergency Relief, published by Alternative Comics. I went to San Francisco to be part of a panel at APE. I drew some of the other panellists: James Kochalka, Fly, Laurenn McCubbin, and publisher Jeff Mason. I wrote about meeting Jeff Mason at the San Diego Comic Con in this episode a while back.
In a way, that September 11th anthology had a few things in common with the #iceoutcomics initiative mentioned above. All the contributors donated their work. The book was created with the hope that the stories would help the community to get through a challenging situation. The proceeds of the book were donated to the American Red Cross.
I wish I’d stuck around to get to know some of those comics people better! But after the panel, my boyfriend and I left to explore the town.
That night, I had a dream.
Thanks for reading. I hope your dreams are peaceful, and your travels are safe. Most of all, I hope you find stories that help you get through all this. That’s what comics are for!