Lately I've been working on the perennial Kelly family zine, "Stupid Tales of Wolverine," by drawing a lot of cheesy one-page comics about the X-Men, which I've been posting on Flickr every couple of days. My favorite so far is "Encounter at Claw Point", a Star Trek: The Next Generation crossover. This was cathartic for me to draw because it includes the gruesome death of that harpy Dr. Pulaski. 'Bout time.

If you have any ideas for Wolverine crossover comics I should do, feel free to suggest them.

A discussion took place recently on I Blame the Patriarchy about Dorthea Lange's iconic "Migrant Mother" photograph, and an NPR expert who described, not the photo, but the woman in the photo as "very beautiful." One insightful patriarchy-blamer observed:

The camera caught her in a moment of vulnerability, resigned, anxious, which is viewed as quite beautiful in women, because it means you have no power.

Another examined the conflation of feminine beauty and vulnerability in more detail.

More than any other of my deeply-held ideologies (atheism, pacifism) I fear that my feminist beliefs are poorly served by my decision to be a visual artist. Visual depictions of women are steeped in sexism, odalisques and madonnas sneak into every image like strangers in vacation snapshots. Francisco Clemente said that an artist is someone who's made the choice to observe reality, rather than improve it. I would like to dismiss this as a cop-out but I do feel powerless.

Reality is an antidote for stereotype, however. So here are the five other photos Dorthea Lange took of Florence Owens Thompson and her children.

New things on my etsy site today: antler earrings, honeymoon zine, commission a drawing.

What am I excited about? Secondhand electronics from the thrift store. A couple of weeks ago I got an ipod stereo for the kitchen for $15, and a little $20 vacuum cleaner. Yesterday I got a scanner at the thrift store for five bucks. Today I'm off to Fred Meyer for the proper USB cable, but when I get back, I'll scan some drawings. Finally!

Some Stumptown/book release fallout follows:

Global Hobo posted Ariadne auf Naxos on their site with a pretty good explanation of the title.

Haunted Happenings PDX said of Flesh and Bone: "this is an adult tale of lost love and demonology. Well paced, dark without being mean, this work conveys the morose, heavy damp feeling a broken heart can infect upon an otherwise sane mind."

Secret Acres incorrectly claimed that I am not an asshole.

Neighborhood Notes called me one of Portland's rising comics stars.

And a liberal arts college in the Midwest ordered 34 copies of my book for their graphic novels curriculum.