Pride Month/Bike Summer is here!

I'll let you be the judge here:

Hi patrons! Happy Pride Month.

It's also the start of Bike Summer in Portland. I've been struggling to balance comics productivity, socializing, rest, and Doing Good™. I have to remind myself that I physically can't join a group bike ride on NE Sandy to advocate for bike lanes, read the comics pile next to my bed, support every local theater company, and finish a postcard at the same time. Cities are so great, and FOMO is so real!

I found one way to pair art and local bike advocacy. There are people who table at the PSU farmer's market and Sunday Parkways, talking to passersby about road safety and giving tips to interested-but-hesitant bike riders. I'm now on their list of sign painters. After years of painting 4"x6" watercolors, this was a fun change of pace!

This next sketch was a response to an out-of-context exchange on BlueSky:

I had a great time with this cover. I started with the concept of "separating the art from the artist," googled something like "superhero tearing a guy apart," and found a Marvel panel to rip off. After that, I added as many horses, cars, and New York-coded buildings as possible.

This sketchbook page was some venting. Apparently the cut of pants that don't fit me at all are back in style. Also, verbal communication is hard.

Shoulder Angel's singing a bit from Assassins, a Sondheim musical with a self-explanatory title. I played in the orchestra pit for a college production, so if the soundtrack is stuck in my head, the soundtrack is thoroughly stuck in my head.

Shoulder Angel's Weekend Guide:
Joe Turner's Come and Gone (Portland Playhouse) through 6/8 - Portland Playhouse + August Wilson? Sign me up! Some federal funding for this production got yanked back at the last minute because apparently a mega-famous play about Black Pittsburghers by one of the Great American Playwrights isn't sufficiently aligned with American values or something. So you can have a great evening and stick it to DOGE if you go!

Assassins (Fuse Theatre Company) through 6/15 - I have a soft spot for this show. Musical pastiche, deeply relatable sentiments of alienation, disillusion and anger, and some seriously zany characters. I know this theatre company and about a third of the cast from other shows, so I feel comfortable saying that this production is not-to-be-missed! Plus it's GAY AF (Give As You're Able, Friends) aka pay what you will!

BwPCon on 6/7 - a free one-day outdoor comics fest at Books With Pictures! There's programming for various ages and interest levels, from kids' workshops to portfolio reviews.

If you're on my Patreon, you probably know that Alison Bechdel has a new book out and is currently on tour. But just in case: Now you know! I'm already on my second read-through of SPENT. It feels like the best combo of memoir and a Dykes to Watch Out For reunion.

I got to see Alison Bechdel speak at Powells, to a crowd who would look right at home in the background of a Dykes to Watch Out For panel:

If you've made it this far, thanks for reading and thanks for supporting me on Patreon!