A page of “Meat” by Elizebeth Neronski, from our new food-themed anthology Sprouts:

Pre-order our new food-themed anthology Sprouts by May 13 to get it signed, sketched, and shipped for free! Pre-orders increase our first print run – get your copy now and help us cut down on trips to the printer! Tell your friends! (seriously, it’s a big help)

Transcript of comic: [Read more →]

This coming Saturday, May 5 is Free Comic Book Day, that magical time of year when specialty shops give away comics to encourage people to read them. These are the shops in our region we know of that are participating (leave any additions or correction in comments):

• Bob’s Hobbies & Collectibles (413) 781-2627 659 Dickinson Street, Springfield, MA
• Bob’s Hobbies II: Comics & More (413) 586-5667  62 King Street, Northampton, MA
• The Comic Store (603) 881-4855 115 Northeastern Blvd, Nashua, NH
• Comic Boom 22 West St, Keene, NH
• Double Midnight Comics 245 Maple St, Manchester, NH
• Earth Prime Comics (802) 863-3666 154 Church St, Burlington, VT
• Fantasy Realms (413) 445-8809 222 Elm Street, Pittsfield, MA
• Jetpack Comics 37 North Main St., Rochester, NH
• Liberty Books & Comics 75 Allison St, Concord, NH
• Main Vein Comics (413) 773-7775 74 Federal St, Greenfield, MA
• Modern Myths 34 Bridge St. #4, Northampton, MA
• Toy City 133 Key Rd, Keene, NH
• Triple Play 1 Glen Road Unit 3, West Lebanon, NH
• Wonder Cards & Comics (802) 476-4706 445 Rt. 302, Barre, VT

You can also find a store near you using the Store Locater.

Pre-order our new food-themed anthology Sprouts by May 13 to get it signed, sketched, and shipped for free! Pre-orders increase our first print run, so get your copy now and help us cut down on trips to the printer!

Here’s a page from “Dinos in My Tummy” by Madsahara (who by the way is having an Open Studio this Saturday):

Transcript: [Read more →]

Trees & Hills artist Madsahara is having an Open Studio this coming Saturday, May 5 from 1 to 8 PM at 270 Western Ave, Brattleboro, VT. Check out the paintings, illustrations, hand-painted furniture, books, and paper goods on the Art Porch! Trees & Hills organizer Colin Tedford will be on hand selling comics in his best imaginary checkered jacket.

Pre-order our new food-themed anthology Sprouts now to get it signed, sketched, and shipped for free! Pre-orders help us increase our first print run, so if you plan to get a copy, why not do it now and help us cut down on trips to the printer? (Our previous food anthology Seeds went through several printings.)

Here’s a page from “Soup Swap” by Anne Thalheimer:

Transcript: [Read more →]

Our next, food-themed, anthology Sprouts is now available for pre-order! Here’s a page from “The World Seed Situation” by Bill Tulp:

Transcript: [Read more →]

Now in its tenth year, MoCCA is one of the bigger indie comics conventions of the year, and a fundraiser for the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art. Check their MoCCA Fest page for exhibitor and (eventually) attendee information.

April 28-29, 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM
69th Regiment Armory, 68 Lexington Ave, New York, NY

April 15, 2:00 PM – 6:00 PM
Washington Street Art Center, 321D Washington St, Somerville, MA

Come see Trees & Hills at the Spring Zine Thing at the Washington Street Art Center in Somerville, MA on Sunday, April 15 from 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM. Here’s what the organizers have to say:

This will be an opportunity to sell or swap zines, hang out, and chat with other zine makers and enthusiasts. Everyone who comes can contribute to a group zine or make your own at our zine-making table…We will be having a staffed table area designated for first-time zine publishers’ work, or anyone who just has one zine they want to put up for sell or trade…We are planning to have some short readings too, so holler if you are up for that.

Megan and Marissa of Small Craft Advisory (organizers of the Bazaar Bizarre Boston) are really excited to host this event. Marissa Falco has been making zines since 1995 and just can’t get enough. Her most recent zines include Miss Sequential and META. Check our her work at http://marissaland.com/. Megan is an artist working at WSAC, mostly in cut paper and printmaking. She hasn’t made a zine since 1995 and is using this event to try it on again. Check out her neglected blog at http://meganmary.com/.

The Washington Street Art Center is located in Union Square, at 321 Washington Street, right on the 86 bus line. WSAC is a 15 minute walk from Harvard Square or Central Square on the red line, as well as from Sullivan Square on the orange line. The following bus routes run through the neighborhood: 69, 83, 85, 87, and 91. Off-street parking is free and ample. Check us out at http://washingtonst.org/

Submissions for our next anthology, Sprouts, are due in less than a month! Haven’t found a topic yet? Here are a few ideas to get the wheels turning:

Try searching for any of these terms in combination with place names near you: agribusiness, agriculture, baked bean dinner, church dinner, community garden, community kitchen, CSA (community-supported agriculture), dairy, farm, farmer(s), farmer’s market, fish, food bank, food co-op, food festival, food justice, food processing, food preservation, food production, food security, fruit, garden(ing), GMOs (genetically-modified organisms), grain, harvest festival, herbs, heirloom varieties, honey, hunger, hunting, local food, locavore / localvore, meat, organic farming, pancake breakfast, permaculture, potluck, seasonal eating, seed saving, soil building, soil degradation, traditional food/meal, vegetables, wild edibles. In addition to these terms, try specific types of food (alone and in combination with “festival”). I’ve no doubt missed lots of rich topics, so suggest some in the comments.

Check out these links for possible inspiration:

• YES! Magazine on food – lots of relevant articles, and the way they approach stories provides good examples to follow. That link is to search results – if it doesn’t work, just enter “food” in their search box (here’s the main page). Don’t adapt their articles without permission. Do use as one of several sources, or to gather ideas about what kind of local projects to look for.
• Post Oil Solutions – a group based in Brattleboro, VT that has a lot of cool food projects. You could do a story about them or one of their projects, or use their list as a guide to types of projects to look for in your own area (one example: they’ve acquired an EBT reader so people on food benefits can shop at the farmer’s market).
• Kitchen Gardeners International – blog posts on the whys and hows of gardening, plus links to local groups.
• This article on changing the law to allow more sales of homemade food is about California, but I’m pretty sure this is or has been an active issue in our region.

We’ll post some advice about some general ways you might approach your comic shortly; in the meantime, good luck and we look forward to seeing your comics!

Congratulations to New Hampshire cartoonist Stephanie Piro, who has been nominated for a Reuben!