Reading Is Dangerous

I drew this comic to illustrate the essay "Clunkers" by James McWilliams in the July 7 NY Times Sunday Book Review. The article is a hilarious musing on books as projectiles, and probably the most fun piece I've had the chance to illustrate. Thanks to ADs Rex Bonomelli and Nicholas Blechman for the gig!

American Art

The latest comic in my series "Who Needs Art" is up on Medium.com. It's a reflective stroll through a gallery of 20th-century American art.

In other exciting news, a few of my comics were selected to appear in the Best American Comics 2013! It's not available in stores until October, but you can see the cover (by the incomparable Kate Beaton) here.

Some other places you can find my work:
The Hic and Hoc Illustrated Journal of Humor, an outstanding collection of humor comics edited by Lauren Barnett and Nathan Bulmer.
Alternative Comics #4, featuring an equally star-studded lineup of cartoonists.
The "Nerds for Hire" podcast, where I discuss freelancing as a visual artist with hosts Non Wells and Mindy Holahan.

When You Are Gone

This comic began as an initial sketch to illustrate an essay about the future of books. The essay offered a somewhat bleak view of the literary world to come - a publishing market controlled by devices and e-reading platforms with a dwindling readership and fewer opportunities for authors. Unfortunately, the essay was cancelled. I decided to finish the comic anyway. Maybe nostalgia for the printed word is premature and misguided, but I'll always prefer books in their traditional form.

There are worlds...

You can order a poster at my shop.

Message to a Graduate

Rules for Freelancers

This is the second of a set of comics I drew for Red Lemon Club, a site with articles and resources for creative professionals started by illustrator Alex Mathers. The secret to success in any creative field includes a cape, a Holden Caulfied hat, and a small herd of trained elephants.

Day Jobs of the Poets

This comic is factual, but it requires a couple clarifications: Wallace Stevens was an executive at an insurance company, not your average insurance salesman. And there's no evidence that Emily Dickinson liked cats, but her sister Lavinia was cat-obsessed. So Emily must have been forced to cat-sit occasionally.

You can order a poster here.

A Cartoon for Earth Day

Happy Earth Day! Enjoy your supercontinental breakfast.

Tie Chi

How to Make Write

This drawing appears alongside a NYT Opinionator Draft essay by Henry Hitchings about the use of nominalization in writing. One type of nominalization is the appropriation of verbs as nouns, leading to attention-grabbing (and annoyance-inducing) phrases like the ones found in this comic. You can also see the illustration and article in print in the March 31 NYT Sunday Review. Thanks to AD Matt Dorfman for the gig!

Creative Blocks

Disclaimer

One of the most difficult questions to answer is "What do you want to be when you grow up?"

As always, you can order a poster of this comic at my shop.

Genius Is...

I drew this comic for Red Lemon Club, a great site of advice and inspiration for creative professionals. Thanks to illustrator and creative blogger Alex Mathers for the gig! Be sure to check out his other site, Ape on the Moon, for interviews and portfolios from a vast array of illustrators.

You can order a poster at my shop.

Performance-Enhancing Drugs for Writers

I don't advocate drug use - unless it leads to great works of literature.

You can order a poster at my shop.

What Is Love?

The hardest part of writing about love is choosing just one metaphor.

You can order a poster at my shop.