Joe Bonham Project on the Cartoon Picayune

(Photo credit: Josh Kramer, Cartoon Picayune.)

 This past weekend, the Joe Bonham Project's second public exhibition was held at the Pepco Edison Place Gallery in Downtown D.C. The reception was well attended and the feedback was incredible, it has been a great experience working with so many wonderful veterans alongside some seriously talented and incredibly gracious artists.

Josh Kramer of the Cartoon Picayune has some nice things to share about the opening, check out his coverage here on the Cartoon Picayune website.

Victor Juhasz posted some really fun photos on his Drawger page of the installation with a few of the other artists, you can see the photos and his reflections on the whole process here.

Bethesda Part One + Haditha/Katrina Shout-Outs

Here's the Bethesda comic in its entirety so far. This story was told to me by First Lieutenant Michael Rhoads of the Marines in late April of this year at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center with other artists from the Society of Illustrators. More stories from Nathan Rimpf and Joshua Wetzel will be added later, probably in late October when the residency is winding down.

*EDIT* I've posted the color version I created in March 2013.

This story will be available as a mini-comic at next week's Small Press Expo in Bethesda, MD. It also appears in the forthcoming issue of  The Cartoon Picayune, Issue #4 Distress. There was a nice mention of the CP issue and Haditha/Katrina comic on the SPX blog. Haditha/Katrina also got some nice shout-outs on Graphic Ladies Tumblr, and the Symbolia website (albeit pixelated as all heck).

Add caption

Bethesda Ink Page Nine

I like the way this page sorted itself out. I am improving my lettering, but had so many other ideas on how to make letters and design things after I finished this ten pager. I will wait to post the full version until closer to the publication date. I am pretty happy with it. I'm going to visit Walter Reed again on Tuesday, this time I think I will focus on getting good drawings rather than good stories. Carrying around an audio recorder makes me feel like a jerk, so I'm not sure I'll use it. I have new stories to work on and that's been occupying my thoughts. Gearing up also to print some comics for the Small Press Expo. I aim to have copies of The City Chickens, Bethesda (Pt. 1), and Haditha Katrina (Pt. 1) at the expo.

I've recently read this essay by Josiah White, an Iraq War veteran and former Marine, who I have been in touch with and am working with on a comic story. It is beautifully done, read it when you can, it's very good.