Dog Party Wave

I can’t tell you what day this happened. It happened years ago when I was still going through some stuff. I didn’t think to write it down that day. But this moment has been burned into my memories forever.

I’m literally the writer and artist of a nature comic, so it goes without saying I love animals. But bonding with an animal while surfing was special. The dog saw me on my wave and came chasing for me. All I remember seeing was a happy collection of spots, eyes, and teeth running next to me and my board. It was just a moment before I crashed into the water myself. But wow, what a moment.

This is why I tell these stories These are the surf stories that matter the most. Big waves? Sounds fun. Competitions? Neat. Olympics? All righty. Party wave with a dog? Now that’s truly a miracle.

-Love, Joolz

Gay-Jacent

I’ve always struggled with the question “Am I gay enough to be considered queer?”

See, in all my years of being a freely divorced woman, I never dated people of different genders. I…had done some noteworthy things, but I never felt “gay” enough to commit to the whole queer label. And this is me exploring that in a comic.

Sexual orientation is a spectrum, not a binary thing. I’ve had my share of queer feelings. I’ve consumed plenty of queer media. I just wasn’t sure if I was on the team or just an ally. Recently, I feel like I’ve gotten clearer with myself on my queerness and queer identity. Do I even have a queer identity? I don’t know. I’ve always just called myself a “tom boy” without thinking too much deeper on what that could mean.

Also, I thought everyone had a crush on Christina Hendricks in the 2010’s.

Anyway, I’m probably gonna use this month to make more queer-questioning comics like this. I have thoughts. I must spin them into pixels for great funnies.

-Love, Joolz

A Tribute to Peter David and Spiderman 2099

In Memoriam: Peter David

This weekend, we lost comics great Peter David, aka the dude who created Spider-man 2099. His widow is still collecting to pay off his Medical Debts and other final expenses. I'll save my thoughts on how Marvel and so many other major entertainment companies didn't contribute a red cent to Peter David's recovery for another time.

In 2023, I did a bunch of Miguel O'Hara comics after nearly being thirst trapped to death from Into the Spider-verse. I made them because I wanted to manifest a hot vampire guy like Miguel in my life.

Did it work? Did I attract a laser ninja vampire Spider-man with great legs? I rarely discuss my personal life anymore, but let’s just say I’m an extremely powerful witch and just like the cops, I always get my man.

Thank you, Peter David. Thank you for showing me I could dream bigger. We should all aspire to the hottest laser ninja vampire Spider-man we can get.

Free Sinus Cleaning

Just the other day I was vibing at Ocean Beach catching waves and feeling cute. I saw a wave coming at me that wasn’t quite big enough to ride so I figured I’d let it pass me. Maybe it might smack my body a little, but I didn’t do much to dodge the wave’s force. That wave turned out to be much stronger than I expected because ALL of the ocean went straight up my nostrils.

Feel the glory and glamor of surfing.

I love surfing. I love the salt burn. But wow that really was a lot of water up my nostrils. I could’ve done without that. Next time I’ll block the wave with my board. You can use it like a huge shield.

-Love, Joolz

Wall of Text

I wasn’t trying to get sucked into The Discourse, but here I am getting sucked into The Discourse.

A comics artist recently put out a webcomic on their personal Instagram about a Cartoon Rabbit who perceives another Artist getting a lot of attention, but only because this person is implied to be part of a special group. The cartoon rabbit calls the Artist’s work “Cal-Arts adjacent”, “mediocre” and “garbage.” The vibe is very “You only got published here cuz you’re diverse.” Clearly, this person has a problem with stories published by socially marginalized people just because they exist.

But the comic itself is also mediocre. The Projection is just…wow.

There are many cardinal comics sins in this thing: the dreaded wall of text. Wonky paneling. Characters with zero personality. And the whole punchline is “Nah, we don’t really enjoy this person’s work. We just say we do to look good.” Which is not much of a punchline. I mean sure, the publishing industry is performative AF. I’ll co-sign that. But to imply that anyone reads queer or POC comics because they’re trendy or virtue signaling short sells them. Dare to believe a POC could make a comic that’s actually good because it’s a unique emotional experience. One you wouldn’t get from the average, mediocre Becky.

And if you can’t relate to that, I’m sorry you hate surfing.

Queer people and People of Color can get to places the average Becky can’t. That’s why our stories are interesting. I have so many comics about surfing. I’m an insane Island Woman with many insane stories to share. I wouldn’t have ended up a surfer if I wasn’t descended from the Caribbean. My flavor makes me special. My surfer stories are about trying not to step on stingrays. I impart Island Woman humor one angry pancake at a time and nobody else serves surfer girl cartoons like I do.

Anyway this is meant to be a lesson for the rest of you. Sure, you can add your spicy opinion to the discourse, especially to help promote your book with An Actually Big Publisher. Marketing is hard. I get it. But be warned. Other artists are watching you. We’re taking notice of how loud and wrong you are.

And we will absolutely call your wall of text with a toothless punchline mid.

Gifted Adult

This is one of those aspirational strips. I don’t actually get out that often to drink mimosas with friends. Honestly, I don’t even drink much anymore. And the location isn’t real. But gosh, doesn’t this look like a great place to talk about my Giftedness? I would love to talk about my weird brain over mimosas in a La Jolla-ish restaurant.

Being a Gifted Kid can be a burden. Everyone expects us to be workhorses for capitalism the second they find out we’re “smart.” This is what leads to overwork and Gifted Kid Burnout. Classes get harder. Expectations go higher. Most of us Gifted Kids would rather collect yarn samples than train for yet another standardized test. And there are no prizes for growing into adulthood for Gifted Kids. We go from “Oh good you can get a bunch of grades and make us look good” to “Why the hell are you still obsessed with Sonic the Hedgehog?” From adorable child prodigy to misunderstood madmen. That’s what it means to be a Gifted Kid gone Adult.

But I overcame the odds. I actually came good on the demands of capitalism. I leveled up in my career. Built my own slapdash animation studio out of my gumption and a roll of scotch tape. That’s worth celebrating! Good job, Me. I’m the Child Prodigy who became a Regular Prodigy.

Have I had difficult depression years? Sure. But that wasn’t Gifted Kid Burnout. That was good old-fashioned situational depression. And I’m good now.

Celebrate an adult’s Giftedness today.