Kate Beaton's Blog, page 6

Hark, A Vagrant: Sexy Science

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All this time you wait... and you get this!? I know.



It's my firm belief that if we knew how sexy science really was, we wouldn't have dropped out of school like we did. Joke's on us right? I can't even read.



I'm illustrating a kids book right now and it's silly and fun.



Just so you know though, I do post comics, mostly journal sketches, on my tumblr, along with other things I find interesting. Do come along for that ride as well! Here is a link.

Hark, A Vagrant: Shane

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I had a little time so I drew this silly comic about Shane.



COME BACK SHAAYYYNNEEEE



Marian should have hit that

Hark, A Vagrant: Ida B Wells

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Ida! If she's not your hero, she should be. She's mine.



I gave an interview for the Appendix Journal, and cited her as a figure I'd like to make a comic about, but found it a hard thing, so that it never happened. The reason is easy - if you read about the things Ida Wells fought against, you won't laugh. You'll cry, I guarantee. And I thought, well I can't touch that woman with my dumb internet jokes, she's serious business. And she is.



But then, people use my comics as a launching device to learn history, and I would hope that part of what I do is to celebrate history, not just poke fun at the easy targets.



Anyway, I first saw a picture of Ida B. Wells at the Chicago History Museum. She was protesting the lack of African American representation . And I am not sure what it was, but the image stuck with me. You could feel a power in the presence of the lady with the pamphlets. I found out later that she was also handing out information on the terrible truths of lynching in America, a crusade that she is best known for, and rightly so. Her writing on the topic is readily available on the internet, and if you read it, well you'll spend a good deal of time wondering at the terribleness of humanity, but you'll also note that she knew how to handle a volatile topic like that with an audience who didn't want to hear it. But, Ida fought against injustice wherever she saw it. You'll be happy to know, that at the 1913 Suffragist Parade in Washington, she was told to go to the back, but joined in the middle anyway.



I'll leave you with this, a review of Paula J. Giddings' Ida: A Sword Among Lions, from the Washington Post. Go forth, marvel at this woman, who was the best. Did I mention she was one of the first women in the country to keep her name when she married? A founding member of the NAACP? Ida! Just pioneer everything.

Hark, A Vagrant: Batch of comics 10

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Hello my friends!


It's been a while. I'm trying to stretch these comic making muscles again, so here are a load of sketchy sillies. In the past year, I've been doing some work in books and tv, as I've mentioned, some of it working out and some of it not. But I'm very excited to tell you that I just finished this book with Scholastic, which should be out next fall! It's a lot of fun and I hope you will like it!



I'm working on the sequel to the Hark A Vagrant book next with Drawn and Quarterly, so good news, you'll be seeing comics more frequently! And I miss making them.

Hark, A Vagrant: Beat Car Games

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I thought of this as a three panel gag, because it is very silly like a three panel gag. But who are we kidding, this is the business of silliness, right?



Boy this Beat Car is a real dudefest! Have some Beat Ladies.

Hark, A Vagrant: Kokoro Pt 1

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Kokoro is one of those books that maybe you have to read in a class, and you think that it's kind of dry, but then somehow it gets under your skin and you can't stop thinking about it. And I guess they call them classics because they stick around like that.

Hark, a Vagrant: Ida B Wells

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Ida! If she's not your hero, she should be. She's mine.



I gave an interview for the Appendix Journal, and cited her as a figure I'd like to make a comic about, but found it a hard thing, so that it never happened. The reason is easy - if you read about the things Ida Wells fought against, you won't laugh. You'll cry, I guarantee. And I thought, well I can't touch that woman with my dumb internet jokes, she's serious business. And she is.



But then, people use my comics as a launching device to learn history, and I would hope that part of what I do is to celebrate history, not just poke fun at the easy targets.



Anyway, I first saw a picture of Ida B. Wells at the Chicago History Museum. She was protesting the lack of African American representation . And I am not sure what it was, but the image stuck with me. You could feel a power in the presence of the lady with the pamphlets. I found out later that she was also handing out information on the terrible truths of lynching in America, a crusade that she is best known for, and rightly so. Her writing on the topic is readily available on the internet, and if you read it, well you'll spend a good deal of time wondering at the terribleness of humanity, but you'll also note that she knew how to handle a volatile topic like that with an audience who didn't want to hear it. But, Ida fought against injustice wherever she saw it. You'll be happy to know, that at the 1913 Suffragist Parade in Washington, she was told to go to the back, but joined in the middle anyway.



I'll leave you with this, a review of Paula J. Giddings' Ida: A Sword Among Lions, from the Washington Post. Go forth, marvel at this woman, who was the best. Did I mention she was one of the first women in the country to keep her name when she married? A founding member of the NAACP? Ida! Just pioneer everything.

Hark, a Vagrant: Shane

buy this print!

I had a little time so I drew this silly comic about Shane.



COME BACK SHAAYYYNNEEEE



Marian should have hit that

Hark, a Vagrant: Sexy Science

buy this print!

All this time you wait... and you get this!? I know.



It's my firm belief that if we knew how sexy science really was, we wouldn't have dropped out of school like we did. Joke's on us right? I can't even read.



I'm illustrating a kids book right now and it's silly and fun.



Just so you know though, I do post comics, mostly journal sketches, on my tumblr, along with other things I find interesting. Do come along for that ride as well! Here is a link.

Hark, a Vagrant: Edward the Black Prince

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A couple of comics about Edward, the Black Prince. I love that a man who was brutal in many ways was celebrated as "the Flower of English Chivalry" even into the 1900s. That's from a towering statue in Leeds, where I am headed for this year's Thought Bubble Festival! Love Leeds, love Thought Bubble, love the Black Prince, love his statue. I admit that last year I was proud of myself for identifying the figure from afar - it's all that bullet shaped armour around his head (amiright), a style we all wish would come back.





Also, glory be! New shirts! I am so glad to be stocking the store with new things. The Venus one is not in yet, but coming, but head on over to check out the rest. Deck yourselves in them, deck your friends, deck whoever! Just click the link: