More

This one's from yesterday:

And this is from today:

Gettin' More Personal

I want to thank everyone so much who responded to me about that last comic I posted...I almost didn't put it up, and I'm so glad I did. It's really important to know that other people go through the same stuff. I love you all a lot. We'll figure this shit out together!

Here's another one. There's a lot of "but"s in it. I've just been drawing these without planning them out first.

But first here's some real photos of Gino's Nativity scene and Christmas decorations:

and a little drawing of Sophie, a cat I got as a kitten in highschool and recently passed away. We love you Sophie, you were a total weirdo, and an awesome cat.

and now

Gettin' Personal

Something I needed to get out of me and onto paper.

I've been really inspired by Gabrielle Bell's comics lately...I bought her new mini at BCGF and it's amazing. I'm not always drawn to making diary comics, but hers always reach way beyond just being personal, and they make me want to do more comics like that.

Speaking of Brooklyn Comics and Graphics Festival, it totally ruled! Each time

it happens I leave there thinking that I'd be happy is that were the only show I went to all year. Sad but true. I want to go to Mocca and SPX less and less...I'm still thinking about why this is.

But mostly it ruled because I MET LYNDA BARRY. I was in line to have her sign a book and I almost started crying. I managed to hold the tears until afterwards though. In like 2 minutes we had one of the most amazing conversations ever, and I left it ready to draw draw and draw more Freddy stories.

She talked about how when she draws Marlys, it's like Marlys only exists when Lynda draws her...like Lynda is giving her life, giving her part of herself, but Marlys doesn't keep existing and doing things inside of Lynda's head. She compared it to giving life to stuffed animals or a blankie when you're little. This is how I feel about Freddy too. And it's why drawing these Freddy stories is so important...I get to step outside of myself and talk about the stuff that's sometimes hard to talk about through her.

Peggy at D&Q sent me this photo. I have no idea who took it! Man, look at that awesome posture.

The Bird

To read the rest go here: http://www.mmmendes.com/p/bird.html

Punkin'!

Chuck's mom, Alyce, carved an awesome pumpkin based on a face from my comic!!! How cool is that??

It's Al

This is Al. I'm making a comic book with her in it. These are some tests I did to see how I'll draw it...

Pastime

Lumberjackets

Also, Emely's making comics! They're awesome!

Today at New Urban Arts we made lumberjack shirts out of paper, and a saw out of cardboard, to prepare for cutting down the giant paper mache tree in the middle of the studio. I can't believe how lucky I am to be a part of that place. It's insane.

Fall

I haven't done this yet this year...but I can remember that brown, smoky smell when you're covered in leaves.

Halloweener

So, after a super inspiring talk with my friend Emely on Saturday, and after a couple weeks of adapting to living in a new place and feeling a little weird, I have made a promise to myself to DRAW MORE AND ALL THE TIME. I think sometimes I wait until I feel totally comfortable and happy to draw, but also sometimes drawing makes me feel comfortable and happy, so when I'm not drawing at all, I become static and I think too much. So Emely and I made a pact to make more work. I gotta draw more Freddy stories! And I gotta make something new for BCGF!!

In other news, Halloween was awesome. We danced like crazy with awesome friends, and we dressed as Hall and Oates, which was extremely satisfying for some reason.

(vote for us on gawker!!)

Here's a drawing of Freddy on Halloween. Her costume is inspired by my friend Jori's.

Also yesterday I stabbed myself pretty bad with a knife while I was trying to carve a pumpkin, and I put a band-aid on it, and then we went to see The Social Network and I looked down at my hand and blood was dripping all over the place. Like a horror movie! So Halloween-y! A really nice security guard who reminded me of a milkman from the 1930s patched me up. It was great. Thank you, mister.

And in conclusion, here are some screenprints I made in a rubylith workshop with the incredible Jean Cozzens. It's from a photo in an old National Geographic of workers at Pringle's Mill in Iverness, Scotland. They are mixing dyed wool together.