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2024 and Beyond

So, 2024. For me personally, it was a difficult and grief filled year. I’ve been conflicted on whether or not to post personal stuff here, so thought I would compromise by starting this post with information about upcoming book stuff, and leaving the personal until the end, so those who would prefer not to read it (no judgement, it’s tough) don’t have to.
Anyway, comics! I finished drawing my 17th graphic novel, a middle grade comic about two sisters attending an intensive animation summer course, and their struggles and triumphs during that experience. It’s called Inbetweens. It’s based loosely on my VERY MIXED experiences attending an intensive animation college, but it also has fun stuff in it, it’s not all art school trauma, I promise.
If you’d like to hear more about Inbetweens, check out my Instagram post about it. Inbetweens will be out from First Second Books in 2026.

My second big project for the year was writing and drawing an adaptation of the classic horror movie The Mummy (the 1932 version, with Boris Karloff) for Skybound and Universal Monsters! It’s been a wild project, very different from anything I’ve done before, and I’ve really enjoyed the challenge. You can read more about The Mummy on Slashfilm. Here’s the cover to the first issue, coloured by Lee Loughridge.

The Mummy is a four issue series, and the first issue comes out in April, I believe.

So, now for the personal stuff. In 2023 my dad was diagnosed with a horrible cancer, and passed away in March of this year. The experience was deeply traumatic, something which I will be carrying for … well, forever, I assume. I’ve never experienced a close, personal death before, so navigating it has been complicated. I’ve had friends, family and work to guide me through my grief, but I remain a work in progress. More so now than I’ve ever been.

In late 2024 my husband and I also lost our cat, Starling. I’d adopted her as an awkward kitten in 2005, and she’d been a huge part of our lives for the fourteen years we’ve lived together. It’s strange to live with a little creature for nearly twenty years, and then suddenly she isn’t there anymore. She was such a good kitty, affectionate and sweet, and her loss is a huge hole in our lives.

I’m not sure what the coming year will bring. More comics, I assume. Possibly more grief, stress, frustration and anger. I hope going forward I can do better, to treat those in my life with kindness and understanding, to surround myself with those who care, and try my best to uplift and believe in them, even when I can’t seem to believe in myself. Hug your loved ones. Read books, read comics, play video games, watch movies, absorb all the great and wonderful art made by messy, imperfect humans, and keep it close to your heart. <3