The Seeing-Spectacles of Aberdeen Gray: a Short Story / Zine by Jess Smart Smiley Check out this 8-page mini zine I made out of a single sheet of paper and keep reading to find out how you can print and fold your own copy! What’s Inside The whole story is in this tiny, pocket-size zine…
Category: STORYTELLING
Halloween Zines by Jess Smart Smiley
It’s spooky season, baybeeeee! I love this time of year. Things seem to turn quieter, more contemplative. AND DON’T FORGET ALL THE SPOOKY! In case my monster look-n-find book, collection of spooky comics, cutesy vampire graphic novels, magical, mystery, maze comic, witchy paper pictures, and series of monster-filled picture books don’t SCREAM my love for…
The Book No One Wants to Read (Book Review)
The Book No One Wants to Read by Beth Bacon Wow! What a brilliant, wonderful experience! This book tells jokes, keeps secrets, plays games, and makes deals with the reader (while also endearing the reader to the power of words in the most delightful and clever ways). This wildly subversive celebration of literacy (including visual…
Let’s Tell a Story! (Book Review)
Let’s Tell a Story!: Space Adventure Written by Lily Murray Illustrated by Grace Boruch My family loves this new series! This fun concept book allows your little reader to make their own story using the characters, places, and surprises on each page. Filled with fun to last years and entertain generations, Let’s Tell a Story!:…
Honeycomb by Joanne M. Harris (Book Review)
Honeycomb by Joanne M. Harris with illustrations by Charles Vess 432 pages Dark Fantasy / Mythology / Folk Tales / Fantasy / Adventure Aesop’s Fables meets the Brothers Grimm in this brilliant, glittering, gushing collection of fantastic fairy tales and folklore, written in thoughtful prose and masterfully illustrated by living legend Charles Vess. From the…
Making & Revising My Graphic Novel (1/3)
Read on to learn more about: Creating my 224-page rough draft in 3 weeks while stuck in bed Finding beta readers to proofread my graphic novel Setting up surveys and forms to gather feedback from beta readers Using reader feedback to revise my graphic novel Hi! My name is Jess Smart Smiley. I’m an author/illustrator…
New Comics Magazine from PEOW
Over the last 4 or 5 years, PEOW has quickly become one of my favorite indie comics publishers. Founded by Elliot Alfredius, Olle Forsslöf and Patrick Crotty, in Stockholm, Sweden, PEOW publishes a unique brand of beautifully-produced risograph comics from around the world. While the heavy shipping costs to the US have been cost-prohibitive for…
Some Thoughts on Stick Figures and Teaching Comics Workshops
I teach comics workshops to children, teens, and adults. Most of my students are new to writing and/or drawing, and come with equal parts excitement and anxiety. I feel like my role is to make the creation process fun and accessible, while allowing the students to pursue whichever styles/genres/approaches interest them most. Week-long comics workshops…
Book Report: 2019
The Good News: being stuck in bed with constant, debilitating pain for the past 14+ months afforded me more reading time than I usually get. The Bad News: much of my reading time and enjoyment was cut short by the effects of medicine (headaches, brain fog, memory and concentration issues). That being said… 2019 was…
Look at This. Look at It!
Check out these stunning photos of Cormorant fisherman Lao Huang by photographer Peter Yan. His last name is Huang, and he is 86 years old. The locals call him Lao Huang (meaning old Huang in Chinese). He told me he’s been a fisherman ever since he was a kid, and both he and his brother…
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