Today I wanted to share a little about the backstory of the comic I posted earlier this week. I’ve been participating in the Chronic Illness Comics Club since the start of the year. It’s lead by the incomparable Zareen Choudhury, and if you are chronically ill and have even a little interest in making comics, you should do it. It turns out creating narrative art about your experiences is therapeutic as hell. Also, you don’t have to have any drawing experience. It’s extremely low key.
Anyway, every month we meet on Zoom and sketch out a comic based on a prompt. This month’s prompt was to think about your body as a haunted house, and UNHOLY BANANAS did that ever resonate with me. Our meet up was this past Sunday, and I’d already done two sketches by then just based on the title of the prompt alone. I drew so much on Monday that I knew I was going to pay for it. Here’s the fallout:
I was planning on stopping with what you saw Tuesday, the original four panels (and the cover image that I couldn’t help drawing at the last minute). But my brain just kept. on. going. That’s the thing with ADHD. Sometimes it’s like chasing butterflies, which is it’s own kind of frustration. Dozens of colorful ideas flittering in and out of my brain, refusing to be pinned down. Other times it’s like being chained to the front of a rollercoaster. The purpose and focus of the rollercoaster episodes can be a relief after the butterfly zone, but the intensity is overwhelming, exhausting, and even a little scary. It’s a mixed bag for sure. Some treats, and a whole lotta tricks.
You’re probably wondering why I’m telling you this. It’s just that, I don’t want you to think I was being sneaky, holding back parts of the comic as some kind of gotcha. I really wasn’t planning any of this! Not the original comic, or the back cover, or the two extra panels I drew after Tuesday so I could make this thing into an 8 page zine. I had plenty of other stuff I could have been doing, and definitely some stuff I should have been doing, but it was like I was possessed. My brain said MAKE A ZINE, and I was like okay, okay, stop hitting me! And I did it:
If you’d like a copy, you can get one here. I’m trying a thing where you pay what you can, so instead of charging through my shop, I linked to my Venmo in the object description. And, as always, I’d love to trade! If you have a zine, or want to write me a letter, or have something else in mind, let me know! You can reach me at kelleyclink@gmail.com.
If you’re like Kelley, I love you, and I want to see the extra panels, but I don’t need anything else in my recycling bin right now, rest assured: I have you covered. You can get a PDF version of the full comic here, again at a pay-what-you-can-rate. Paid subscribers at every tier should have it in their inbox already!
I plan to be back in your feeds next week with an October edition of Good Things, if my brain says it’s okay.
How’s your brain these days? Is it as bossy as mine? And as foggy? (If so, join the Chronic Illness Comics Club!) I hope no matter how your brain and body are doing, you’re coming out ahead in the treats column. And if you prefer tricks, well, I’d give you all my physical and mental unpredictability if I could!
xo,
Kell
p.s. Please enjoy these unholy bananas:
