Harts Pass no. 709

A bit of a re-tread here from the comic that I posted last week (with different characters!) That being said, this was also our first week of school for the new 2024-25 school year. I was trying to be efficient with my time. Onwards and upwards!

Harts Pass no. 708

I totally agree, Kit. Wolverines are amazing!

Haiku Comics :)

The end result of a haiku comics workshop that I enjoyed attending over the weekend. If you scour my instagram you can see that I occasionally work in this format for my Harts Pass comics as well. John Burgess did a nice job of detailing some haiku/comic history, and David Lasky conducted a small workshop on creating a strip.

Harts Pass no. 707

Ugh. The fire season is slowly coming to an end (although not really yet), but this Pioneer Fire in Chelan has been burning since June. It was started by some careless act, and has now been burning for 2+ months and forced an entire to evacuate. Such things are "wild" in their behavior and impact, but not in their origin. The world teeters on a precipice already due to SO much "civilized" activity... please don't give it a push!

If I Were a Fox!

 

Earlier this spring, I signed my first new illustration contract since I started teaching. Wahoo! This summer I've been working on the art for "If I Were a Fox," written by Shelley Gill and published by Sasquatch Books. I've done quite a few books with Sasquatch over the years and it's great to be adding a new one to the "If I Were a..." board book series :)

The illustration above is not in the book, but it was one of several little practice paintings that I've been working on to test out colors and textures. It also became a postcard and journied to a friend in Alaska just a few days ago!

Harts Pass No. 706

Not to rain on anyone's parade here, but the end of summer is fast approaching. Personally, I'm good. I've made nice progress on my book illustration project (see next post), we took a summer road trip to retrieve the kiddo from WI, and I took a break from being at school. I feel refreshed. Bonus: the smoke season is ending soon as well!

Harts Pass No. 705

I like this one. Drawn on a summer road trip. Collecting snapshots on the way.

Harts Pass No. 704

The double entendre that is making comics. You have to look closely. You have to "read" the drawings. SUPER glad that the heat has subsided - even if it's temporary. GRRR!

Harts Pass No. 703

Yep. The weather and politics. So often what we talk about... I truly hope, for the sake of my daughter and the kids that I teach, that this country can find its Democratic soul again and stop with all of yelling and screaming about stuff. I mean it's always been that to a certain degree - albeit now QUITE a bit less civil or veiled - but people who have chosen to govern should realize that they serve an entire COUNTRY of people - human beings from all walks of life. We need to talk about solutions. We need to talk about money for those solutions. The corporations and the money-makers will be fine.

 

Harts Pass No. 702

It's summer in the Methow and water is a HUGE part of what makes any of this work! July (and especially August) are FAR from my favorite seasons in this place, but the rivers and lakes make it bearable -- not to mention their impact on agriculture and fish and all of that jazz :) 

Harts Pass No. 701

Happy Fourth of July! The stream of cars over the mountains in the last few days was unsettling but predictable. Enjoy the woods. Be nice. 100% no fires please!

Harts Pass No. 700

It is curious, I think, that SO many people seem to have opinions about these reclusive mega fauna. Sure, it will be an adjustment to our normal way of jaunting off into the woods if/when a reintroduction of Grizzly bears should ever take place, but as is true of so many other things as well, most people's opinions on something like a new world of Grizzlies in the woods are supremely under-informed. GRRR!

Harts Pass No. 699

On the cusp of 700 comics!!! so perhaps this one is just about the grand idea that you just never know WHAT might happen if you give it half a chance :) And on a second note, I'm super happy to have entered my first full week of summer break. A few more clean-up things to do at school, but a summer of more art, comics, and time in the woods awaits.

 

Harts Pass No. 692

I can say this now, but there is something about this comic where I was trying to express the constant juggle of teaching and coaching and making art. I am, after MANY years of coaching, removing that hat and giving my chance a self to refocus again on my art and writing. I will miss coaching immensely -- just like I have missed having a little more time for art over the last 6+ years since I started teachings. Onwards and upward! 
 

Harts Pass no. 580

A long time Minnesota Viking fan, and the whole Justin Jefferson "Griddy" phenomena has made its way into the pages of a Harts Pass Comics. Long live the joyous dance and the creative play of signature moves. It's more than just a game... but it's also -- in the best of all possible ways -- even better as a GAME. GRRR!!! PS also, a haiku comic. The game is afoot!

Harts Pass no. 579

And another sometimes theme: the origin of words -- the etymology. Spring is very much the shortest season 'round these parts. The snow will last... and then it's gone. Pretty much no mud season. 

Harts Pass no. 578

Ah, the self-deprecating cartoonist joke... and it really IS garbage day on Tuesdays. 

 

Harts Pass no. 577

The traditional mid-winter thaw. We seem to get one almost every year. The wolverines... never so pleased! Also, another haiku comic. I cannot be stopped!

 

Harts Pass no. 576

Ah, the winter olympics! A spectacle for sure -- but perhaps no more than ALL of the middle-aged folk who romp about spandex with slippery p-tex on their feet. 

Harts Pass no. 575

And here you go! The steady, calm, and thoughtful pondering that I mentioned last week. Wolverine Wisdom... writ large. GRRR!

Harts Pass no. 574

On a roll! (If I do say so myself.) This is pretty much what we have to do. Smack dab in the middle of a global heath crisis. We are in it. There is nothing to do but forge ahead and get through it. The Wolverine Way! (I mean, you can also be smart and thoughtful and scientific and compassionate about it... but that is fodder for another strip. 

 

Harts Pass no. 573

Yep. And then there was Covid school and my usual attempt to find a relevant MLK quote -- which you can always do!

 

Harts Pass no. 572

It's crazy now to think back about how much those Covid days affected our live and our thinking about EVERYTHING! I liked this attempt to draw some overlap to the challenged of "remote" learning to the life of a baby wolverine :)

Harts Pass no. 571

On rare occasion, these comics fall to a level of junior high discourse. In the best of all innocent, bodily function, kinds of ways. Let it sink in and don't' hold back the smile :)

 

Harts Pass No. 570

 

#haikucomics - again :) I love this form if you can't already tell. And in the spirit of New Year's resolutions, we DO have a LOT to decide about how we move ahead. I can't say that I'm entirely optimistic... but all I can do is chart my own path and hope that others see something positive (and reciprocate) regarding the actions that I take. Thank you 2022 and Happy New Year!

Harts Pass No. 569

Another #haikucomic with some double-down on the thrill of getting to have our kiddo home again for over a month! Merry Christmas to all!

Harts Pass No. 568

TOTALLY stolen - in a way - from all of those incredible Calvin & Hobbes strips with all of the snowmen. It's my own version of course, and my daughter and I DID get to do a little teamwork shoveling of the driveway this week. Let it snow!

 

Harts Pass No. 567

This was an idea that almost made it -- a not-quite-finished Christmas ornament with Kit. Perhaps I will revisit this at some future date. The folding and the shape work... I just needed to start it earlier so that it actually got completed by the deadline. Alas :(

Harts Pass No. 566

Seasonally speaking, this strip is totally out of context. Please do NOT embark on any winter kayaking trips! That being said, the date, the subject, the t-short that Thor is wearing... these are palindromes. Enjoy!

Harts Pass No. 565

A little bit truth, a little bit fiction - so goes the inspiration of the weekly cartoonist! Also, we are very much looking forward to a Thanksgiving visit from our kiddo :)

 

Harts Pass No. 564

I don't know that much about hockey, but my daughter's college roommate plays for Yale, and I'm suddenly paying just a little more attention. Also, the local youth team has taken the wolverine it's mascot - so that makes sense :)

Harts Pass No. 563

We've made the world more complicated. We've changed the game on patience and "approximations." And by that measure - in creating more immediacy and urgency and the supposed need for precise and exact answers - we have made ourselves less creative, less flexible, and more exposed to anxiety and worry. Analog thoughts in a digital world...

 

Harts Pass No. 562

COP26 The "Conference of Parties" -- these climate action conventions need to up their game!

Harts Pass No. 561

Yes. The new superheroes! SO many doctors and nurses and science and emergency health workers who deserve our gratitude and appreciation! #happyhalloween -- As if the real world isn't scary enough already!

Harts Pass No. 559

Ah, the "rewilding." I like this one. We've been cooped up too long. It's time to get back to our roots!
PS I mean we're not really ready to get back to life as normal - in fact who knows HOW long the effects of this pandemic will be with us - but we should aspire to it over time :) 

Harts Pass No. 558

Alas, I skipped one here. No. 557 just never came to pass. It happens. To be perfectly honest about the whole endeavor, I should probably NOT skip on the numbering as well, but that's what I do. This is all a part of an eleven-year experiment in comics making... and sometimes you make up the rules as you go :) Happy science comic!

 

Harts Pass No. 556

Not an actual fall, but in the often autobiographical inspiration of this strip, I did have a harder week at school this week. Getting back to the flow. All will be fine. Momentum, people. That's the ticket!
 

Harts Pass No. 555

 

Alas, the division in this country over things that are supposed to help... Speechless. 

Harts Pass No. 554

 

Uhg. Back to the regular scheduled programming here. It's September... and it's STILL too HOT!

Harts Pass No. 553

OK, this one is perhaps overly sentimental -- but also totally true! There are SO many times that I have upped my game to hopefully set a good example for my daughter. And not just about being nice or working hard... but about doing things like riding roller coasters (which I actually hate) or hiking late into the day, or pushing through a VERY challenging first year of teaching -- just to show my kiddo that she too is brave and can do hard things. And she is. And she does. It is awesome! Thanks for making me brave Kit!
 

Harts Pass No. 552

A different kind of "first day" for us this year. Our little kit is off to college! SUPER hard to believe that little ol' Kit is off to Yale, but a super exciting new adventure nonetheless :)

Harts Pass No. 551

 

Back to school week! A few new school supplies and perhaps a new shirt or two. Keep it simple people :)

Harts Pass No. 550

 

After a terribly long stretch of heat and fire this summer, my daughter and I got extremely lucky with a respite in the mountains. We weren't quite sure of the weather... and banked more on roasting rather than freezing. That being said, it was two nights and three excellent days of amazing exploration in the hills! The smoke FINALLY cleared as we headed up Valley. The breeze kicked up and we had three glorious days of overcast skies and cool-ish temperatures. A little excitement on the trail -- and MANY many trees to climb over in some farther reaches of the loop (and actually SO much rain and coolness on the last day that we missed a LOT of incredible mountain views) but it was a 5-star excellent adventure all around :) 

Harts Pass No. 549

Another #haikucomics as inspired by the heat and smokey air. Truly. Winter please!

Harts Pass No. 548

OK. This week the Virgina Ridge fire forced us to evacuate our home. We are fortunate. My mom was out of town and visiting my brother, so we set up camp in her house... for nearly two weeks! Ultimately our house was fine. I mowed back a ton of stuff, cut down shrubs, and watered like crazy. We live in a neighborhood on the fringe of the woods, but it is a neighborhood with dirt roads and most people have 30+ feet of cleared and watered lawn or landscaping. It felt reasonably safe to leave... and the fire crews checked on everything and touched up a firewise effort or two in the process. The blaze came within about 1/4 mile of home -- on the ridge above -- but it felt much closer than that. So many of these strips are autobiographical... and this one more than most. Thank you fire fighters!

Harts Pass No. 547

To me, this strip perfectly illustrates both Thor's insatiable curiosity... and the kinds of things that happen when you sometimes just blindly follow your gut. Keep it up, Thor! We love you for it!

Harts Pass No. 546

 

Amazing to think that we can now make a joke or two about masking. Don't get me wrong. It was invaluable and NECESSARY! With the return on wildfire smoke however...  

Harts Pass No. 545

Just a little pondering on the one potential upside of the summer heat...