Harts Pass no. 794

The staff here at Harts Pass Comics are long-time Timberwolves fans. I mean, it only makes sense. The wolves were an NBA expansion team early in our formative Minnesota teenaged years...and it's been exciting to see them having some long-time-coming success in the post-KG era. GRRR!!!

Harts Pass no. 793

These "spring" comics are pretty routine for me. Something about the return of the light. Something about flowers :) We DO have a totally unique version of the sunflower here (in these 'thar hills) called the Arrowleaf Balsamroot. Its a more widespread western species, but there is a particular version that you can only find here in the Methow Valley. Pretty cool. I don't know anyone who is allergic to this plant...but it looks nice and it fit with the haiku :) 

Harts Pass no. 776

 It's been a little while since my last haiku comic, but here you go for the end of 2025 and the always wide-open threshold of the new year ahead! 

Harts Pass no. 775

Fun as always to play with language and to try an adapt this traditional Christmas lyric into something that works for the wolverines and for the current state of the world. School is out as of Friday the 19th and I am looking forward to a little break and hopefully a little more snow :) 

Merry Christmas to all!

Harts Pass no. 774

Kit, like my daughter, is always pretty great at putting a positive spin on things. Hard to do when the last few days of rain should have been 4+ feet of snow and you are a wolverine that relies on late-season snowpack (and thusly any season snowfall) but here she goes again. And the mud puddle snowman drawing worked pretty well :)

Harts Pass no. 773

A few years ago I tried the "Walk in the Woods Wednesday" on for size here at Harts Pass Comics. I love the idea. I don't always put it into practice. That being said, I also DO feel Thor's pain when it comes to that rush of emotion over the last few weeks before the giving of gifts, etc.. I love making things for people. I don't always find myself with enough time to pull it off. The end result is stress and a little more worry than necessary about getting something that seems right. Excited to have family coming to visit and a change in the ebb and flow of the weeks and days regardless. It will all work out in the end :)

Spike's Zagtastic Day!

A little while back, author friend of mine (and New York Times Best-Seller!) Dan Gemeinhart and his Gonzaga University classmate Jabez LaBret, had the idea to publish a kid's book specifically for their  alma matter alumni. Potentially... this could even grow to an audience of other colleges and universities, but the idea was to create a book with a targeted appeal and also to leverage a percentage proceeds going back to the university or the university alumni association(s). Bright Dog Studio was born and I signed on to illustrate their first book! 

After a false start or two and working out a few of the kinks in any new venture, we are excited to say that Spike's Zagtastic Day is off to print and ready for holiday orders :) 

The full-spread cover wrap is shown above and a little bit of Gonzaga marketing should be heading out soon. While this little project was slightly unconventional in its origins, it is a full-fledged hard-cover picture book and the 28th of my career!

Missing my xc coaching days (2011-2023) for sure, but the last two seasons of free weekends and just a little less "scramble" to practices and meets and all of the stuff have enabled some additional art time that I was also craving. This book marks my second "return" effort to the kids book world (see If I Were a Fox)  and I look forward to getting more stories and artwork out n' about in the years to come!

With much gratitude to all involved... and a few more Spike preview images below.

- Erik

Harts Pass no. 767

For quite a few falls I pretty much missed the hunting season because I was coaching. And by that I mean I was never overly concerned with recreating out n' about in the woods when the hunters were out. I was gone every weekend at races with the team and the overlap just didn't factor into thinking. The last two falls... I definitely gave it some thought. No disparaging of the hunting crew here, just an awareness of shared use. But with "homecoming" upon us, the woods are a little less active. Onward and upward!

Harts Pass no. 766

Alas, this one had to happen quickly. I like the haiku of it, but I'm less enamored of the darker value scheme and the relative plain-ness of the backgrounds. Days like this...

 

Harts Pass no. 765

More wildfire smoke - a constant source of "inspiration" for this strip. That and my ever-positive kit. The later - AMAZING! - for former I could do without. Selfishly, at least I'm no longer coaching XC in the fall and no longer bear the responsibility for devising creative solutions to indoor athletic restrictions for days at a time. Thank you, Liam and co., for all of the excellent work that you have taken on in coaching those kids!!!

Harts Pass no. 764

More haiku. More juxtaposition of the calming sentimentality of these comics plus their wilderness inhabitants and the world at large. Day by day. Bird by bird. Faith in the greater good is one thing, but I probably need to find a way to act out loud. 

Harts Pass no. 763

Apparently I had some sort of brain glitch where I forgot to change the month on these comic dates. The first weeks of school. So it goes :) 

And on another note, there is an awful LOT of "nasty" coming from our president right now - further evidence of the irony or the "I'm rubber, you're glue..." juvenile attitudes that seem to "guide" him through most of his actions. 

Be nice! GRRR!!!

 

Harts Pass no. 762

I always wait eagerly for a break from the summer heat. So do the wolverines! 

 

Harts Pass no. 761

 

This feels pretty classic to me. The first day. Full of wonder. Full of dread. Welcome back!

Harts Pass no. 760

So this comic is NOT to say that I left a total garbage dump of a mess in my classroom in June :) That being said, the immensity of all that we were doing this week can (and does) sometimes seem like a lot. My #wolverinewisdom for the week is a good reminder that each thing accomplished - no matter how small - makes room for one more thing or give you one less thing to do and it’s always fun to meet the kids where they are at after a summer in the “wild” as well. GRRR!

Harts Pass... Late Summer Catch-up Posts!

These comics are lots of things, but first and foremost they are an enjoyable way for me to process the world in words and pictures. They are sometimes cathartic when it comes to an understanding of or a grappling with greater societal concerns - politics, culture wars, climate change, etc. - and they are sometimes nostalgic or reflective on my relationship with family or to the endless ecosphere of the North Cascades. They are always a hint of an idea processed and boiled-down just a bit into something new.

I haven’t been super consistent about posting this summer, but between visits to Spokane, San Francisco, and Seattle, the comics are still making their way to the Methow Valley News…

…even if that requires stopping at a Home Depot parking lot on my way back from Harborview Medical Center to steal some shade, 35 minutes of drawing in my car, and the complimentary WIFI in order to create and send this last week’s strip. The inspiration behind this last one should seem pretty obvious.

Oh, and by the way, school starts for all of us Methow Valley teachers next week!

GRRR!

Harts Pass no. 754

Summer thus far has been pretty great. Not too hot. Not too smokey. We’ve been at the fringes, but then the heat pulls back and the down valley dusky winds have generally scrubbed the lingering late-afternoon haze.

The start of this week was into the mid-upper 90’s… and it DID feel hot! I was out n’ about, but I also got in some water and I didn’t always go for a run at 3:30pm. People can be kind of dumb about that stuff. We should know better… but the day full of other things doesn’t always afford you the luxury of “best possible” options when it comes to exercise of work in the heat.

The wolverine wisdom? Totally spot on and true. The human hubris? Our Achilles heel for certain. GRRR!!!

Harts Pass no. 753

The public lands theme continues - for yet another day at least. Given the willy-nilly “see what sticks” nature of this so-called administration, who knows what kind of crazy circumstance we’ll be considering in another week or two… but for now it is this. Thanks to Kit for sticking her neck out there. And thanks to the many displaced and disenfranchised penguins who are doing their best to make their status known.

Harts Pass no. 752

With the whole recent spectacle of public lands profiteering, the wolverines have been paying attention… and the “Byrd Rule” saved us. And while it was good to see the people of this country rally from across the spectrum to protect our public spaces, it is likewise equally disappointing that the same sort of common ground can’t be found for the value of public eduction or the right of people in this country to love who they love, to make considered and personal decisions about their own bodies, and to be who they are regarding our trans and LGBTQ+ communities. “Rules” are good — I suppose — but at the same time a sense of human decency and a capacity for nuanced discussion — a striving for more and “inclusive” rather than less and exclusive — is still sorely lacking.

Harts Pass no. 749, 750, & 751!

Kind of an inside joke with this one - but for quite a few years now I’ve enjoyed riffing on the “lingo” of the JRH kids in particular. About the time of this classes middle school experience, “Gucci” was a thing that they would say. I suggested that “Gucci fire” would be even better, and I’ve been a strong advocate of that fact ever since :)

And then there is last week’s final anticipation of ALL of the time and opportunity that summer bring… It’s like 9 weeks of time and it will disappear in a heartbeat!

As I sit here this morning, however, 900+ miles away from home, it feels like the summer is getting off to a very productive start :)

Summer on!