7. Shooter Marble (Part V) – SEE SAW Comics, Webcomics from the Sequential Artists Workshop

7. Shooter Marble (Part V)

This page returns to entirely gray and white panels.

1. Lynn writes, â€œSo many things change when you get into the thick of things caregiving. You leave your phone on overnight. Hospital number goes in your contacts. You learn to switch text notifications off at night.â€ Lynn as an adult is in bed, lying on her side and propped up on her elbow looking at her phone. The light from the screen is the only in the room, blaring in Lynnâ€™s face. She is wearing glasses. She is reading a text that says, â€œhey lady! weâ€™re at the turf - care to join? weâ€™re in the clown lounge.â€
2. â€œItâ€™s possible for weird ailments to appear out of nowhere from the stress of it all.â€ Lynn is leaning against a wall clutching her shoulder and grimacing in pain. She calls out, â€œOw! God!â€ She labels with an arrow that she is experiencing â€œfrozen shoulder.â€
3. â€œYou learn what mouth swabs are.â€ A large cotton swab, that resembles a marshmallow on a stick more than a Q-tip, takes up the panel. The background is blank.â€ Dialogue from the next panel bleeds into this one.
4. Lynn continues narrating, â€œYou might find yourself getting impatient with family members that are starting to show signs of dementia, especially the ones that are used to controlling everything.â€ Lynnâ€™s dad, mostly bald and looking upset, asks, â€œWhy wasnâ€™t I told her surgery was this morning?â€ (This quote bubble overlaps the last panel.) From off-panel, Lynn responds, â€œBut. Dad, I totallyâ€¦â€

Lynn writes, â€œIf this happens count to ten. Explain things as many times as it takes, even in the face of anger and frustration. Find ways to include them and smooth their feathers. Because if you donâ€™t you may say things you regret later. Trust me on this.â€ A full page spread of Lynnâ€™s dad sitting next to Lorraineâ€™s hospital bed. He is holding a cup of coffee and looking at her to his side, so we canâ€™t see his expression. There is a partially eaten cookie on the arm of his chair. Lorraine is gasping. Her hand is obscuring most of her face, but she looks to be in discomfort.

One panel of a white board that does not take up the full page; the rest is a white background. The board reads, â€œCare team: Jeff - RN. Date: Dec 12. Patient: Lorraine. Notes: HOH. Family space: Hang in there, Mom! (heart)â€

This page returns to entirely gray and white panels. 1. Lynn writes, â€œSo many things change when you get into the thick of things caregiving. You leave your phone on overnight. Hospital number goes in your contacts. You learn to switch text notifications off at night.â€ Lynn as an adult is in bed, lying on her side and propped up on her elbow looking at her phone. The light from the screen is the only in the room, blaring in Lynnâ€™s face. She is wearing glasses. She is reading a text that says, â€œhey lady! weâ€™re at the turf - care to join? weâ€™re in the clown lounge.â€ 2. â€œItâ€™s possible for weird ailments to appear out of nowhere from the stress of it all.â€ Lynn is leaning against a wall clutching her shoulder and grimacing in pain. She calls out, â€œOw! God!â€ She labels with an arrow that she is experiencing â€œfrozen shoulder.â€ 3. â€œYou learn what mouth swabs are.â€ A large cotton swab, that resembles a marshmallow on a stick more than a Q-tip, takes up the panel. The background is blank.â€ Dialogue from the next panel bleeds into this one. 4. Lynn continues narrating, â€œYou might find yourself getting impatient with family members that are starting to show signs of dementia, especially the ones that are used to controlling everything.â€ Lynnâ€™s dad, mostly bald and looking upset, asks, â€œWhy wasnâ€™t I told her surgery was this morning?â€ (This quote bubble overlaps the last panel.) From off-panel, Lynn responds, â€œBut. Dad, I totallyâ€¦â€

Lynn writes, â€œIf this happens count to ten. Explain things as many times as it takes, even in the face of anger and frustration. Find ways to include them and smooth their feathers. Because if you donâ€™t you may say things you regret later. Trust me on this.â€ A full page spread of Lynnâ€™s dad sitting next to Lorraineâ€™s hospital bed. He is holding a cup of coffee and looking at her to his side, so we canâ€™t see his expression. There is a partially eaten cookie on the arm of his chair. Lorraine is gasping. Her hand is obscuring most of her face, but she looks to be in discomfort.

One panel of a white board that does not take up the full page; the rest is a white background. The board reads, â€œCare team: Jeff - RN. Date: Dec 12. Patient: Lorraine. Notes: HOH. Family space: Hang in there, Mom! (heart)â€

Published On: March 14, 2024

Kim is sitting on one knee, other knee perpendicular to the ground, as rummages through a shelf of papers in front of her. She is dressed in all black, wearing glasses, and has on a neutral expression. “December 8. Worked. Not sleeping great, Mom picked up Enzo from school so I got to see her and Ali after work.”

Kim sits at her desk working on a landscape design. A wall clock and two potted plants decorate the background by the window. “December 2. Finished compost bumper sticker and worked on final design. Online class.”

Promo graphic reading in black text over a bright yellow background: “SAW presents: Creating Iconic Characters with Sage Coffey / 3/29 7pm EST 4pm PST / B.Y.O. art supplies, Free virtual workshop.” The heads of Garfield, Snoopy, Popeye, and Nancy, each with red and pink angel wings, circle the text, and at the bottom a small cartoon figure of Sage looks up excitedly at them. Red and pink stars, light sparkles, and motion lines decorate the empty space.

Two people are lounging back on a couch, holding remote controllers and looking ahead, presumably at a TV or monitor. One of them has tattoos, gauges, a nose ring, and facial hair; the other has their hair tied back in a ponytail. Someone is in the background, possibly Kim or her mom, heading off-panel. “November 25. Friday. Worked on school assignments until 5 a.m. and David came over. We all went to mom’s (played Jackbox and ate Chinese).”

Kim is lying on her side, spooning her dog and smiling softly. “November 20. Worked. Enzo slept over Mom’s. She drove him to a party after.”

Promo image for workshop reading: “Drawing Sound / a poetry comics workshop with mara ramirez / march 22 / 7 pm eastern / free, online / Sequential Artists Workshop.” Decorated with a gray and white digital collage of photocopied x-rays of an ear, overlaid with a photocopied image of a woman holding an ear horn up to her right ear.

A close-up of a flowering orchid tree branch. “November 14. Sunday. The bees are buzzing all over the orchid tree. Beautiful weather.”

A close-up of Maia's face with a neutral expression, looking directly at the reader. She has a brown bob and green eyes.

Workshop promo in black and white: "Accessing Your Inner Anxious Child Through Peanuts Fan Art with Liz Yerby A Free Comics Workshop presented by SAW Friday March 15th 7pm EST / 4pm PST" Over a black background, a white mouse sitting up in bed looking anxious.

Kim is sweeping outside in front of a fenced enclosure, behind which two wolves prowl. There is a palm tree to their left behind the fence. Kim is wearing long sleeves and jeans. “November 8. Volunteered at the wolf sanctuary. Biochar workshop at class.”

Kim’s dog, Molly, is lifting her chin up while getting head scratches from someone off-panel. Kim notes with an arrow, “Molly was doing a weird lip thing.” “November 7. Sunday. Finished second draft in permaculture class. Ali came by. Time change. It was a rare cool day.”

In three different strips of paper and different color markers, the title: “Max, Foster Dog.” In another, with hand-drawn serif lettering: “Excerpt of the graphic novel in progress.” “Pieces of Me” “by Maia Iotzova (same name, in Cyrillic alphabet)”

Lynn is leaning against a wall clutching her shoulder and grimacing in pain. She calls out, “Ow! God!” She labels with an arrow that she is experiencing “frozen shoulder.”

Kim is squatting low to the floor in front of her mushroom monotubs, looking closely at the one directly in front of her. “October 27. Volunteered at the wolf sanctuary. Enzo went to Sammi’s powder puff game.”

Promo graphic: “Friday Night Workshop! SAW, March 8, Time: 7 pm EST, 4 pm PST, with Sanika Phawde, FOOD and COMICS.” Text is written in multiple decorative fonts and colors. A highly saturated, brightly colored bowl of sangria—with orange slices, cherries, and ice cubes and a floating flame—is in the center of the image. A novelty bendy straw is sticking out of the cup, which is decorated with little fish and hearts. Coming out of the flame are film reel-like comic strips of people celebrating with food. Decorative bursts and stars fill the empty space of the page.

A gray and white close-up of Lynn’s face as she is panicking: her eyes are wide and her mouth agape in a frown, eyebrows raised in shock. She calls out, “NURSE!!!"

Enzo is getting his hair cut; both he and the barber are wearing masks for Covid. Enzo is wearing a barber cape, jeans, and sneakers; the barber is wearing an apron over a t-shirt and pants. “October 21. Wrote a paper for civic engagement. Cleaned, had class. Enzo got a haircut.”

Emily is crouched down, bearing on her back the weight of a giant ball ornament twice her size. She is grimacing from pain or exertion.

Three green chairs of different styles are placed over a coral background. Text reads: "SAW Presents: Memory Chairs, A Free Online Drawing Workshop with Audra Stang, Friday, March 1, 7 p.m. EST/4 p.m. PST." 'Memory Chair's is highlighted in large green text; the rest is black.

A person with red shoulder-length hair stands like an action figure inside a toy box. They are smiling widely and holding a large pencil; a black cat stands near their feet. Text reads: "SAW presents: NEW! Draw Yourself as an Action Figure from E. Joy Mehr, Friday Feb 23rd, 7 p.m. EST, Online! Free!" Everything is rendered in bright, highly saturated colors.

White text over a black background reads: "SAW Presents: Drawing to Discover Your World with Glynnis Fawkes, 7 p.m. Feb 16." A stark black and white illustration of a 3 people sitting in the shade of a large tree, with a cityscape in the distance.

A smiling cartoon cockatiel is wearing a red artist's apron, holding a palette, and painting a dog in fancy clothing on a canvas. Over a light blue background, text reads: "Draw your pet as a character, Free online workshop with Sara Varon, Friday, Feb 9, 7 p.m. EST, 4 p.m. PST, Presented by SAW"

A solid black background with white text reading: "SAW Presents: SPACE MUSIC, A just-for-fun comic workshop with Erika Pascual, Friday, Feb 2nd, 7 p.m. EST" Little doodles of stars, aliens, planets, UFOs, and music notes decorate the rest of the image, also in white.

An illustration drawn in colored pencil of a witch with spectral limbs performing several tasks at once. Main text reads: "Let's Make a Witchsona! This Friday, Jan 26th @ 7 p.m."

A large cuddly bear hugs a human who barely reaches the bear's chin. The human smiles lovingly up at the bear. They are both colorless and rendered with detailed, thin black line work. The background is a wash of oranges of different hues. The text reads: "Meet Your Sleep - Free Comics Workshop! Presented by SAW, January 19, 7 p.m. EST, Maureen Burdock"

The background is a navy blue sky dotted with yellow stars. All of the coloring is splotchy, as if done with a dying marker. An anthropomorphic dog person wearing a tawny sweater and light green pants stands near the edge of a cliff. They are cupping their hands near their mouth and shouting out. Their voice shows up in almost a beam of white light, with their words written in large, all caps yellow uneven block letters: "CALLING IN OUR ANCESTORS." The rest of the text of the image (alternating between this yellow text and a thin script-like font) reads: "SAW presents: [Calling in our ancestors] - a FREE comics workshop with Ellen O'Grady, January 5, 7 P.M. E.T., no experience necessary."

Two people dressed in casual contemporary clothing are walking by in the background; in the foreground is a woman dressed in 18th century-style clothing. They are outside, tree branches hanging overhead.

A young Lorraine is wearing a blue leotard with matching blue tights. She is holding an exercise pose where she stands with feet shoulder width apart, arms raised to form an oval around her head, and stretching her torso to the side so she is almost at a right angle. Her mouth is open as she lets out a “Uff da…”

First-grader Emily, wearing her skirt and hat, stands in the doorway of a museum room. To the left is a grandfather clock; to the right is a large piece of decorative pottery. The floor is a black and white checkered tile.

Kim is turned away from the reader, sitting on the floor with legs stretched out and working in front of an empty mushroom monotub. She is drilling a large hole in the side of the tub. This panel is much more minimal than most in the series, with just a white background. “October 15. Set up mushroom monotubs before work. Mixed oyster and wine cap spawn grain into substrate (separately). Worked until 6 p.m.”

In gray and white, a medium shot shows Lynn staring into the distance, clutching a travel coffee mug and looking solemnly nostalgic. She thinks to herself, “I miss those days so hard!”

Tony is standing out his house in a large pot meant for a planted tree. He is shoveling soil from a wheel barrow into the pot. There is a pile of dirt behind him, and an already potted tree off to his side. “October 9. Worked. Planted the Venus mango tree.”

Jim sits up in his hospital bed. There is a book open in his lap, and a tray of food slightly raised above him. He is smiling.

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One thought on “7. Shooter Marble (Part V)”

Catherine Crane
04/25/2024, 6:43 pm
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I spent the afternoon reading your memoir from the beginning. I love it. I love your drawings and the color rendering with pencil. The narrative is so well paced! I found myself stepping back into my similar thoughts and emotions during my parents’ illnesses at the end of their lives. I admire your talent.

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