Hold Still Episode 56 – SEE SAW Comics, Webcomics from the Sequential Artists Workshop

Hold Still Episode 56

1. 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.”
2. A close up of an ackee fruit sitting on a wooden shelf, next to a mushroom figurine to the right and a mushroom book to the left. “December 3. Worked until 6 pm. Went to B-shift Xmas dinner at Carmelo’s. Tony’s coworker found an ackee fruit.”
3. Tony is leaning over a table, reaching for a tiny tea cup. He is dressed in a suit and tie. Kim’s arm and hair are visible to the left, mostly cutoff from the panel. “December 4. Worked. This picture is from last night.”
4. From above, we see Kim working on her polished landscape design, which now features more detail and shading. Several pens and pencils are sitting next to the paper. “December 5. Sunday. Worked on design most of the day. Cleaned up a comic page.”
5. From Kim’s perspective, we look at her holding open a book with the note in the top left corner, ‘To Maya, [heart] Kim, 2021.’ A bookmark is resting on the book, decorated with a hamster at the bottom and a ribbon that reads ‘Humphries.’ On the table below the book is a bumper sticker that reads ‘I’d rather be turning my compost pile.’ Two arrows point to the items with the note, ‘Gifts I made for Maya and Alex.’ “December 6. Last day of permaculture class. We presented our designs in the food forest. Got my PDC.”
6. Enzo is doing a pull-up on a bar set up in a doorframe of Kim’s house. In the foreground, we can see the arm and nose of Tony working on something. Kim’s dog Molly is visible by her foot alone, pointed out with an arrow and note. A framed picture of a martini glass hangs on the wall. “December 7. Worked. Class after. Our group presented our lesson plan. Glad that class is over.”

Published On: April 3, 2024

“When I was in the 5th grade my best friend and I used to name the pigeons in the schoolyard.” A brightly colored screenshot of a Google Maps street view image of a city street, with a cartoon pigeon imposed on it to be part of the scene.

"Krazy Aphorisms Herriman-Kafka"

"SAW Presents: Sketchbook Church with Walker Mettling Fri April 26 7pm EDT Sketchbook Games | Beginners Welcome Free Friday Night Comics Workshop"

A human figure is crouched down on the ground, back against a tree trunk. They are backed away from a pond, from which a huge splash of water rises with a “PLIIP!” The figure is frowning, looking a bit taken aback.

$Christa places her hands over her chest in mourning and cries quietly, tears streaming down her face, eyes closed and head tilted slightly. Two other versions of this image are refracted in the background along with a slight iridescent effect.$

An extreme close up of a human eye. The pupil and iris are completely reflecting a scene of frogs in the mud.

A view from below of wintry trees encircling a ball of light, perhaps the moon on a cloudy night. The title is contained in this orb, lettered in a curveless style in all caps. There are lots of crow-like bird silhouettes perched in the branches of the tree, and it is raining. The scene is rendered in layers of purple, blue, and brown watercolors/gouache, lined with a black brush pen.

Two vultures are perched atop a branch running horizontally across the image, above the bolded text, "A Note From the Creator"

Kim sits at her desk, facing away from the reader, working on a painting by the light of a desk lamp. A board is standing upright in front of her, with a photo taped to it; paints and a cup of water sit on the desk to her right. “December 26.”

Kim’s hand holds a little flower; in front of her is a sheet of paper covered with other little flowers of different types. Next to it is a pair of small shears. “December 21. Collected flowers for Mom’s gift. Cleaned, worked, readied, cooked.”

Kim is crouching over the large pile of mulch, which is giving off steam. “December 14. Land remediation talk after work. Mulch pile is smoking :)”

Promo image: “SAW Presents: Aimless Comics with Anand Shenoy / 04/05 @ 7pm EST | Beginners Welcome / Free Friday Night Comics Workshop” In the center of the image is an illustration of a man with warm, medium skin sitting on a train, framed by the window. The figure’s elbow is resting on the edge of the window, knuckles pressed below his ear in a relaxed position. He is wearing a bright pink and yellow baseball cap, a purple t-shirt, and a green vest; the train seat is pink and the background is blue. The rest of the image is pink, with curved, dotted lines like in a map drawn in yellow and purple.

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.”

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