Matter by Emily Zilber – Episode 1 – SEE SAW Comics, Webcomics from the Sequential Artists Workshop

Matter by Emily Zilber – Episode 1

Page one of Matter by Emily Zilber, a comic drawn in black, gray, and white with wet ink.

1. Emily continues, “I couldn’t name the site now. I couldn’t say with any certainty it’s not a hybrid room made from memory soup. What I do know for sure is how incredible it felt to step into the past, for real.” First-grader Emily, still in her skirt and hat, stands in the doorway of a museum room. She is dwarfed by the space around her. The floor is a large, black and white checkered tile. Antique furniture decorated with ornate ceramics, a grandfather clock, a hanging light, and a decorative mirror are set up on or along the walls. There is another doorway to the right of the panel. The rest of the room is open space. Emily goes on, “I assumed I was seeing uncomplicated truths of how people lived & what they valued—in 1630, 1850, or 1915 through these spaces.” 2. “House museums made sense alongside other ways I accessed the past as a child in the mid-80s. All American Girl dolls & ‘Little House on the Prairie’ & lusting over the Playmobil Victorian mansion (model T & dress coach sold separately).” A view from above of Emily as a girl, wearing a t-shirt and a headband with her hair down. She is placing a sticky tab on a catalog page advertising the ‘playmobil 2900 - the good old days.’ Images on the page show pilgrims, a toy mansion, and toy cars, strollers, and other accessories available for purchase. Emily is sitting on a circular rug, and there is an American Girl doll and a copy of a ‘Little House on the Prairie’ book to her left.

Published On: February 29, 2024

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.

Early Bird Episode 4 Thumbnail

In the gray and white of Lynn's near-present day, Lorraine holds onto James's arm as they walk on a path from a house blanketed in snow. They are dressed in hats, scarves, and winter coats.

A close-up of young Emil's face drawn with vampire fangs and a ravenous expression: mouth open, eyes wide, brows bent in a scowl.

Enzo is standing next to a bed and bending down to reach something on the ground. “October 3, Sunday.”

Young Adam is hunched over, hands on knees, throwing up: "BLEH"

Kim is standing outside, using a fire extinguisher on what looks to be a bush in front of her. She looks calm. “September 26.”

A baby with glasses, smoking a pipe, wearing a violet bathrobe, and reading a Playboy magazine with an unimpressed expression. The background is pink.

Guy is relaxing on the couch watching TV with a pink-haired woman. His hand is resting on the woman’s thigh. They are both sitting in the same position, right leg crossed over left.

A view of a classroom from Kim’s perspective. A man with a goatee wearing a button down shirt stands behind a podium with a desktop computer, speaking to the glass. There is a projector on a stool in front of him, displaying an image of a rocky formation and body of water on the screen on the back wall. Two men sit in the desks in front of Kim, leaning in and listening. “September 20. Our group had its first presentation today. I had dreaded it, but we did well and now it’s over with.”

Enzo is standing in the kitchen, holding Tonks the cat in his arms like a baby in a front-facing carrier. He is smiling softly. “September 14. Made turkey meatballs before work. Crappy work day. Class after with quiz.”

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.