Without writing a whole book about it, 2023 was an extremely difficult year for me. Started the year with one type of debilitating pain, traded it for another, and landed myself in physical therapy for four months due to an injury to my drawing arm. So, while I don’t always put together a Year in Review post, I wanted to do one this year to prove to myself that I did manage to accomplish some things despite the onslaught of physical problems:
• 12 comics for 12 issues of OUT FRONT Magazine
• approx 180 postcards sent to Patreon supporters
• 5 new sticker designs
• several art shows at Spectra Art Space including Spooky Art, TDOR popup, and Tiny Art (in addition to the merch of mine that they carry year round, mostly stickers, pins, and buttons)
• a new Feeping Creatures micro zine, and a zine of my adventures at a metal show in Japan (which I have not yet added to my online store, it’s currently sitting on my desk waiting for me to get to it)
• participated in a panel discussion for an Estonian queer film festival for their showing of the queer comics documentary No Straight Lines
• speaking of No Straight Lines, when I was originally interviewed back in 2017(?) I had NO CLUE it would be shown on PBS, but in fact it streamed there for several months
• made a soft return to comic shows; while I’m still not inclined to travel much, Denver Zine Fest, DeCAF, Queer Author Expo, and First Friday at Danny the Comic Shop all saw my (masked) face [and you can now get my comics and zines at Danny the Comic Shop, so swing by and support ‘em!]
In the end, that’s not too shabby for a year in which I was physically out of commission for a good 6 months and could barely work. I’m in a better place pain-wise, if not fully back to where I was before. Hopefully 2024 will see continued improvements, and a lot more art!
Also, in the event that you’re wondering where most of my social media activity is happening these days, I’ve taken to shitposting in my Instagram stories for whatever reason. Who knows how long that will continue to amuse me, but for now, I’m most active on IG.
Cheers,
Dylan
