Rizzo Does Brussels and Other Tales

Including A Dog's Heart (book cover) and A Mouse's Bed (comic)

Hello friends! Here are a few updates as we crawl toward the end of 2024.

Reality in Comics at the Brussels Comic Art Museum

Reality in Comics Exhibit in Brussels

It was a pleasant surprise to be invited to showcase my comic, The Ballad of Betty Rizzo, in this exhibit on graphic journalism at The Brussels Comic Art Museum, alongside many heroes of mine. Joe Sacco! Art Spiegelman! Will Eisner! Rachel Meyer! Ah, well, they misspelled my name in the press release, but you guys know who I am, right?

The Ballad of Betty Rizzo

I have about 20 limited-edition signed zines left if you want to invite Rizzo into your home. She travels well.

This comic originally appeared on the graphic journalism website, Drawing the Times. The exhibit in Brussels gave me an excuse to catch up with founder Eva Hilhorst again, and I’m pleased to say that brought about a new collaboration.

I’ve been looking for a good home for another short comic, The Sunflower Community. It's about grieving with my family across a geographic divide after the unexpected loss of my sister. Look for a co-publication of this piece here on Substack and Drawing the Times early in 2025.

Sketch for the first panel of The Sunflower Community

Cover Illustration: Coeur de Chien

Thumbnail sketches for Heart of a Dog

I’ve been busy with illustration projects, like this one for the cover of a French translation of Mikhail Bulgakov’s Heart of a Dog. I’ll be wrapping up the final artwork over the holiday break. Strictly speaking, this does not fit into the comics niche, but I’d like to also share updates and process posts on illustration and writing in Rachelle’s Comics Corner. After all, they’re the building blocks of sequential art. What do you think, esteemed readers?

Sketchbook Comics

The Friday Roll - Sketchbook Comics

Substack has exposed me to so many great new artists. I love autobio comic posts from cartoonists such as

Margreet de Heer

and

Betje

. However, when I’m unwinding on the weekend, I prefer to go offline and just doodle in my sketchbook. My friend Hannah gifted me a new one for my birthday. Because it’s a bit bigger than my usual pocket-sized sketchbooks, I figured it might be a good opportunity to think differently and freehand a simple kitchen-sink drama, or a provisions cupboard story, in this case. I colored it digitally this past week while listening to podcasts after dinner. I’ll leave you with a scroll-friendly version below.

Happy Holidays to all, and to all a good night.