Have you ever been the 120th backer?

Ben Becker

👋 benmaxbecker.com

Your article about AI doesn’t need AI art Should we be mad about David Szauder’s New Yorker illustration?

Your article about AI doesn’t need AI art

Page one: text on black background, “WAKE UP!”. Eyes open, a baby sea turtle with an eggshell helmet says, “you need to wake up!”

Page 2: helmet turtle says to a green baby sea turtle, who is waking up out off his egg, “we need to get moving.” CRASH! A cormorant breaks through the ceiling of their nest hole. Helmet turtle says MOVE!

Page 3: “when you’re out there, beeline to the water. Don’t stop. Don’t be a hero. Godspeed.” The helmet turtle kicks baby green turtle out the hole off a cliff onto the beach below.

Page 4: baby green turtle lands on the sand. The distance between him and the water is quite large. Another baby sea turtle is being devoured by a seagull and is screaming for help.

I dreamt of the beach (1/4)

Gotcha! We do offer all of those things to our members; our labor organizing is much of our public facing work but internally we do have networking, live events, and discounts from several suppliers 😎

You might like @cartoonist.coop!

The Sprocket store staff could really use the help after their short notice layoffs!

People who make comics (or other freelance art work) as their fulltime job: how do you do it? How do you make it work, esp financially?

People who make comics on the side while having a fulltime day-job: how do you do it without overworking and/or burning out?

Alright yall, my inbox is full from folks privately reaching out (please always feel free to publicly post if your contract allows) about

CURRENT COVER RATES in 2026

Strap in

Cartoon inkwell with sparkly red anime eyes and red high heels and a nib ink pen carrying a paper or banner with hand-lettered text that reads: Cartoonists United! There are colourful sparkles across the page.

Happy 3rd anniversary to us! With a new year, we have a BIG announcement 📢: we are now incorporated as a nonprofit organization and are changing our name to CARTOONISTS UNITED! Full changes will be rolled out by late summer.

Read here for the full statement: cartoonist.coop/journal/cart...

A graphic announcing the Cartoonist Cooperative’s Anti-Censorship statement. Art shows the Co-op's mascots Inkling and Nibford busting through a wall of black bricks, revealing red comic panels behind it. Text in a word balloon reads "Free Expression Now!"

In the second image, black text reads “The Cartoonist Cooperative Demands Free Expression: A Statement Against Censorship in Comics and the Arts” on a background of whited out red comic panels.

The third image shows the same whited-out red comic panels and reads “The Cartoonist Cooperative is committed to forging a world where all are allowed the freedom to create and partake in art where all are free to choose and engage with a wide range of political, moral, and aesthetic ideas, beyond those held by any single institution, government, or religious group. Censorship is always a tool of the state to suppress dissent, fracture communities, and instill ignorance and fear. The Cartoonist Cooperative is firmly anti-censorship in all forms.”

The Cartoonist Cooperative collectively stands against censorship and views it as our communal responsibility to fight for freedom of speech. We are committed to forging a world where all are allowed the freedom to create and partake in art!

Read our full statement: cartoonist.coop/anticensorsh...

Call for Artists: Comics from the Frontline of Abortion Care | Graphic Medicine

Call for Artists: Comics from the Frontline of Abortion Care

#GraphicMedicine

www.graphicmedicine.org/call-for-art...

"IN OBSERVANCE & SOLIDARITY". Two black speech bubbles with white text read "HOURLY COMICS DAY IS NOW ON FEB 8TH. CARTOONISTS HONOR BLACK HISTORY MONTH. FEB 1 - MAR 1". There is an illustration of a black silhouetted hand raised and holding a pen in the top right, and an illustration of a nib pen and an ink well personified on the bottom right. The nib and ink are bumping fists. A URL at the bottom is "hourlycomicsday.com".

Hourly Comics Day has MOVED!

It's the 20th anniversary and we're taking a stand alongside our Black cartoonist members and friends to demand a change to honor Black History Month- draw your comics on the 8th, not the 1st!

hourlycomicsday.com

#hourlycomicsday #hourlycomicday #hcd

Just before Christmas, I got a puppy. Her name is Minerva, and we call her *Minnie. I'm still learning how to understand her. Me: Do you need to go outside? Do you need to go outside, little baby? Do you need to do a poo? Do you need to do a widdle piddle? Minnie: Arf! *I just call her "little baby" most of the time. I'm also realizing I can't turn off the baby talk now. Nobody tells you about that.

I got so lucky with my first puppy. Her wonderful foster parents had her completely house-trained by the time we adopted her, so taking her outside for potty time has been pretty easy. I've got the puppy poopy routine pretty much down, now. Me, putting on my coat: Let's see... I got the little poopy bags, puppy treats for bribes, jacket, scarf, phone… I think that's everything… Oh yes! And my passport.

I had been carrying around my passport for a while, but I knew it didn't matter. This is wrong. Nobody is required to carry around their papers. I became a US citizen when I was seven. Since I was born in a refugee camp, I was stateless. The US is the only nation where I've ever held citizenship. It's the only passport I've ever had, and it still felt important. Protective. I would hold it in my pocket like a talisman, like it might ward off ghosts or something. But I realized I was holding onto it basically out of superstition. ICE will pick up anybody. I know that. So I tucked my passport away. And I largely avoid leaving my house.

I live a few blocks just South of George Floyd Square. I was in the neighborhood for that, too. And all the neighbors came together to protect each other. We're already organized. We'll do our best to get through this. Me, to my dog: I hope I can take you for a walk someday soon. Won't that be nice, little baby?

Abolish ICE. A little journal comic from South Minneapolis.

#iceoutmpls #iceoutcomics #iceoutofmpls

Orange text on a black background reads: "Attention cartoonists! Submissions open January 1st for The Minicomic Awards!" There is a orange graphic of the Minicomic Awards Logo of a person with a speech bubble head and a person with a thought bubble head reading comics, as designed by Kyle Torneby.

ATTENTION CARTOONISTS! 📢
Submissions open Jan. 1st, 2026 for the Minicomic Awards, part of the Cartoonist Co-op’s annual Nib and Ink Festival!
Comics 32 pages or fewer published in 2025 will be eligible.

See mca.cartoonist.coop/submission-g... for full eligibility requirements and FAQs.

AN ANNOUNCEMENT POSTER FOR RUFFIAN MEAT A COMIC BOOK ANTHOLOGY ORGANISED AND EDITED BY LOSTY AND BECCA CAREY. THE COLLECTION WILL FEATURE ART BY MICHAEL WALSH, MARIE ENGER, CONNOR MCCANN, ARTYOM TRAKHANOV, SLOANE HONG AND SAJAN RAI. WITH STORIES WRITTEN BY LOSTY AND SPECIAL GUEST WRITER GRETCHEN FELKER-MARTIN. COMING APRIL 2026 ONLY ON KICKSTARTER

🚨 ANNOUNCEMENT 🚨

Coming April 2026

RUFFIAN MEAT!

art by: @soengery.bsky.social @michaelwalsh.bsky.social @plaest2k.bsky.social @planetsmudge.bsky.social @vor-bokor.bsky.social @connormakescomics.bsky.social

Guest Writer @scumbelievable.bsky.social

Pre save: www.kickstarter.com/projects/aar...

Congrats Keith!

The Usual Choices A collection of short comics, from Lovecraftian sci-fi to existential autobiography, in the vein of Black Mirror or The Twilight Zone.

We're in the last week of the campaign, so now the sappy.

This represents my hopes for being a comics writer. Over 7 years, I saved money waiting tables to afford an artist for the next story. It was slow. Often discouraging. I persisted. And now: this book.

www.kickstarter.com/projects/kei...

We're in the last week! Please consider backing us today!

www.kickstarter.com/projects/kei...

@jocosejoni.bsky.social @ryanmaniulit.bsky.social @lanedraws.bsky.social @cullensart.bsky.social @jorgesantiagojr.bsky.social @gregerymiller.bsky.social @wyrmsfornerves.bsky.social @ryehickman.bsky.social

Mr. Slice's head is huge in frame. They're looking right at you. Behind them reads "Today today today! October 18, 10 a.m.–5 p.m., The Sheldon, free entry!"

TODAY TODAY TODAY! Make your way to The Sheldon for a full day of independent art, writing, poetry, printmaking, and more! We can't wait to 👀 you!

www.slicexpo.org/slice-2025/

It’s back-to-back convention weekends for me! I’ll be tabling at @slicexpo.bsky.social in St. Louis this Saturday for the first time. Come stop by and say hi!

Thrilled to be back at A2CAF: SIP this Saturday in Ann Arbor! This was my first convention two years ago (and now it’s my second too, lol) and it was the best event a first-timer could ask for. Come stop by and pick up a comic, stickers, or just to say hi!

Coming soon: The Usual Choices A collection of short comics written by Keith Frady, with art by an killer line-up of talented artists.

THE KICKSTARTER IS LIVE FOR THE USUAL CHOICES!

A 150+ page collection of short comics written by me, with a killer row of superb artists. From Lovecraftian sci-fi to existential autobiography, the collection returns to themes of love, death, gods, and monsters.

www.kickstarter.com/projects/kei...

👋 benmaxbecker.com

Coming soon: The Usual Choices A collection of short comics written by Keith Frady, with art by an incredible line-up of talented artists.

I'm thrilled to announce the pre-launch for The Usual Choices on Kickstarter! A collection of every self-published short comic I've written, The Usual Choices spans genres and styles, from fantasy to autobiography to horror. And it includes two brand new stories!

www.kickstarter.com/projects/kei...

Artists working in mainstream USA comics: Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, Image, etc. all expect art to these dimensions. I'm seeing more and more disregard for the standard specs, and it affects everyone's deadlines to have production try and wrestle your art into proper proportions.

just saw someone sincerely arguing that they need AI bc they don't have "natural" artistic talent and idk how to make you understand that nobody comes by this shit naturally. it's just...work. it's being bad at it for a really, really, really long time. it's intention, pursued over time! wtf!!!

This page has a big button for you to email 20+ customer service departments at once with an (editable, if you like) prewritten letter. You can even do it from your phone! There's zero reason to not be participating in the pushback on this.