Skull and Spider

Dear friends,

Whelp October has packed quite the wallop, hasn’t it? The news has ranged from precipitous to calamitous. It is usually my favorite month of the year, but this particular October has been rough.

But here in Oak Park things are good. Michaela got her ears pierced! Talk about a rite of passage. I’m working on a piece about Chicago architecture, which we can all agree is the best. Chad is working his magic on our house and suddenly our ridiculously small kitchen is feeling spacious-ish.

I’m finding myself reminiscing more and more—is it because of the move? Being middle aged? Who knows? In any case I am going with it and trying to work those memories into my diary comics.

Love,

Claire

What I’m Reading

I enjoyed reading Kaitlin Chan’s webcomic, Eric’s Sister. I grew so attached to the characters I didn’t want it to end (and the ending made me tear up) but I’m looking forward to the print version.

Alexander Chee linked to this poem in his latest newsletter. When I read it the first time I felt it in my throat, and the next time, in my heart.

p.s., in case it was hard to follow, in the first panel that is a picture of a toddler who came up to me with a plastic skull in one hand and a couple of spiders in the other while I was sitting on a bench outside of Michaela’s school. His mother apologized for having a “creepy toddler” but I was completely charmed.