FLAMER

I’m gay. It took me a very long and sometime perilous journey to be able to say that out loud and with pride. It’s taken me a long time to say I love myself. I like who I am. These are things I couldn’t say when I was 14.

I am trying to remember the first time someone called me a faggot. It’s happened so many times that I can’t pinpoint when it started. It still hurts. The best revenge I’ve come up with is to make a book about being a faggot, and how it’s nothing to be ashamed about. How being a faggot is a beautiful thing. How being gay and colored and fat isn’t ugly. I want all the little faggots out there to know they are loved and to wear their faggotry like a crown. We are kweens after all. We are not dirty. And we are not sinners for being gay. We sin when we believe the lies that are perpetuated against us. We sin when we apologize for being here. I sinned when I didn’t want to give myself a chance because I didn’t think I was worth anything. This story is my penance and my redemption.

Today my book, FLAMER, is in the world for you. It is gay. And I am proud of it.

If I were in a more sales & marketing sort of mood, I would give you a synopsis right now and talk about the process of making this book. But there are already plenty of great interviews that can fill you in. My elevator pitch and art nerd street cred feel inconsequential in comparison to what I want to share with you here.

Children are killing themselves. Because they think they are unlovable. Because they think this world is not for them. Because they are afraid that if they don’t kill themselves, someone else will. I was a child like that. But I chose to stay. And I would like to ask my sweet, beautiful, worthy fellow flamers to stay. Stay here with me. We can see what happens. It won’t all be good. But there is more good in the world than you know. Sometimes life pulls a reveal. What gay person doesn’t love a plot twist?

FLAMER is a lot of things. Flamer is me going in deep. Deep into the pain. Snapping old broken bones into place and learning to stand up on them. I feel strong now. I want to give that strength to others.

FLAMER is fiction. But it’s also real. This is real life. This is what some people go through. Real life is violent and crass and funny and treacherous and shockingly hopeful. Flamer is me living. Flamer is me encouraging people to find a way to live. Your life doesn’t have to be lived on anyone else’s terms but your own.

You’re enough, kid. You are enough.

Love,
Mike

Join me tonight at 7:30PM EST for a launch event with Jarrett J Krosoczka (Hey, Kiddo). You will received a signed book and an art print via Brookline Booksmith. 

 

FLAMER Book Launch with Jarrett J. Krosoczka 9/1

IT’s ALMOST HERE!!! My debut YA graphic novel, Flamer, releases on Tuesday, September 1st! It’s the summer between middle school and high school, and Aiden Navarro is away at camp. Everyone’s going through changes―but for Aiden, the stakes feel higher. As he navigates friendships, deals with bullies, and spends time with Elias (a boy he can’t stop thinking about), he finds himself on a path of self-discovery and acceptance.

To celebrate, I’ll be having a socially distanced campfire chat with Jarrett J. Krosoczka (Hey Kiddo), live from his back yard at 7:30PM ET. With your ticket purchase from Brookline Booksmith, you’ll receive a signed & personalized book and this Flamer art print!

Get your hands on this free Flamer print and signed book with your purchase of event ticket, only through Brookline Booksmith

Jarrett and I will talk about the book, discuss writing and illustrating comics for teens, and read a passage from Flamer together. I’ll do a live drawing demo, and then a live question & answer. It’ll be fun! So REGISTER NOW, get your s’mores ready, and I’ll see ya Tuesday! 

Click here for more information and reviews of Flamer. Recommended reading age 14+.

Zoom! Zoom!

Just for fun, here’s an animated gif I made using several studies for my current book project: Cara Cara by Margarita Engle, coming Spring 2017 from Henry Holt Books for Young Readers, Macmillan. The studies are gouache and pencil.

Little Elliot, Big City Cover & Release Date!

Hello Readers!

Some of you may have already heard that Little Elliot, Big City has been slated for release on August 26, 2014 with Henry Holt Books for Young Readers (Macmillan). I just received news that I can finally share the cover with you!!!

For all of you typophiles out there, I did indeed do all of the lettering myself. For the New York history nerds, the building on the top right is the once famous Hotel Astor, which was torn down in the sixties. People may also recognize a certain bakery on Prince street in the lower right, which has made an appearance in my work before.

I just reviewed the second round of proofs last week. Cross fingers that the next round will be the last, and then–TO PRINT! Though the book is still months away from being sold in stores, just sharing this image with you is a huge milestone for me. Things are happening!!!

Little Elliot, Big City Sneak Peek!

I am so very very very excited. My friends at Henry Holt have given me the thumbs up to share some spreads from Little Elliot, Big City, which is due to hit the shelves Fall 2014! Since we have over a YEAR to wait for that, I am going to give you a periodic sneak peek every few months!

Here is today’s featured spread!!! (click to enlarge)

He was shorter than most people and had to be extra careful not to be stepped on.

This was certainly one of the most complicated spreads in the book. It took a very long time, and a lot of research! It all started with this little thumbnail:

The book has a 1930s/40s feel, so I needed to do some research to see what the New York subway used to look like then. I visited the archives of The New York Transit Museum in downtown Brooklyn for more information. They had photographs showing what the subway has looked like throughout its 109 year old existence. It was Christmas morning for the history nerd in me, although it was actually an afternoon…in February…in a basement. STILL! Excitement all around.

I had to handle the photographs with archival gloves. I was a full-fledged researcher!

I searched through the physical photos, while my lovely “assistant,” Julia, scoured MTA’s online image records.

So, after gathering all of my subway research and combining it with my period fashion research, I was able to make this composition:

Add shading, scan, color, and stir: e voila! One spread made to order!

Stay tuned for more sneak peeks to come.

Moving on Up (and over a bit to the right)

Apologies for my cyber-absence! It has been a very busy few months!

I have been in New York this week. My editor, Laura, and I have been polishing up book 1!  We had a very productive meeting, and I had the pleasure of meeting more people on Team Holt. She and the good folks at Henry Holt surprised me with a platter of gourmet cupcakes from Butter Lane! I’ve never been to Butter Lane, but it sounds like a street I’d like to live on. I had the banana coconut. Ugh-mazing!!! They made me feel felt right at home. I’m very eager to finish the final book dummy and text and get started on final art!

I’ve also had some other business in New York City…like neighborhood shopping. Yes. It’s true. Dan and I are moving to New York next year!!! Hoooray!, said the New Yorkers; Booo!, said the Seattleites. I have lived in Seattle for nearly a decade now, and I love it dearly. I have had such a beautiful life in Seattle, and have been so blessed with all of the friends and work I’ve found there. I still plan on coming “home” to Seattle for long trips.

Why New York? Well, first of all, IT’S NEW YORK!!! Dan and I are ready for an adventure. We also want to be closer to home (I’m from the NYC suburbs and Dan is from Vermont). Now that my foot is well in the door of the publishing industry, I want to step in and be immersed in it! Meanwhile, Dan is interested in transferring to a CUNY to finish his bachelors degree. We’ve always talked about moving to New York, and we’re not getting any younger, so why not now? We’re planning on next Spring/Summer, to give us some time to save and search, while savoring a bit more time with Seattle friends. So, if you’re in New York and have any leads on a sweet deal on an apartment, do let me know.

Also, I have been very busy working on Queer Getting Married‘s new website. It’s not up yet, but it is going to be amazing! Customers will be able to see pricing, place orders, and personalize all online. Right now I am living in the land of database entry. It’s not my favorite past-time, but it is going to be well worth it! Marriage Equality (Referendum 74) is on the ballot in Washington state, and if/when it passes (because you will vote to approve it!), we are hoping to be busy bees.

That’s my update for now. I promise I won’t wait another month to keep you in the loop.

xoxo

I HAVE A BOOK DEAL!!!

I have officially accepted an offer from Henry Holt Books for Young Readers (a subsidiary of Macmillan) for a 3 book deal starring our favorite polka-dotted elephant, Elly!!! The first book is slated for release in Fall 2014.

These have been some of the most surreal days of my life. I really don’t know what to say. A big thanks to Brenda Bowen for being the most amazing agent ever. In such a short period of time, I feel we have grown very close, and I have learned so much from her. Thank you to my Mom for putting me in art class when I was 4 years old, and to Dad for supporting me through college. Thanks to Dan for all of the love, support, and patience over this long journey. Thanks to all of the art teachers I’ve ever had, most notably Laura Nicholls, Charlene Margiotta, Tonya Mulligan, John Thompson, Yvonne Buchanan, and Roger DeMuth. Thanks to my art friends for always being with me in my studio in spirit, cheering me on: Julia Cocuzza, Mike Lewis, Cathy Robustelli, Merve Ozal Atasagun, Beth Page, Chiara Bajiardi, Emilie Combs, Erick Ledesma, Dave Cole, Vanessa Lauria, Sarah Jane Lapp and Mark Kaufman. Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who has supported me along the way.

Also, a huge thanks to Laura Godwin, Rebecca Hahn, and everyone else at Holt, who believe in Elly and who are committed to sharing his stories with the world. I cannot wait to start working together!

To read the official press release, click here and scroll all the way to the bottom.

You may wonder how I am feeling. You can combine any of these descriptors, and you’d be correct: giddy, humbled, ecstatic, speechless, nauseous, invincible, dumbfounded, grateful, celebratory, nervous, shaky, high, flabbergasted. Add your own feelings to the list!!!

xoxo