For this month's comic strip for my community newsletter, I wrote about some neighbours who are also my friends! Without them and the wonderful child care they were able to provide for our younger son, I don't know how we would have made it through the past two years. Here's where you can find out more about Maria's dayhome. Highly recommended!!!
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Only one month late: May's comic for the Ramsay Community Newsletter, featuring more "Notes from Ramsay School."
Oh no, it's already April 3rd and I still haven't posted this month's Ramsay newsletter comic strip! To be fair, though, my family just went through a stomach bug episode (well, to be more accurate, it went through us) that kept making me think of that illustration by Garth Williams in the "Little House" books that shows Laura crawling across the floor holding a ladle full of water because she's too sick to just walk over and get a drink. I combed the internet and I couldn't find that picture, but I did find the one showing the Ingalls family recovering thanks to the ministrations of Dr. Tan. That picture's probably better, anyway, since that's more how we're feeling around here now, thank goodness! Nothing like children's literature to help you get through the winter flu season. And now on to that April comic strip, just in time for "Marvellous Monday!" But first, while I'm here, just one note: Did you notice, I just wrote something on this blog? And I even put a picture in there! Not that exciting, I know, but getting this blog back up again has been one of the rustiest processes I've ever been through. Rest assured, there is a lot percolating. These posts may still trickle out slowly for the next little bit. But when I get my head around it... and the convalescence is complete... there will be lots coming! Hello blog readers, if any of you are still out there! As you may have noticed, I haven't posted anything up here in a really long time. More about that later. Meanwhile, I want to get this rolling again, and the first thing to do is a little bit of catch-up. Back in September I wrote a comic strip for the Ramsay community newsletter about our neighbourhood school... and after that I wrote a few more. Let's start by getting these comics up here. There's another one coming for the month of April. And there will be some more new stuff coming up here soon, too. Stay tuned! This presentation by Dare to Care was filled with much more valuable information and wisdom than I could really capture in these brief notes. If you have any questions about bullying or how to prevent it, I'd highly recommend checking them out. We were lucky to have Lisa Dixon-Wells at our school! Check out the Instrumental Society of Calgary, you won't be disappointed! And really, if you haven't played Peter and the Wolf for your own kids (I'm not talking about performing it on your own bassoon, I mean just letting them hear the story and the music), they're missing out. This Youtube video featuring the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra is a great version. Enjoy!
I had to stop writing comics for my community newsletter earlier this year because it's just gotten way too busy around here. And, I was having a hard time finding thrilling new stories every month (not due to a lack of thrilling things in the hood... more due to my lack of time to track the stories down). Anyway, this month I was thinking so much about a certain back-to-school story that I asked the newsletter team if I could write a comic strip about it. They ran it and here it is. This story isn't specific to Ramsay (although there certainly seem to be a lot of youthful hipster couples in my neighbourhood these days!). It's my message to all Calgarians who have children attending school: Get involved! School council is just one way. What are you doing? And if you have any great ideas, feel free to send them along. I have a feeling this school-themed comic strip might turn into a monthly thing... if I can come up with enough material. Somehow I have a feeling that won't be a problem... !
Tonight is the Inglewood Night Market, brought to you once again by that superior team of local creative types, find it. And - the weather forecast is stormy. Why does this seem to happen to us every time? I had to write this little comic strip about how ridiculous this is getting. To see some photos of our volunteers (most of whom have braved the elements on numerous occasions to make this super cool event happen), take a look here. Don't let the pictures fool you. I chose the sunniest pictures to trick people into thinking that coming out to volunteer for us would be a warm walk in the park. In fact, it is a really great event with wonderful people, but let's just face it, you're going to get rained on, hailed on, swept away by a windstorm, or something like that, at least once. So why pretend otherwise? Hence this little comic strip so that folks will find out the real truth about volunteering at the Night Market. If this tale of adventure whets your appetite for danger and excitement, feel free to show up early (say anytime starting around 3 PM) and lend a hand to the volunteers who are getting things set up. Chances are they may need extra bodies to keep the tents from blowing away. Chocolate is always good too. Or better yet, send them a note at volunteers@finditcalgary.ca and check to see if you can help out. The more umbrellas, the merrier.
In case you're wondering, the market is still on - rain or shine! So be brave! Come out. We'll see you there! By the way - I put an asterisk next to "derring-do" because I thought I'd write a little explanation at the bottom for folks who aren't familiar with that quaintest of terms. But I forgot, so those of you who don't know what derring-do means will just have to come down to the market and find out! I took some notes during Stephanie Chan's panel on "Women Into Comics." It was a pretty engaged audience... and the discussion took a whole bunch of unexpected turns.
It was great to hear from Stephanie, as well as other panels Brittney Leblanc, Mary Arroz, Kara Swanson and Erin Millar. Hope this isn't too small to read! The whole image is here, followed by some closer-ups which I hope are not too small to read. I am so NOT ready for this year's Expo. Somehow two kids and a full time job got in the way of things this year. But, I'm here! We'll just make things up as we go along. For now, here's what I've got: 1. A new compilation of comics about life in my neighbourhood - Ramsay. Special for the Expo! Come take a look, local comics fans (and fans of local comics)! This is the cover: And, well, I do have a couple of other things up my sleeve, but I think that will have to wait. Sleep is more important right now! See you soon!
It's about time I posted these long-overdue comics, written for my community newsletter. This is something I've been doing for almost three years now, but I think it's the end of an era - time for me to find another way I can contribute to my community. After all, there are so many things going on - the Community Association, Ramsay School, our amazing skating rink... Or maybe I should just walk around taking pictures of doors in the neighbourhood? Yes, I actually did that a few days ago... but that's another story. Meanwhile, here are the comics!
Realized I haven't posted these comic strips yet. These comic strips appear in my community newsletter (almost!) every month! How long can I keep this up??? Luckily there's always something happening in Ramsay. Actually, you should check out this month's newsletter to read about our recent Robot Uprising (yes, you read that right). Or check out the Robot Uprising site so you can come to Ramsay next year to hang out with the robots yourself!
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sam hesterI am a graphic recorder based in Calgary. I like local stories. I write comics when I have free time. And I leave eraser shavings everywhere I go. Looking for a
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Some nice things people said about my work:
“If Breitkreuz and Foong [founders of the Calgary Comics & Entertainment Expo] represent the Type-A side of Calgary's self-publishing community, Hester may be the community's right brain.” – Tom Babin, FFWD Magazine
“…A strong graphic style similar to other autobiographically-inclined Canadian cartoonists like Chester Brown and Julie Doucet.” – Gilbert Bouchard, Edmonton Journal
The 23rd Story: an indie comics creator's tales of life in Calgary