So, I wrote about what I'd be bringing to this year's Calgary Expo, but I saved my favourite thing for last. Every year the Expo produces a limited edition Artbook filled with work by a whole bunch of awesome contributors. Most people draw (beautiful) splash pages, but you know me, I just can't draw pictures unless there's a story. So I'm the one who always draws those weird autobiographical text-filled strips about my real-life adventures.

Last year, the Artbook theme was "Fairy Tales and Classic Monsters," which inspired me to write a strip about my experience with post-partum depression. I felt like that was going to be a tricky subject to follow up. Imagine my surprise when, this year, the theme was (again!??) ""Fairy Tales and Classic Monters!" (Why, Calgary Expo??) Anyway, this year I took that theme and picked a new focus.

It's Canada's sesquicentennial - our 150th birthday! That's the theme I'm excited about this year! So, I decided to draw some storytellers who are shaping the fairy tales, stories, and legends of this country. This was a random sampling of people I ran into in my neighbourhood, along with a few famous folks and a couple of tall tale tellers into the mix.

- Stuart McLean, revered Canadian storyteller;

- Northrop Frye, revered Canadian unscrambler of what stories are and how they're told;

- Ken Cameron, local storyteller whom I (luckily) ran into at Caffe Rosso just before I wrote this, and who gave me some ideas about what to write! (Another local storyteller, Barb Pederson, was there too, actually. Sorry Barb, I didn't draw you, but I appreciated hearing your ideas!)

- Pat Kelly and Peter Oldring, Canadian story-distorters (and yes, Pat really lived 3 doors down from me, long ago)

- The iconic Baba, CKUA's master storyteller, whose friendly voice has been spinning tales for so many Albertans through the radio waves for many years...

- Polarman, a recently-retired real-life superhero whom I met in Iqaluit long ago, and who's the recent subject of SESQUI, another sesquicentennial project.

- I'm honoured that my neighbour Nolene, whose inspiring story I recently wrote about in my Ramsay comic strip, gave me permission to include her on this list of storytellers. It's been a privilege for me to hear from her a little bit about her experience of discovering her Indigenous roots. The stories she's been telling me, and the ancient learnings she's been absorbing from her cultural community, are by no means "fairy tales," or "tall tales," by the way. These are real stories that are a necessary part of the story of Canada's 150th, despite the fact that some of them are sad stories. I wanted to include Nolene in here, because learning about stories like hers has been important to me in understanding what Canada really means, and could mean in the future.

Ok, that's all for now - time to go!
I'm going to post this without any links because I'm out of time, but I'll add them in soon! See you at the Expo!

Well, folks, it's time for another Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo, that behemoth of pop culture that descends upon Calgary at the end of April every year. You can find me in Artist Alley at table R12!

This will be my sixth year as an exhibitor, but you can't really count last year. A few days before the Expo, I bumped my head and ended up with a concussion. I missed the Expo, but at least I wrote a comic about getting a concussion (which you can get from me at the Expo, this year!)

What else am I bringing to the Expo this year?

I organized a panel on contemporary Canadian indie comics, featuring this amazing lineup of panelists:

Julia Smith & Sean Carleton of the Graphic History Collective (and it's their first time at the Expo, so be nice to them); Eric Dyck from Lethbridge; and Hope Nicholson, all the way from Winnipeg!

This is happening on Saturday, April 29th at 1:15, so please come and talk to us about the local comics scene where you live.

That brings me to my next NEW thing.

I'm working on a little comics strip about the Calgary/Alberta indie comics scene for the Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics (which is pretty darn exciting for me, for a few reasons).

This project is the reason I decided to organize the panel mentioned above. I mean, I could write about my actual experience of the Calgary indie comics scene since I got involved, and this would be it:

I am really looking forward to hearing everyone's thoughts on this subject. Even if you can't make it to the panel, if you have some great insights about the evolving indie comics scene in this town (or around Alberta), please come and talk to me at the Expo or send me a tweet @calgaryhester! I'd love to hear what you think.

I'm also bringing ONE OTHER new thing to the Calgary Expo, and that's my contribution to this year's Expo Artbook. But I'll have to keep you in suspense just a little bit longer before I post that out. Stay tuned! And if you are coming to the show, remember... wear comfy shoes and bring water!

It's about time for me to post this comic, my April strip for the Ramsay newsletter. April's more than halfway over!

I've been writing about Mayor Nenshi's initiative, 3 Things for Canada. I chose three acts of service that I wanted to do for Canada this year, and of course all of them have something to do with comics. In a previous blog post, I mentioned the first of my 3 Things: I've been working on organizing a panel discussion at the Calgary Comics Expo about Canadian independent comics. That's coming up soon, on April 29th. You can read about it here!

My second thing is something I've been doing for a while already in 2017: writing comics about inspiring things happening in my own community. I'm looking for true stories about people who are helping Canada to be a country to be proud of. This kind of started with my Ramsay comic strip in December 2016 when I wrote about "why we need neighbours," and I'll be looking for opportunities to keep writing about this throughout the year.

When I heard this story from my neighbour Nolene, who works at the Ginger Group, I thought it was just the kind of thing I wanted to write about. She was gracious enough to let me turn it into a comic. Here you go!

Find out more about Alpha House! Watch this space for more monthly comics like this one! And stay tuned for my third Thing for Canada, which I'll be announcing during the next few weeks.

And, keep an eye out for Nolene, who's appearing again in my comic for the Calgary Expo Artbook!

So here's the 1st of my 3 Things for Canada: I pitched a panel about independent Canadian comics to the Calgary Comics Expo, and it's happening!

I'm really interested in comics that are being created and published right here in Canada, and even more if they're about Canadian stories. Right here in Calgary, there's a growing independent scene, ranging from old-timers like Damian Willcox (sorry, Damian! Guess I should probably say "creators of long-standing status" or something more dignified...) to new movements like Panel One, an independent creators' collective established in 2016.

I've been thinking a lot about contemporary comics in Canada (and in Calgary in particular), since I read back in 2016 that the Canadian Society for the Study of Comics had put out a call for papers on "The Young Canadians." They were asking, "What's happened in Canadian comics in recent years?"

I'm definitely not an expert on this subject, but I'm interested in how my own local scene has been evolving. And I thought the Calgary Expo seemed like the perfect place to have a discussion about this. So, that's part of the reason why I thought this panel might be a good idea. I am looking forward to listening and learning!

If you're coming to the Expo this year, I really hope you'll come out to hear this conversation. Right now, the Expo website still hasn't posted its programming info, but when it does, this is where you'll be able to find it. In the meantime, here's some information about our panel!

Comics scholars Sean Carleton & Julia Smith, Winnipeg-based Bedside Press publisher and Prairie Comics Festival organizer Hope Nicholson, and indie comics creators Sam Hester & Eric Dyck, will discuss comics about real life historical & contemporary Canadian stories.

Why should you come and listen to this panel? Well, obviously, if you’re one of those few people who’s interested in the Canadian independent comics scene, you’ll know there are only a handful of opportunities every year to find people from the field congregating to talk about this cool subject. so you won’t want to miss this.

And if you’re in the category of folks who had no idea that this was even a thing, well, then clearly this is the place you need to be, to find out more! Either way, we hope you’ll come!

And now remember: putting this panel together has been the first of my 3 Things for Canada. Stay tuned for the next two, coming soon!

This month's Ramsay Newsletter comic strip. Thanks to guest artist Scott (my husband) for stepping in to help since I couldn't do it this month! I think this may be his first comic strip ever, but hopefully not the last!

The latest comic strip about life in my quiet Calgary neighbourhood appears here, against the backdrop of a rising tide of world events that I'm struggling to keep up with. When I started writing comics about Ramsay, I didn't imagine that politics - local, to say nothing of global - would really ever be a big part of the story. But once again, I'm finding the line between the events on my own street, and the events "out there" in what my dad used to call the Great World, to be indistinguishable. It's all part of the same story.

When I drew this comic a week or two ago, I decided to write about an initiative launched recently by our Mayor Naheed Nenshi as part of Canada's 150th anniversary celebration (otherwise known as our sesquicentennial). You can read about "3 Things for Canada" in the comic strip below (and click on the link to see the website for this project. This is something you'll want to be part of!).

But right now "3 Things for Canada" feels like a small contribution to make, to a country that needs much more. Last night,six people were killed in a terrorist attack at a mosque in Quebec City.

Just prior to this tragic event, I had been heartened to see Canada's politicians, almost without exception, asserting Canada's commitment to a diverse and inclusive society, one that welcomes refugees regardless of  faith or ethnicity, in contrast to Donald Trump's recent Executive Order. Here are just a couple of statements I was proud to see:

Today, after the tragic events in Quebec, the work of Canada's leaders becomes even more difficult. And this brings me back to Mayor Nenshi, whose response to the Quebec shootings can be read in full here:

And that brings us to 3 Things for Canada - three acts of service to our nation that can build bridges, heal,  celebrate, and reaffirm what it means to be a Canadian today. 

First, a little history about how this got started - with 3 Things for Calgary.

That's really just the introduction. Next, I want to tell you about the first of my three things: the story I'm going to tell this week, as part of the community-building, healing, and learning that I want to contribute. Look out for that first chapter very soon! In the meantime, consider what you could share with our country: What are you passionate about? What can you do to help?

There couldn't be a better time for this project.

Hi Ramsay comic strip readers! Before I post this month's comic, here's a little bit about why I wrote it:

Over the past five years or so, I've been writing a comic strip that runs in my monthly community newsletter. This is just something I've done for fun, because I was inspired by the people, places and stories in my neighbourhood. It was a way to give back.

I've written comics about politics here and there - my first foray into indie comics was a story about the effects of September 11th, 2001 on Canada, and my most recent politically-themed comic was "City Hall 101," a story about how everyday Calgary citizens can weigh in on issues that matter to them, at City Hall.

But I've steered clear of politics in "Sam Hester's Ramsay." I've never wanted to use my little neighbourhood strip as my own political soapbox. The newsletter only circulates to about 1000 households, along with being posted to the Community Association website and my own blog. But if my comic is even a small part of the face Ramsay presents to the outside world, I want to make sure it's as inclusive, diverse and welcoming a face as I can help to make it.

That's still what I want. But this month, I had to write about my fear of what's happening in the United States as the world watches the unprecedented period of "transition" following Donald Trump's presidential victory on November 8th , 2016.

Ultimately, whatever happens and whatever you believe, anything we will be able to do to keep the human race going, under any kind of political leadership, will be about sharing space with your neighbours. I'm hoping that's a message that can resonate with everyone!

I hope it might spark some conversations - maybe even motivate people to reach out, in their own networks, for answers to the questions they have. And if people think I'm absolutely wrong about my take on this - I hope those people will talk about it, think about it, do something about it, too! If neighbours are getting connected, my art is doing its job.

By the way, independent comics creators all over the world are using their medium to share stories about what's happening in America right now. Take a look at what Alison Bechdel is doing; Francoise Mouly and Nadja Spiegelman are putting together an important project too. (If you know about any other comics that are being written about this, I'd love to hear - especially if they're Canadian!)

Let me leave you with this quote from American journalist for the Globe & Mail, Sarah Kendzior, who's provided a voice of reason throughout the entire American election campaign, and even more so in the past weeks now that she's really gaining an international audience (thank goodness). This quote is from an article she wrote on November 18th, 2016:

"You still have your freedom, so use it. There are many groups organizing for both resistance and subsistence, but we are heading into dark times, and you need to be your own light. Do not accept brutality and cruelty as normal even if it is sanctioned. Protect the vulnerable and encourage the afraid. If you are brave, stand up for others. If you cannot be brave – and it is often hard to be brave – be kind."

I have a few more thoughts about this, so look for another post very soon, with some ideas about what neighbours can do next. Until then: be kind, to yourself and to your neighbours, too.

Just realizing that I didn't post my November Ramsay newsletter comic strip, so here it is at the end of the month.
 
For once, this wasn't a comic strip, but a sketch which I did with my son, as part of a school project with his Grade 3/4 class at Ramsay School. It made me think about how I used to sit and sketch all the time, and the fact that I never do that kind of thing anymore. I should! And maybe you'd like to give it a try, too - it sure teaches you to see things in your own neighbourhood that you might never notice, otherwise.

The late great Stephen Cartwright, by the way - a children's book illustrator I loved as a kid. Those dog-eared books are now being read by my kids. (I couldn't find a reliable link that actually showed his artwork, so I just linked to his Wikipedia article, which doesn't feature any of his illustrations. Dig just a little deeper online and you will find lots!)

And as for our mystery location in the neighbourhood - I couldn't quite get the red marker on our spot, since we weren't located at a street address. Instead, we were in the park just to the west of Bellevue Avenue. Scroll in and find #1102 Bellevue Avenue - that's the house in my sketch.

Here's this month's comic strip for the Ramsay community newsletter - all about buses!

I just finished a week of graphic recording with an amazing team of people working with Calgary communities to create a vision for the city's new Green Line - so, I've spent a whole week thinking about transit. So maybe that's why I had buses on my mind when writing this comic strip!

And one more note. In case you haven't developed a finely-tuned ear that can tell different bus engines apart as they approach, you might like to take a look at this instead: a brand-new website called Transit55.ca that tracks local buses as they head along their routes. If you're like my son and you actually care which bus is coming (i.e. you really want to catch a ride on that "curved exhaust pipe" bus rather than just any old bus) - then this is the site for you! Enjoy!

I just talked with the Calgary Eyeopener about a little project I worked on earlier this year: "City Hall 101." I talked with Calgary Metro, too (here's a link to the article they wrote about this). So I guess I'd better post the comic here. Some of those creative folks at Calgary City Hall had the idea of using comics to draw people's attention to ways ordinary citizens can engage with what's going on. I love the fact that our script used the idea of people showing up to speak in support of a proposed change, rather than against it. People might not realize that that's an option! Anyway, here's the comic. The story isn't really that thrilling, but what IS thrilling to me is the growing interest in comics as a legit form of art and communication. Thanks City of Calgary for the opportunity!

You can also see the comic - a bit bigger, and along with all the relevant City Hall info - on the City of Calgary's website, here.

And If you're really interested in hearing my 8 minutes on the CBC Eyeopener talking about this, here's the audio track. (If you're interested in hearing what I sound like at 6 AM after 4 hours of sleep and one big mug of coffee... you've come to the right place!)