Writing the comic is the most important part of its creation. Whether your write an elaborate script like Alan Moore or whether you write-draw (create the story through pictures) as Chris Ware does, the comic is a form of storytelling, so the story is of prime importance.

I do not know how to write.

That’s more of a shock header than anything else. I actually believe that I am fairly capable of expressing my thoughts and feelings with words (ie, writing), but the strange thing is that I have more trouble than anybody with writing a comic!

So I am going to break this mule and fix this problem for myself starting now, no matter what!

So let’s get down to this thing, shall we?

I subscribe to the belief or philosophy or what-have-you that a story’s essence is its ending. I often say “a story IS its ending.” The ending is where the author reveals the end results of the rising action and also where the author reveals his or her themes or thesis. This can be as obvious as a speech given by a character stating a moral or it can be subtle, as the thesis’ intended truth is revealed by the example of the conclusion of the action.

I apologize for that last sentence, it is a bit awkward. Let me continue:

If the story’s thesis, purpose and life is in its ending, then what is the preceding content for? Well, it seems to me that everything before the ending is the author discovering his or her conclusions. If not, it is the author allowing the reader to discover those conclusions. Either way, the bulk of the story consists of examples that support the author’s final thesis.

Okay, so the story’s purpose is in its ending, the body is the supporting argument, so…

The FUN part for the audience is the beginning and middle of the story where ideas are tried out and explored. The IMPORTANT part for the writer is the ending where the author presents his or her final ideas on the given subject.

All of my life, I’ve been a reader. In other words, I have the mentality of the “audience.” I often joke with my friends that I have more first pages than anybody in comics. I feel I understand, almost reflexively how to begin talking. These First Pages aren’t made with an ending in mind and therefore, turn into ghost projects.

So it seems that the only reasonable thing to do is sit and think about what it is that I actually want to tell people and then work my way backwards from there.

This is probably so glaringly obvious to most of you that you’re considering clicking away now. I understand. I have even been told this much about writing, but for some reason, nothing is ever really learned until I am allowed to discover it myself.

Last week…

I was walking to my favorite brunch restaurant last Sunday when I peeked into a diner window and I saw this old couple eating. For some reason, they reminded me of the characters at the end of a hilarious buddy-cop movie where the improbable partners have earned one another’s respect and they are laughing about the ways in which their personality differences contributed to solving the case. I smiled and wondered what the beginning of that story would have been like. That’s about when all of this hit me.

anyANYway, it’s the year 2010, you can say what you want…

I did a couple of warm-up doodles yesterday, but this one’s the first finished drawing of 2010…

Re-thinking that character Zoe from “Taco Town.” Link to the comic.

Not planning on doing anything with her anytime soon, but who knows what’ll happen? Not me, I just started learning to write!

Thank you for reading, always

Happy New Year,

Darryl Ayo

Hello! Or perhaps I should say “goodbye?”

As is custom in our culture, I’d like to take a look back on the year as it draws to a close. It’s a little bit sad that we tend to reduce our productivity in the month of December just to acknowledge that the calendar is coming to an end, but those are the rules, I will abide.

365 days, not all of them nice.

I began this year with a soul-damaging breakup which in turn, came on the heels of a series of traumatic interactions. I’ll spare you the details but suffice to say, it was not a period in which one envied me. Since last year, my nervous system has been playing tricks on me and I began having odd sensations and occasional panic attacks. As a result, I try my best not to get too excited about anything to avoid becoming overstimulated which feels kind of like dying.

My friends Dan, Ceora and Iggy out in Bushwick kept me sane by inviting me over for movies like three times a week (or more!). My friends John Wyffels and Meghan New Orfitelli hung out with me at comics time EVERY WEEK.

Off to a bad start, but things started to get better. I made some amazing new friends, sadly parted ways with a few old friends, but generally came out with the cards in my favor.

One of my new friends, L. Nichols, literally installed Wordpress/Comicpress for me. Then she did it again for my secondary site. That brings this discussion to a point that I think we can all relate to…

…COMICS:

So I launched this website this year. It still needs a little bit of work but all in all, I like it. I started the website with the original 120 Little Garden art pieces. Upon reaching the end of my archives, I worked out a little webcomic for the characters which I ended right before the autumn’s Small Press Expo (wasn’t working out) and later restarted in the format you see today. I hope that these starts and stops haven’t been too off-putting. I’m thinking on my feet and working as hard as I can!

I also made a few other comics this year, some of which you can see on the sister site, LetsGoAyo. That site is on a bit of a vacation at the time because I am devoting my energy toward Little Garden as well as a digital comics anthology. The anthology in question is being done by my friends the House of Twelve on the Comixology iphone platform. Those of you who have iphones should consider downloading Comixology and then downloading a few of the free sample comics to see how you like it. I hope you’ll consider buying our anthology when it becomes available in the new year!

Those, incidentally, are the same reasons that Little Garden is dropping from twice-weekly to once-per-week. I also have a day job and the workload has become overwhelming. I hope that you’ll understand that my aim is to bring you more comics, not fewer. If I allow myself to burn out, there will likely be either no comics, or comics of poorer quality.

*My drawing of Anna and Maximum Absolute from Brandon Graham’s King City. (C) Brandon Graham

OKAY, OKAY: THESE ARE THE FIVE COMICS THAT WERE GOOD IN 2009:

“Oh, Daphny” by Harvey James and Daphknee - Best comic of the year. I remember coming home late that day and seeing this linked by several people. I read it and it melted my face. Sad, traumatic and strangely funny as well. This was the best comic. It appears on the VICE magazine website and seems to only exist on the internet. It is really too bad that all of the webcomics award people seem to have overlooked this venue.

“Monsters” by Ken Dahl with help from Gabby Schulz because “Ken Dahl” isn’t real - This is the best book comic of the year. I never read the original minicomics so everything was all new to my eyes. Schulz’ cartooning is absolutely top-notch and his sense of humor and humanity invigorate every panel. For a guy who claims to hate people, he is certainly pays close attention to them. Schulz seems to love drawing to a degree that is rare in comics. Every little object is depicted in such detail and with such study that you’d think that the comic was about that thing as well. Every puff of smoke, textured hat, tiled floor, sneaker, beer bottle is drawn as though it were Schulz’ favorite thing ever. That, and the story is magnificent as well.

“King City” by Brandon Graham - My heart skipped a beat and my eyes lit up that day in the New York Comicon Tokyopop panel when it was announced that the company would be putting out American books and that BRANDON GRAHAM would be doing one. Years later, the first book came out, the second book was cancelled, bridges between the publisher and the indie comics scene seemed irrevocably burned. THEN, as if by magic, Graham announced that the entire King City story would be released as a joint venture by Tokyopop and Image Comics. This should be old news to the readers here, but the story still thrills me: King City, The Comic that Would Not Die! Even though the issues released to date reprint the original Volume 1, the project easily makes my “top whatever” list for the year. The bonus comic pages in issues 2 and 3 should tip the scales further if you’re not convinced. All of my friends know that I can (and will) talk all day long about Graham’s work, the inventiveness of his cartooning and the effervescent spirit of his comics. But I won’t. Just…buy the issues, people!

“The Mourning Star” by Kazimir Strzepek - It takes three years for Kaz to put out a new volume of this comic because it is one of the most alarmingly well-thought out, shockingly well crafted comic books that your money can buy. The Mourning Star stories tell of a post-apocalyptic world that is filled with the magic and cultures that we have come to expect from the greats of fantasy fiction. Kaz is one of the more inventive cartoonists of this day and age; there’s an interesting scene of a meeting in this book where he alters the flow of the story to better depict the scattered and segmented side discussions. There are plenty of moments like that in his work and dammit if it’s not one of the most entertaining reads out there today.

“Ivy” by Sarah Oleksyk - The fourth issue of this, the best damn minicomic out these days, came out in 2009, therefore, it’s on the list. Each chapter in the saga of Ivy Stenova is filled with more youthful indiscretions and teenage bad decisions than the last. This chapter actually ends on a positive note but I think it’s clear that this ship is still heading for that iceberg.

And that’s five already!

I was also greatly entertained by “Nedroid” by Anthony Clark, “Angel” by L. Nichols, “Elephantmen: Damaged Goods” and “Beast” by Marian Churchland (the former written by Richard Starkings), “Johnny Wander” by Ananth Panagariya and Yuko Ota, “Scott Pilgrim Vs. The Universe” by Bryan Lee O’Malley, “L.A. Diary” by Gabrielle Bell, “A Mess of Everything” by my pal Miss Lasko-Gross, “Octopus Pie” by Meredith Gran, “Ace Dog Trainer” by Jamie Baldwin, “Jaephisch and the Dark Rainbow” by Jason Fischer, “Remake” by Lamar Abrams, “Sanctuary” by Nate Neal and “20th Century Boys” along with “Pluto” by Naoki Urasawa. UGH, too many comics! All “Top___” lists should be banned.

*Octopus Pie (C) Meredith Gran

Other things that I did:

I felt like I had a fairly productive year, truth be told. I spent a lot of time in coffeehouses drawing comics. Most of all, Cafe Grumpy in Greenpoint and Verb Coffee in Williamsburg. I generally wake up extra early to draw at Grumpy before my day job starts and then if I have energy in the evening, I head to Verb to draw even more. The price of those coffees can add up but in the end, I created a little ritual and a physical/mental space that allows me to be creative. In other words, it works.

I had work in:

Always Comix: The Evil Issue - edited by Erin Griffin and Sally Bloodbath

House of Twelve: Touching Children’s Stories - edited by Cheese Hasselberger

Lumberjacks: A Field Guide - edited by Colleen AF Venable and Marianne Ways

I went to the New England Webcomics Weekend this past spring, attended an gallery opening for Always Comix, exhibited at MoCCA this summer, visited NY Zinefest a few weeks later, exhibited at SPX this fall along with King Con and ended the cycle by attending the Brooklyn Comics and Graphics Festival in Williamsburg. I don’t know about you but that’s a lot of events for this tired soldier.

Everywhere I went, there’s one thing I had to say: Read Little Garden Comics.

All In All:

2010, BRING IT.

<3 Darryl Ayo Brathwaite

I feel that it’s too early in the game to start missing updates, but what can I say: I’m missing today’s update. The page is written and mostly penciled, I just need more time to get it just right.

Comic Anthologies:

I am hard at work on an exciting comics anthology story for the House of Twelve comics group. I mentioned in the previous blog post that the Twelve is going to put out a digital comic available on the iphone through Comixology. The difference between these iphone comics and others will be that ours will feature exclusive and never-before-seen stories.

Darryl, personally:

I thought I’d take a moment to say a few words about the comics I’m reading and will be reading this week.

I just received Ball Peen Hammer by Adam Rapp and George O’Connor from my friends at First Second Books. I don’t know what to expect but the art is gorgeous and I hear the story is very dark!

Just about to finish up re-reading the Japanese series Genshiken. Tomorrow I begin book nine, the final volume. The series starts out sort of scattered but treats the characters with a gentle touch that is rare in manga. I really like the way Kio Shimoku, the creator, draws hands. They are lovely.

I’m reading Naoki Urasawa’s 20th Century Boys. I am in the middle of Volume four and I’m on the edge of my seat! This is a thriller story about a group of middle aged men who, as children, appear to have inadvertently inspired the methodology by which an evil organization seizes control of the world.

I’m also reading Urasawa’s Pluto, but I’m trailing behind my reading of this title. This is a modern retelling of Osamu Tezuka’s classic Astro Boy story “The Greatest Robot on Earth.”

A few days ago, I read the entire archives of Machine Flower, a webcomic by Pana Stamos. I’ve known Pana, albeit in a cursory way, for years. She’s married to a friend of mine from college. Back then, none of us had an inkling of the talent that she was sitting on!
I’m also kind of obsessed with Jordan Crane’s comic book Uptight #3. The art is so good that it hurts to look at. Crane renders everything with a curvy, lively line that is so self-assured and definite that the reader has to really slow down and admire the technical proficiency on display.

Finally, I’m really excited to have received the R. Crumb Book of Genesis. I think that the idea of illustrating the bible literally is pretty brilliant. Though similar efforts have been done on a smaller scale, I believe that Crumb’s ultra minute attention to detail will reveal what “Bible illustrated” comics of previous generations miss out on. Fun fact, this is the only Robert Crumb book that I own!

Finally, I took Gunnerkrigg Court out from the library down the street from me. I’ve heard nothing but good things about this series so I’m pretty curious about what is in store for me. I’d much rather read a story this dense in book form so this works out well for me!

-Darryl Ayo

Brooklyn Comics and Graphics Festival occurred just yesterday, Saturday, December 5th. The show was organized by Picturebox, Inc. and Desert Island Comics in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Good times. I live in nearby Greenpoint meaning that I was able to walk from my home to the show. Without stopping once.

The show had free admission which is wonderful but I could not tell if it attracted people outside of the hipster indie comics scene. That could be my own limited viewpoint. Either way, it was packed with people. The vibe of the show was described to me by many attendees and exhibitors as “chill.” People were generally easy-going, super approachable, despite the crowds and ready to hang around and chat for a while.

If you’re curious about loot, the first thing I did was blow almost all my cash at the SUNDAYS table as Joe Lambert sweet talked my dollar-dollar bills into ch-ch-ch-ch-change. I picked up the latest SUNDAYS as well as one of Joe’s own comics “Food/Fall,” Which does the “food” themed comic much better than I did. Dammit, Joe…

I also traded and leveled up with some extra Joe minicomics, I feel that I am now Brooklyn’s main expert on the subject of Joe Lambert. I moved on, talked with Austin English and Nate Doyle who were holding down the fort for Sparkplug Comic Books. On Friday, they threw a party at Nate’s raising some money for Austin’s “Sweetheart Comics.” I helped work the door, but took no pictures. BACK TO THE FESTIVAL THOUGH:

House of Twelve:

I spent part of the day hanging out with my team at House of Twelve. In January, we are launching a HUGE project on the iphone. We’re publishing original comics through the Comixology application. There are many comics in Comixology right now, but ours are the only EXCLUSIVE stories. You won’t find these comics anywhere else.

Kickin’ it

At some point, I wound up in a nook right in the middle of the show floor shooting the breeze with Mr. Phil and Liz Baillie who was dressed like David Bowie. People would just stop, join in the conversation, then move along. The three of us were there for like an hour just trading out people to chat with. Sorry for standing in everybody else’s way! I managed to meet Mickey Zacchilli and trade some comics for her RAV # 2 screenprinted comic, which was a stroke of dumb luck. I ran afoul of the Retard Riot table where I tried to stop myself from emptying out the rest of my wallet.

Of course, I knocked heads with, shook hands with, slapped palms with L. Nichols, Margo Dabaie, Peter Lazarski, Mike Turz, Lauren Weinstein, Ian Harker, Pat Aulisio, Jon Lewis, Jack Turnbull, Robin Enrico, Chuck McBuck, Julia Wertz, Matt Wiegle, JT Yost, Shannon O’Leary, Gabrielle Bell, Tunde Adebimpe, and I did not meet Gabby Schulz.

Oh yes:

At the end of the day, I left feeling wonderful about comics. I went to hang out with my friend Sally Bloodbath who had a post-show party and hung out with Nichols, Liz and Wiegle some more.

The meaty part of the discussion:

The thing about Brooklyn Comics and Graphics Festival is that there were no exhibitors who were bad. Everybody was pretty darn good and I do mean everyone. I will say it again: every single table at that show was worth stopping at and examining. That’s because unlike other comic shows, this show was (1) small and (2) curated. The show’s organizers chose which cartoonists and publishers would have tables and the result was a highly focused exhibition of refined taste. While there are a number of people who may not like the ultra-indie, screenprint, punk-derived comics world that this show represents, I think it would be difficult to deny that they did a great job of representing this corner of our world. Having it happen in North Brooklyn brings the point even further home.

-Darryl Ayo.

What was that?!

Hello. Today is my birthday and as a matter of tradition, I always take November 25th off and draw myself a comic. Just a standalone, spur-of-the-moment strip. I try not to think about it too much in advance and give myself a bit of a surprise when the time comes. So this is my present to myself–and to you!

I hope you’re not offended, but on the other hand, it’s my party and I’ll get you fired if I want to. Kidding.

Seriously, thanks for reading my stuff, I love you all.

<3 Darryl Ayo, age 28.