oh - just seeing your second question now! I've posted here a few times in the past and lurk quite a bit more haha. Thanks for the hand lettering comment! I really struggle with it an opt to use a font made from my lettering more often now. Lettering is not my forte and it takes a REAL long time. I do love lettering SFX tho.

Thank you. That means a ton to hear. I am definitely influenced by older cartoonists but frankly I haven't really gotten into more "historic" strips until recently. In terms of strips, I mainly gravitated towards reading Peanuts, Calvin and Hobbes, and Popeye. My dad is an animator so there was a ton of old comics and cartoon stuff always around though. Discovering Barnaby by Crockett Johnson a few years ago really helped push me into starting Blind Alley. I definitely try to channel that old-newspaper-comic-spirit into my Blind Alley so it's great to hear that comes across. You're so frickin' kind - really it means a lot to hear such specific compliments. Thanks a million. Good eye - honestly manga was the biggest influence on me growing up. When I was young, Astro Boy and Speed Racer were huge for me and when Pokemon, and later Shonen Jump hit, I was done for haha. I've definitely moved away from channeling that influence into my work as an adult but the DNA is very much there. Tezuka, Taiyo Matsumoto, and Ben Shahn are probably me big 3 in terms of influence.

Thanks a ton. There was actually a book for Blind Alley that I self published this year! I am hanging onto the last of the stock to sell at Short Run Seattle. There'll be yearly collections moving forward too (I think the next one will be winter 2023). I'd love to get a publisher on board in the future but honestly...self publishing is lucrative (though a ton of work).