Exploring the Nebraska National Forest with The New Territory

My feature-length graphic essay about our desire to control nature—set in the haunting beauty of Nebraska’s Sandhills—is out soon.

Howdy, friend.

Over the past few issues, I’ve been lucky enough to have comics featured in The New Territory—a beautifully crafted print magazine spotlighting longform journalism, creative writing, photography, and art from and about the Lower Midwest. Its mission is close to my heart: to shine a light on a dynamic, often-overlooked region and to share stories that might otherwise fly under the radar.

Last year, I pitched a graphic essay to the editorial team about the Nebraska National Forest—a fascinating place nestled right in the heart of Nebraska’s Sandhills, a one-of-a-kind landscape found nowhere else on Earth. The piece marked a new kind of project for me: a feature-length graphic essay with a bit of a journalistic bent. They loved the idea and gave me the green light, and I spent the second half of 2024 exploring the Sandhills, gathering research, and drawing the story to life.

The result is a comic that dives into the history and creation of the Nebraska National Forest—but also digs into the broader question of what happens when we try to manage nature without fully grasping the long-term consequences. It's being published in the upcoming Issue 17, and I couldn’t be more excited. This is exactly the kind of work I hope to keep doing.

The issue will be out soon and is available now for pre-order. And just look at this stunning cover.

And while I don’t want to spoil the whole thing, here are a few of my favorite pages.

The New Territory is a gem of a magazine, and well worth your support. I truly can’t recommend it enough. ♡

– RJR