How to Draw Bonus: Happy Earth Day
Popping in with a list of required reading to honor our planet and inspire action toward positive change.
Howdy, friend.
A quick one. It’s Earth Day. It is not too late for us to reverse catastrophic climate changes—but it’s getting close. There are steps you can take on a grander scale, yes, but it starts with us and our individual actions: consider your usage of single-use plastics, join (or start) a cleanup in your neighborhood, use public transportation or bike or walk instead of driving, and even make art, which reams of studies have shown can increase our empathy both for each other and our planet.
I often think of my late dog Chewie on Earth Day. He got me out of a scary depression long ago by forcing me to go outside every day for our walks. Our time together taught me to see all the wonder in the world around me—especially in the everyday. To stop and touch and smell and observe.
To honor Earth Day, I figured I’d curate a short list of graphic works I come back to often and that, like Chewie, in one way or another got me thinking about the world, our actions, and my own capability and culpability. I hope you find something here to check out.
Hug a tree today. ♡
– RJR
Saga of the Swamp Thing by Alan Moore, Stephen Bissette & John Totleben
This book scared the hell out of me when I read it as an adolescent, and it’s one I keep coming back to. While a living manifestation of nature is fiction (maybe?), it’s good to be reminded we should fear and be awed by it! Or else!
A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge by Josh Neufeld
Josh Neufeld’s masterful book offers a deeply human perspective on the devastating impact of natural disasters—sadly, something more and more common—and the complexities of recovery.
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind by Hayao Miyazaki
Post-environmental disaster epic fantasy, yes, but Miyazaki’s manga (which he later adapted to film) offers a stunning reminder of why we must shepherd our world now, while we can. Toxic forests, deadly wind, scattered kingdoms battling for precious resources…terrifyingly prescient!
Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands by Kate Beaton
Beaton's memoir tracks her journey as a worker in the Alberta oil sands, shedding light on the profound impact of resource extraction on the environment and, ultimately, us.
Lovely reminder about the power of a dog walk!