Friday, October 13, 2017

A Fire Story, Part 1

My house burned down. I made a comic about it.

That seems to be how I handle trauma. It's kind of a feature and a bug.

This is quick, loose work. Materials: Pencil, Sharpie pens, highlighter markers, and one nearly dry brush-pen on crummy paper. These eight pages are Part 1; I have another eight pages planned that I'll post as soon as they're done.

I'd be pleased if you'd consider this as a journalistic dispatch from the front.

--Brian








Part 2 spoiler alert: Everything was not just fine.

EDITED Sunday to Add: The rest of "A Fire Story" is now up. Read the whole thing on the next post (click on the link to go). Thanks.

31 comments:

  1. Awesome! Glad you’re safe

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  2. Brian so glad to see you are safe and thank you for sharing your story in the medium you know best!

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  3. "I inhaled my neighbors' lives." oh Brian. Thankful your family made it out, and grieving with you over the losses.

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  4. Brian. I know you are surrounded by love and community in this wretched hour but let me add my voice to the chorus. Glad you are safe. So sorry for all your losses and keep up the great work. Let me know if we can help in any way.

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  5. Somehow this is more real than any of the news footage. Thank your for your empathic eye and your perspective. So sorry to hear your home was lost, but thankful for your family's safety.

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  6. I was alright, until I read, "I inhaled my neighbors' lives."

    Definitely a feature, not a bug.

    Thank you for this.

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  7. Holy shit. "I inhaled my neighbors'lives." I am so sorry.

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  8. I'm so glad that you are safe. Whatever those of us out here on the internet can do to help, please reach out. You are loved and treasured.

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  9. I am so sorry you lost your home and so much of your art, Brian. We are holding you in our hearts. Best, Laurie Norton Moffatt

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  10. I'm so sorry for your losses, and for all the others out there. This is a great way to share the experience. I'm down here in San Jose simply trying to breathe the air with my asthma, but it's such a tiny issue compared to the thousands up there who are in the midst of it and suffering greatly. I'm glad that you all got out alive and with some precious things.

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  11. “I inhaled my neighbors lives.” Too true. I said something similar in front of our seven year old and I regret it. I know from the look on her face she understood what I meant.

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    1. Your response left this 62yo guy in tears. I'm so sorry for all the losses your community is suffering.

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  12. Jim wants to know what Karen packed (ie did she try to pack all your dirty laundry) hugs.

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  13. Karen-I am so very sorry you lost your house , but so glad to hear you and Brian are ok. I’ve been watching the news obsessively - so many of my friends affected. My heart is breaking, but I know SC will recover. My kids are ok; my son is fighting the fire in Napa. ❤️From Oregon. Laura Sauter

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  14. Thank you for sharing this. It is well done and powerful and important to share with the world and community what's happening. -D-

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  15. It's even more harrowing on paper

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  16. The line "I inhaled my neighbors' lives" is like a kick in the gut. This is so well done, especially given the trauma you're going through. I'm sorry for your loss.

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  17. So sorry...bless you for making this so real to those of us who live far away from this tragedy.

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  18. Beautifully written and, as others have said, it hits you right in the heart where all the news in the world doesn't.

    Also: I'm impressed you had the mind to grab "all the right things" under pressure, and to help others once you were in safety.

    Wow. Just... wow.

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  19. Amazing work. Glad your family is safe.

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  20. Lee, so sorry, I thought of you and Don immediately when I heard about Fountaingrove, and Jonas told me. I hope you got out OK. Our home was in Larkfield. Karen and I are holed up with our daughters in Novato for now, doing as well as one could expect and a lot better than most. Take care.

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  21. Glad you and Karen made it out safely. Sorry for the loss of your home.

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  22. I read the part about your lack of art tools with some puzzlement--the art looked fine. Fabulous, even. If this is how you work with an old crayon and a piece of toast dipped in weak tea, well, I'd be happy to be able to make even one of those images.

    I hope you and your wife and the pets land softly.

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  23. I am so sorry for your loss, but glad you and your family are safe. Years ago, we lived in a log cabin on Cavedale Road near Glen Ellen. Sounds like your neighborhood. I hope you recover ok.

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  24. This is so moving and beautifully drawn, Brian. My heart goes out to you and Karen. So very sorry this happened to you, and to your friends and neighbors.

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  25. I'm writing this with tears streaming down my face. Like so many others, I've been glued the news on TV, and praying, praying. I have close ties to the area; went to college in Angwin, near St. Helena; still have many friends and family in the area.
    Your story touched me deeply, & brought the tears I've been holding back. Thank you for your willingness to publish this.

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  26. I am so very very sorry for you and your neighbors. Thank you for writing this especially for those of us that live across the country. Tears....

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  27. When reality sucks, heroes turn to art. Thanks for drawing this out.

    We evacuated from our beloved Sonoma pueblo to family in the South Bay. On day 5 (with forecasts still ominous) I was given a new birthday book purchased months before: Danger on Peaks, by Gary Snyder. As is my habit, I randomly read a single poem aloud, Mariano Vallejo's Library:

    "...then one year the Casa, books and all, burned to the ground."

    I wasn't ready for this.

    Our home was spared, this time. But I still haven't been able to muster the will to read another of these darkly auspicious "Danger" poems. I will. We're all going to need some time to recover together.

    Hang in there. On we go.

    https://pulsearch.princeton.edu/catalog/4260099

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  28. So sorry to hear of your losses and all that have lost something. I hope your recovery process goes as best as possible. Love reading your comic here

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  29. Hi Brian, I just read fire story. I am with the Zoppé and Circus. We are in Redwood City right now, but will be in Fort Bragg next weekend. Besides A portion of the ticket process is going to benefit families that lost their homes in this horrible fires, we are also extending an invitation to those who lost so much to come to one of our shows as our guest. If you are interested, or know someone that is, please email me at jay@zoppe.net and I can send you some more information. We are also working on a fundraiser in Petaluma, or maybe Santa Rosa.

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