Merry Xmas and a Happy new year to you all =D
Sorry for being a few days late, I got the flu =(.
The 3rd panel i draw was inspired by my now passed away Grandma that use to knit me and my sister large itchy matching jumpers for Christmas =P awwww bless her =).
Last year I was was all set to start on a 3 year Art phd, but due to life being as it always is I i had to with draw. So I found myself at a lose end. One year later here I am doing so many things i never thought i would cos i’ve the skillz and people i’ve connected with because of it.
So thanks all for the encouragement =D… w00t ONE YEAR ADOPTED THE COMIC ANI!!! o/
I think it’s mainly self explanatory, but yeah i made the background green as an ode to the Grass is Greener comic… but shhhh we still don’t speak of how bad i was at drawing back then =P
We already have another comic in the pipe line so hopefully it’ll be out in the next few weeks =D.
Well i don’t think I can say anything more then… enjoy =)
Finally, we got one out =D.
The first reason we did this comic is a direct comment on the fact that we literally have been crazy busy this summer. I think Bert has better reasons to be busy then me with his work, babies & conference planning =P and me just doing some freelance work… or maybe it’s cos i’m getting old and time is just whooshing past me =P Thank you all for your patience.
The other reason this comic rings true for me is that i often would like a break from thinking about adoption, which is frankly hard since most of the work i do has an adoption context. But it is a small price to pay for such rewarding work =D.
Hee hee hee. It’s so true. I feel like that this summer. I did spend a month in Vietnam and picked up my son (and there’s a couple of comics that have come out of it too!). And I’m planning a large international gathering on adoption called the Intercountry Adoption Summit through my work at the University of Waterloo (find out details here – http://adoptionsummit.uwaterloo.ca). All that and getting ready for the fall. Oh yeah, and adjusting to having a one-year old (“Jayden, don’t touch that!”). So, forgive us our busyness and our lack of faster comic production. It isn’t for lack of desire, but we do have day jobs. :-) (and if there are any large donors who want to support Adopted – The Comic so Jess and I can do this full time, just visit the Donate page! Edit: we now the project has ended we no longer take donations).
And as Jess states very well about thinking about adoption, I recall a panel I was on once where we were debunking myths about what it means to be adopted. My friend was asked, “How often do you think about adoption during the week?” He replied, “Oh this week about 20 hours, but the week before it was more than that.” (Comic “Counselling #1” was inspired in part by this experience.) It was sarcasm, but it drew attention to what Jess points out – sometimes we think about adoption and other times we don’t. In addition to being adopted, I’m a lot more – a father, a husband, a son, a teacher, an advisor, a conference planner, a researcher, a citizen, a sports fan, and so on . . . Sometimes adoption does take a back seat to the other parts of life. That’s reflected well in this comic.
Thanks for hanging in there with us. We love to do this, but sometimes we’re just busy! More to come soon! Best wishes to all of you!
Hi everyone,
Here’s our latest, and it’s one that is both near and dear to my heart as well as an example of how humour can be healing. For the most part, it typifies our first week with Jayden, our new son from Vietnam. Basically, he bonded with my wife more than I, and to be honest, it was really, really tough for me.
All’s good now, but there were certainly those moments when I wondered if he’d ever come to be close to me. Now, he’s just as close to me as my wife and sometimes even prefers me over her!
But to help me deal with it, I wrote up this comic. I actually wrote it while in Vietnam and because both Jess and I are incredibly busy, it took a bit of time to draw it and post it.She captured us very well, although I don’t wear long pajamas and slippers and Sarah definitely doesn’t wear fluffy slippers or a nightrobe (and you really wouldn’t in Vietnam anyway – too hot!).
This comic helped me gain a sense of perspective on being an adoptee, on adopting, and on finding ways to get through a challenging and life-changing experience for me and my family. Enjoy!
Uploaded a new comic – Check.
Done a comic with a slight political slant – Check.
Worked in a stylish pink shirt into the comic – Check.
I do love my check lists =). This comic might need a bit of a read up online for those of us *cough… me* that aren’t good at keeping up at with the current news =P. It’s promoted me to sign up for the BBC rss feed so i can “try” and keep up =P.
Art wise it’s been nice to return to the original comic style as the last one was intentional more realistic. Even though i feel like i’m working on the comic constantly, I seem to be able to only managed to complete one comic a month… I’m hoping that i can do more, but yeah it’s just a case of fitting it into my other freelance work… but i hope you even enjoy it all the same =).
This is a special day here at Adopted the Comic. Today Bert welcomes Jayden Van Tri into the Ballard flock. As I type Bert and his family are in Vietnam, which is the first time for Bert since he was adopted. If you want to follow his journey and more photos of his time there you can find more at Bert’s Facebook [HERE].
I wanted to do a little comic to celebrate with Bert, and this is what i came up with. Me and Bert still have never met in person, and planning to talk on skype very soon =)… so we never really had this conversation… but the things i say we have in common here are definitely true =)… and i’m sure i’ll discover more that we have in common too =). And cos it’s such a speaical day i wanted to put me and Bert into the comic… so this is the first time me and Bert have met in comic land. Art wise i made these drawings a little more “realistic” that my usual style and had fun posing into my webcam =P.
While me and Bert have loads in common, something Bert says is “If you meet one adoptee, you’ve met one adoptee.” Even as an adoptee myself i do sometimes forget that just like anyone, there are some adoptees i may not click with and some that will be life long friends =).
Enjoy.