New in the Birdcage Bottom Books shop:

Laura Knetzger’s “Sea Urchin”

“I used to smile…

…when I thought about good things happening to other people.”

When a sea urchin lurks within your brain, how can you overcome its spiky poison to live your life? Laura Knetzger takes a powerful look at creativity and depression, reflection and burdens, transmitted through her art that ranges from the mundane to the fantastical.

Published by Retrofit Comics / Big Planet Comics

A comic made last fall about binge watching tv when you’re sad.

A comiXologist recommends: Sea Urchin

by: Eric Arroyo

Knetzger has honed her ability to express feelings and ideas beneath the skin. Her cartooning communicates depression and internal challenges in ways that highlight the empathic power of comics. While the earnest and pained laughs throughout the book gently guide the reader into sympathy, the work doesn’t act like a private diary to list one’s problems in. It pulls you into another person’s fears and insecurities, making them tangible. Knetzger’s abstract imagery is not used as a disruptive veil between author and reader; instead, it carries a specificity and intention that captures the immaterial sensations that a camera could never show you.

Laura’s drawings carry a raw honesty, with each line appearing precise and full of intention. I’m taken aback by how expressive and unpredictable her drawings are, iterating upon and transforming the iconic imagery that forms her style, while still being focused and clear above all else. From above, Knetzger’s pages can look loose and improvised, but her strength in communicating emotion comes from a marriage of directed, formal expertise with honest drawing.

Sea Urchin is a portal into another person’s pain, shared with a passionate sense of whimsy and a reminder that even if we never recover, we can still keep growing. Knetzger’s cartooning can help you understand and feel the burdens that other people carry into their everyday lives, and you may find some solace in seeing your own sea urchin reflected back at you.

Sea Urchin reminds me that I’m not alone, and I’d climb a mountain for that.

[Read Sea Urchin on comiXology]

Florals

She surprised me when she said, “I like you.”

——-> Download episode 01 here <———

Young Talk with Kris Mukai and Laura Knetzger ✍

We read comics by:

Miranda Harmon (Website / The Freeze)

Krystal Difronzo (Website / New Leaf)

Elias Ericson (Website / BREAK)

Mother Koala posing with Object Memory print version in promotion of

SPECIAL SALE on SAICOINK WEBSTORE 5% all items until 2/22

Please use the code, motherkoalalovesyou for 5% off all items! Original paintings are also eligible for the 5% discount…!

I will close the store for a long hiatus from 2/23 to 4/14. Please help me get rid of stock and get funds for the next art project…

RETROFIT 2015 SUBSCRIPTIONS ARE NOW FOR SALE!

A full year of 12 Retrofit releases! FREE SHIPPING within the United States!

Comics by: Olivier Schrauwen - Mowgli’s Mirror Matt Madden - Drawn Out Laura Knetzger - Sea Urchin Laura Lannes Box Brown - An Entity Observes All Things Kate Leth Yumi Sakugawa Steven Weissman   Sophie Franz Future Shock anthology - edited by Josh Burggraf Andrew Lorenzi Maré Odomo

You will also receive a bonus PDF of each comic via the e-mail address you supply as the books are published.

PLUS two special bonus gifts.

PLUS A FREE 2014 RETROFIT COMIC FOR YOUR FRIENDS