this tornado

The big Paris climate summit starts tomorrow. I hope you’ll forgive a comics-less post, but there’s something I need to say.

~GLOOMY PART~

In the forests near my house, confused spring flowers are blooming. Hemlock trees are ailing because they’re being munched on by an introduced insect that loves warm winters. The wonderful Atlantic waters just miles from my home are steadily becoming more acidic. I write about what’s happening in nature as if it’s not all going to change, and soon, and forever… but 2015 will likely be another warmest year, and I know from reading studies and papers that this is just the beginning.

~END GLOOMY PART~

I REFUSE to sit back and watch it happen. And there’s something big that we can all do.

Studies show that most of us are fretting about climate change - but we’re fretting quietly. We need to raise a little fuss. (Can you tell I’m Canadian?) We need to tell politicians that they need to take global action on climate change, and that we have their back if they do.

Contacting politicians works. Seriously, I hear this all the time from my friends in politics. Even simple emails that say things like “I’m worried about the future” have a major impact. It just takes a small group of loud, obnoxious citizens to change the world - and we’re not a small group, we climate change worriers. We’re a HUGE group. A huge, worrying, fretting group of people who love penguins and moose and walruses and trees and weird deep-sea creatures.

Here are two ways to make your voice heard:

Watch this great video by some amazing youtubers, and sign their petition alongside 3.5 million of your closest friends.

Write an email to your local or national politician. Email addresses will be on their home pages. You don’t need to agonize over the wording. Just tell them what you’re worried about.

Hey there, kittens and cats! Since the LJs team is coming off of a big weekend, and because someone asked Noelle a while ago about the origins of the scouts’ names, I thought now might be a good time to definitively explain the naming process for each character.

Jo was named for Jo from Little Women, as many have guessed, since she is in some ways the de facto leader. Also, originally, the whole bit of using famous women’s names as exclamations came from Jo March using “Christopher Columbus” the same way, but there’s no way Lumberjanes would ever use his name, so here we are.

April wasn’t named after anyone in particular, although I like the idea that it was after April from TMNT. April was designed to be, at first glance, an embodiment of traditional femininity (so she could subvert all the noxious baggage associated with it), and she needed an appropriately feminine-sounding name to match.

Mal and Molly were named together. There’s an old theater trick of dressing characters who are related in the same colors; for example, a father/daughter pair might both wear the same pattern fabric so the audience associates them together. I wanted to do the same sort of thing with Mal and Molly so that it was clear from the beginning that they were a pair, so I went with two names that sounded similar but weren’t too similar. Also, I wanted something could also be turned into an easy ship name. #mally

Ripley is named after Ellen Ripley from Alien, but you probably already knew that. Ripley needed a name that would be equal parts gender-neutral and associated with a badass woman, so it was a natural fit.

Rosie is fully Rosie the Riveter. She’s meant to be a twist on the trope, though, because her namesake is the face of American loyalty and Lumberjanes’ Rosie is way shadier.

HEY GUESS WHAT!

POWER UP #1 arrives in the world like a fresh newborn babe on JULY 22. If you would like to read a bit more about it, there are a bunch of cool articles coming up soon but we did a cool interview with The Mary Sue when it was announced! It is about three strangers and a goldfish with magical powers, but also it is about teamwork, friendship, monsters and rad fashions. Woah!!! This is the first creator-owned series for both Matt Cummings and I, and we really want it to succeed, as you can imagine! For that to happen, we need your help. Pre-ordering comics is the most sure-fire way for shops to not only make sure to stock Power Up, but for them to notice, promote and buy enough of it for everyone. This is where you come in! What you can do: 1) Print this form out. 2) Fill it out, including how many copies at $3.99 you’d like to purchase, or check the box if you’d like to subscribe to it! It is going to be six issues long, so that would be rad and not TOO expensive. 3) Bring it into your local comic shop, or if you’ve never been to your local comic shop, you can find one here. 4) On July 22nd, your copy of Power Up will be waiting for you! You don’t have to worry about your shop not having any or selling out, because there will be one with your name on it. How cool is that?! It is VERY COOL.

SSH. Don’t tell anyone at BOOM! I showed you this, but Matt sent in the first issue of Power Up and… ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

Hi everyone! If you still haven’t pre-ordered the first issue of Help Us! Great Warrior- What are you waiting for!?

The deadline for pre-orders is January 19th! The more pre-orders we get the cooler my editor will think I am! Make my dream come true and help me be cool!

CookieJanes

"NO CONTROL"

I figure I can’t expect 1DHQ to live in my head and produce my dream music videos, so I made my own. It’s kinda like The Hangover meets Ocean’s 11.

Car chases! Mysterious briefcases! Irresponsible use of handcuffs!