From a bottom line standpoint, this past year was a definite improvement over the previous one. But with the pandemic still raging, little to no accountability for the crimes of January 6th yet to be had (other than minor prison sentences for those duped fools who actually carried out the attack on the Capitol), and a general feeling of malaise and hopelessness about the future, it doesn’t feel like 2021 was much better than 2020. In the past week alone, 7 of my immediate family have tested positive for Covid, and it has spread throughout a significant portion of my close friends and acquaintances.
My band has made several weak attempts at getting back together, and we even signed up a new member, but one thing or another has kept us from making any significant headway into either rehearsing or recording.
As for the illustration business, it was a year of book publishing projects. The graphic novel version of “What Unites Us” was released in March, and that was exciting for a couple weeks, and seemed to garner generally positive reviews, but I’m not sure how well it has been selling. I finished three ‘Who Was’ books this year, and have another waiting in the wings. I illustrated a reprint of Hemingway’s “The Sun Also Rises”, which should be out soon, and I also completed the interior illustrations for the book “Saving Earth”, which was a project that has been hanging around for a couple years thanks to the pandemic. I have a few projects already lined up for the coming year, so I am in a hopeful mood, but a 60th birthday in a few weeks has tempered the elation a bit. My wife and I are still healthy, and so far my son and his wife have managed to elude the virus as well. Keep on the sunny side.
Without further ado, here’s what I feel is my best work of the year: