My return to making comics was triggered by an invitation to participate in a political art show in Detroit on the eve of the 2004 election. That piece, “Security” was quickly followed up by with a second piece “A Show of Hands” immediately after the election. Much that emerged in that second piece shapes the way I’ve been working since. For the 2008 election, I made the piece “Seeing Red/Feeling Blue,” which prompted me to launch this digital space. I took a quick break from the dissertation to continue this quadrennial tradition with the following piece on labels. In many ways it follows up on what I was dealing with in the Red/Blue piece, but it also plays on things I’ve been thinking about in the dissertation – specifically my intentionality in leaving specific words out of the work that might act to prevent readers from accessing the work. I see this in conversations on politics all the time – how people who otherwise get along quite swimmingly, are torn asunder by the introduction of a single label. In this heated, divisive time in this country, I felt compelled to make something that talks about our commonality and all that we share – which I suppose is what all my political comics have been about. Anyhow – enough words, here ’tis. More dissertation pages soon. – Nick
