Hey folks!

A couple of weeks ago I spoke with Lindsay Taylor at the Sequential Artists Workshop (SAW) in Gainesville FL about my days as a mini-comics zine creator in the pre-internet days for their ongoing 90s Mini-Comics Oral History Archives series. We discussed what it was like collaborating with other queer cartoonists through the mail (I gave shout-outs to as many of you as I could remember) and creating my own work — as well as what the era meant to me. If you're at all interested in that time or in zine-making/mini-comics in general, I hope you'll give it a watch sometime: go here to do so.

Pretty good, huh? I’m chuffed! What a nice capper to this year.

This “Queering Comics in MN” panel is happening on Sunday 12/10 at 1:30 at the Minnesota History Center with Archie Bongiovanni, Blue Delaquanti & me. The event is in conjunction with the big phat exhibit on the *Great* Charles M Schulz, Saint Paul’s finest (whose brilliance made me want to become a cartoonist at a very early age). Free with site admission. Hope to see ya there!

Hey all, I will be at Twin Cities Book Fest tomorrow from 10a to 5p. I’ll have a limited number of my graphic memoir MARRY ME A LITTLE on hand to sell, as well copies of THE SHIRLEY JACKSON PROJECT, the astrology anthology WHAT’S YOUR SIGN, GIRL?, my Ignatz-winning anthology QU33R, and my (somewhat rare) gay boy anthology THE BOOK OF BOY TROUBLE VOL 2. So come on down and see me at table 313 if you’re in the vicinity!

hi folks, my episode of the fab 7 Minutes of Book Heaven podcast just dropped today! Listen as I describe my new book Marry Me a Little to my celebrity crush, read a favorite sentence from another author as well as a fave sentence of my own, and more! Just go here to listen. More soon!

The reading on 8/1 went really well and I had a blast. Next up: I’ll be at SPX as a special guest Saturday & Sunday 9/9 & 9/10. On Sat I’ll be in a spotlight panel with 2 esteemed colleagues and will be moderating another (queer-themed) panel on Sun. Deets to follow soon, including set times I’ll be signing at the Graphic Mundi table.

Here’s the next stuff for me! Though I’ve been chilling out for July, June was an eventful month, what with signings, readings and panels in Ann Arbor, Sunnyvale Library & the ALA conference—all super-fun—but we ain’t done yet! As stated above and below, I’ll be doing a reading here in town on 8/1, which is the 10th anniversary of the day same-sex couples were first able to get hitched here in MN, and then I will be at SPX in Bethesda MD as a special guest on 9/9 & 9/10! Pretty cool, huh? I’ve never been a special guest before, so Go Me! (and shut up imposter syndrome.)…more about TC Book Fest & Detroit later on…stay tuned! xo

Hey folks, now you can see my Marry Me a Little reading/presentation without having to leave the comfort of your own home! This is free, obviously, but registration is required (don’t worry, it just takes a moment)! Go here.

Note: this is held at 7pm Pacific time, so that translates to 8pm mountain time, 9pm central, & 10pm eastern. I’ll be sure to have my little nap beforehand!!

Hope you can make it!

Well, the Ann Arbor District Library event (sponsored by Literati Books) was a success! The mid-sized crowd was really lively, and I practically got writer’s cramp from signing so many books. Many thanks to all who attended and to AADL & Literati for hosting.

Next I’ll post info about my appearance at the ALA conference in Chicago later this month. Until then…

I’ve just added in a virtual event on 6/15 and removed a hoped-for Chicago thing that just doesn’t seem to be panning out—could still happen but June is coming up fast! I have a few other irons in the fire and will update again when things fall into place. In the meantime, if you’re in Michigan, specifically Ann Arbor, Michigan on 6/2, I’d love to see you at my reading! It’ll be at the Ann Arbor Library at 6:30 local time.

have you seen this piece from Publishers Weekly by MariNaomi, 20 Essential Queer Comics from the Past Five Years? Check it out: Marry Me a Little is on that list. Pretty cool, huh? There’s some perfectly amazing books on there that I dearly love and I’m proud for mine to be amongst them.

What has happened, what has yet to be, with more to be added…

Had a wonderful time at my book event at Magers & Quinn in Uptown Minneapolis last night. We had a really good-sized crowd of friends old and new—as well as a bunch of complete strangers! I had a swell time (I really enjoy reading my work in front of audiences and especially like hobnobbing with folks while signing books).

Unfortunately, the photos my pal Ethan took won’t jibe with this here Squarespace space, so to a see a few pics from the event go here.

Next event, as far as I know, will be in Ann Arbor, MI on Friday 6/2 at 6:30pm with Literati Bookstore, and late that month I’ll also be signing and paneling at the ALA conference (dates of panel thus everything else are still TBD). It’s possible I could do another event before all that but I have some longstanding travel plans in late May, which could make that tricky (I’d like to though). I’m mulling over a couple of possibilities.

More soon!

Welp, the double reading/book launch with MariNaomi at Silver Sprocket in San Francisco was a success! Mari and I had a great time with a lovely, appreciative crowd of friends, cartoonist colleagues, and readers. Many thanks to our pals at Silver Sprocket, Avi & Josh, and esp to Mari for inviting me to do this w/ them in the first place! Mari is a great friend and colleague and you should check out their great new book, I Thought You Loved Me from Fieldmouse Press.

OKAY! Next Marry Me event is here in the Twin Cities at Magers & Quinn at 7-8pm on Thu evening, 3/16! It’s me solo this time, with my very own spouse, John Capecci as host/emcee! Magers & Quinn does ask folks to pre-register, just so they can gauge the number of attendees. Here’s the link to do so (absolutely free of COURSE). We’ve got a nice crowd already but still room for more, so hope to see you there!

And stay tuned for more appearances in the late spring/early summer, including one in early June with Literati Books in Ann Arbor, MI (my home state!), and a panel appearance and signing in Chicago at the ALA conference (late June). All dates, times & other deets for both Literati & ALA to be announced soon.

Hi there, before my solo book event at Magers & Quinn on Thu 3/16, I will be appearing with my pal MariNaomi in a joint book launch event at Silver Sprocket books in San Francisco on Sat 3/4! I’m debuting Marry Me a Little (obviously) and Mari will be presenting her great new memoir I Thought You Loved Me! If you’re around the Bay Area, why not stop on by? We’ll be reading excerpts from our books, conversing about each other’s work, and engaging with readers and peers alike!

Stay tuned for more events in the coming months…!

Hi there, I will be presenting a reading and discussion of my new graphic memoir Marry Me a Little (release date 2/21/23) at Magers & Quinn in Minneapolis! It’s free (obviously) but they want folks attending to pre-register. I’d love to see you there!

Below is the review, many thanks to the writer!

A personal look at same-sex marriage from an award-winning comics creator.

Like his colleague Alison Bechdel, Kirby had a long-running series syndicated in the gay and alternative press; this is his debut memoir. In 2013, not long after same-sex marriage was legalized in their home state of Minnesota, Kirby and his partner of 10 years, John, tied the knot at the "very romantic" Hennepin County courthouse. However, "being white, middle class, & male afford[ed] John & me the privilege to ramble on about being 'of two minds' and 'ambivalent' about this marriage process," he notes, and puckishly details all the phases of the wedding, from issuing email announcements ("remember Earthlink?") to suit selection ("business casual with a touch of retro flair") to choosing the wine for the reception. Alongside their story, the text includes a recap of same-sex marriage politics, including California's Proposition 8 and the 2015 Supreme Court decision to affirm the right to same-sex marriage; a guide to wedding-related pop songs and big- and small-screen nuptials; and quite endearingly, a subplot concerning the couple's beloved dog. The narrative continues through several dark recent turns of events, including the tumult of the Trump years and the pandemic, as well as the currently simmering threat to marriage equality. The author supports the easygoing tone of the political content with an interesting graphic choice: The text and drawings are black-and-white with accents of red and blue; hazy red and blue spots float through the panels in a way that seems to suggest the increasingly divided partisan ambience of the country. Near the end, the author sums up the narrative: “Our life together: a mix of little stuff and big stuff, arguments and heart-to-hearts, personal quirks and private jokes, doubts and commitments, work and play, joy and grief…day-to-day life stacking up into years gone by."

Panel by panel, this graphic memoir is wry, intelligent, compelling, and adorable.

Hi there, I’ve been remiss in sharing this Q&A with writer Dai Newman that originally posted on 12/5/22. I’ve conducted several author interviews with writers for PW before and it was fun to be the interviewee this time!

Here’s an excerpt:

Q: Your style in this book includes rubbings of color in most panels. Can you talk a bit about this choice?

RK: The colors convey emotion and bring in atmosphere. People respond to color. The two dominant colors are blue and red. It adds a political tinge to everything. The rubbings also have a kind of dreamlike feel to them—a memoir is memories, right? And memory can be hazy.

You can read the whole thing right here.

Below is the review:

Ignatz winner Kirby (Curbside Boys) explores his decision to marry his husband in this touching and timely graphic memoir. In 2013, shortly after Minnesota legalized gay marriage, 51-year-old Kirby wed his partner of 10 years, 54-year-old John. He wrestles with how much of a production to make the event, confessing with Midwestern modesty that he didn’t consider the trappings of marriage much before it was a possibility—and hedges about embracing such a conventional norm. After their moving, low-key ceremony, Kirby skips forward to 2016, when Trump’s election reignites threats to LGBTQ rights. Combining his personal story with historical moments such as the 1971 marriage of gay couple Jack Baker and Michael McConnell in Minneapolis, pop culture depictions of coupledom (with a charming illustrated wedding playlist), and the angst of contemporary politics, Kirby effectively conveys the quiet power in recognizing same-sex marriage and everyday love. Kirby’s cartoonish, crisp, and affable character drawings glimmer with personality in panels speckled in blue and red color pencil smudges. Readers may struggle in sections to parse what the colors are coding, and they occasionally morph into symbols, but more often they simply suffuse the artwork with buzzing emotions. Emotions, even complicated ambivalent ones, are the pulse of this meditative work. It’s also a refreshing celebration of partnership thriving in midlife. This intimate and urgent exploration of what marriage means perfectly argues how the personal is profoundly political. (Feb.)

(Review published 11/16/22)

My book is actually getting ready to go to press—fairly soonishly! (Amazing how far ahead of the February release date you have to be to have everything happen on time.) This has been a long summer of starts and stops and waiting around for something to happen and then suddenly re-edits and re-corrects and Will You Please You Blurb My Book and God I Don’t Know What I’m Going To Do Next and on and on and on and on until suddenly POOF! It’s done. No, really. You’re done! You can take a long nap and then you wake up and realize you can do other things for a while (but just for a while) because your book is finished and basically out of your hands for the time being. This is a good feeling. I’m happy. I’m spent. So um, I hope you all will get pumped for Marry Me a Little in 2023! More later……

Many thanks to Kirkus editor Tom Beer and my editor at Graphic Mundi, Kendra Boileau, for connecting us. Check out more info about this issue here. And remember: fight back against rightwing hypocrisy and venality! And read banned books!

Hey folks,

Long time no post, eh? I’ve been hard at work on my book and happy to say I’m close to completion at last…just a few more pages and it’ll be a wrap! Thank goodness b/c it’s due on 3/31! It’s been a long haul. I’m also gearing up to attend the annual AWP conference in Philadelphia at the end of this month. On Saturday 3/26 I’ll be on a panel called On Comics Criticism: Graphic Novels as Both Literature and Pop, moderated by my Publishers Weekly editor, the mighty Meg Lemke. If you’re attending the conference, why not pop in? I’ll try to be interesting and entertaining.

The image here is NOT Marry Me's actual cover but just a quick mock-up to help promote the book a little at the conference. I’m actually thinking a wedding invitation theme might very well work for the eventual actual cover, but we’ll see what the Graphic Mundi folks think about all that…

More later. By the way, just mentioning again that I have a Patreon. Check it out sometime.

Please stay well everyone, and please keep the people of Ukraine in your thoughts,. And donate to help if you can afford it.

Peace.