Issue 4: Echoes

Floating

Image description: a series of whimsical pen and ink drawings in black and white on the page depicting bathtubs, clouds, and humans, floating around in space while bathing.

Flowers

Image Description: An intricate bluish-purple pen and ink drawing with delicate linework depicting humanoid shapes, flowers, and mythical creatures all moving together in a strand-like structure.

Artist Statement: These are spontaneous pen and ink drawings based on emotions I was feeling at the time. Drawing often feels like casting a spell to me, in that I am able to channel difficult feelings and experiences into a drawing or comic and let myself completely be in a calm space. I often come away with a better understanding of myself and I am able to connect with other people through art. I find hope in the world through this connection. “Floating” is from my self-published comic series Cute Nose, which features many bathtub creatures and vessels navigating surreal landscapes.

Ro Diamant is a multidisciplinary artist and librarian who creates comics focused on themes of identity, often conveying experiences and ideas using elements of the surreal and magical. In 2018, they founded Canada Comics Open Library (CCOL) in Toronto, and they maintain the Canadian Cartoonists Database. Their most recent project is a distro called Lost Doll Comics and Art. Currently, they are completing a graphic novel exploration of Jewish identity and mythologies, through a lens of queerness and experiences of illness, with support from the Canada Council for the Arts.