Welcome to the Comics Issue!
A friend recently told me that at the end of our lives, all that will be left of us are people’s memories of our interactions. One person may remember us as their best friend, another may remember us as their favorite coworker, and someone else may recall that we were ready with a smile and a hello as we walked down the street.
Each of us is somebody to someone. And we are all part of a beautiful, collective tapestry—made up of good, bad, and complicated interactions—woven meticulously, strand by strand. In this issue, we invited eleven Chicagoans to create a comic responding to the following prompt: tell us a story about your neighbor.
This work could not be possible without lifelong South Sider, Jennifer Chavez, who is our guest art director for this special issue. Jen is a once-in-a-generation powerhouse, a creative force. They are a phenomenal and talented illustrator, zinester, and comics artist, and I could not be more grateful for their insight and guidance on the technical aspects of comic making. You might recognize their work on the cover of our 2021 Best of the South Side issue. They are also our cover artist for this issue. I highly encourage you to support their work at jenillustration.com or on Instagram at @jen.kneefer.
Our issue opens with an interview with Beth Hetland, assistant professor of comics at the School of the Art Institute, for our latest “Ask an Expert,” who answers questions like, “What is a comic?” and “How has the digitization of our world changed how we engage with comics?”
Ash H.G.’s “Paintings at a Yard Sale” and Alex Nall’s “Exit Strategies” explores the memories and mementos neighbors leave behind for the living, after they pass.
“Steven’s Secret Rose Garden” celebrates a beautiful Bridgeport greenspace through the eyes of neighborhood pup, Daisy.
Moving south, we learn about a decades-long friendship between two veteran organizers in the Woodlawn neighborhood in a piece by first-time comic artist Caeli Kean.
We’re also fortunate to include a warm story by two insiders and cellies at Cook County Jail, called “Clothesline.”
Bella Spagnuolo’s piece, “Big and Small,” and Riley Hannon’s “Always Been a Boy” are beautiful coming-of-age pieces that explore the impact that neighbors have had on their respective childhoods and identities.
“Chicken bones” is a heartfelt reflection on the unlikely bond between two mothers, told by Lidya Sanchez.
And we close the issue with a piece by returning comic artist and soon-to-be-father Nick Merlock Jackson, that gestures toward our future neighbors in “The Neighbor Downstairs.”
Everyone has a neighbor. Through reading this issue, I hope you think about your own neighbors. Perhaps you will even be inspired to take a moment to get to know them better, share stories with one another, and, in doing so, participate in the deeply human practice of being known.
After almost seven years with South Side Weekly, this will also be my last issue as art director. I joined the team in 2019, while we were still an all-volunteer newsroom, and learned the ropes as a Visuals Editor. On Tuesday evenings, I would commute from Columbia College Chicago’s South Loop campus down to our Hyde Park office for production nights, before embarking on the two-hour commute back home to Skokie. I then served as our in-house illustrator through the pandemic years, before transitioning into this role last year.
It has been an honor to steward the Weekly’s visuals, create illustrations to accompany our award-winning journalism, and collaborate with the most talented photographers, illustrators, and writers. I’m passing the torch to our layout editor, Mel Dempsey, who brings the highest standards of visual excellence blended with deep technical know-how to this role. While I will miss this work and this team immensely, I could not be more excited for the future of visuals at the Weekly.
Ad astra,
Shane Tolentino, Art Director
Shane Tolentino is a Filipino-American illustrator and graphic designer. They are also the Art Director at South Side Weekly. Find more of their work at shanetolentino.com.
