BRAT SUMMER

brat and it's the same but it's a toonstack post so it's not

Cartoonist, it’s so confusing sometimes to be a cartoonist. You want to reflect the cultural landscape like a funhouse mirror, documenting and skewing the present moment. But sometimes? You just want to dance. Hi there, Jason Katzenstein here. I ride for Charli XCX, as we all do here in the Toonstack collective. People say we’re alike — cartoonists and pop stars — they say we’ve got the same….amount of cultural cachet? I dunno, TK we’ll work it out on the remix. So, internet, prepare to go crazy for this week’s crop, you know you’re gonna jump if Toonstack made it.

Jason Chatfield

The last time I was called a brat was when I was ten years old. I'd just done something a typical ten year-old boy would totally do, and I didn't know what the word brat meant. I thought it was a good thing. A compliment. 

So, the next day I went and told my class that my mum had called me a little brat, with a big proud smile on my face. Fast forward to today, and now somehow the word brat has become a 'good' thing? If you wait long enough, every word's meaning becomes the opposite of what it means. *

*Editor’s note: Chatfield and I are rumored to be in a beef because we have the same name. However, he was spotted at my show recently. Watch this space for developments.

Kendra Allenby

Bratty smuggy punky summer of take the best slice of watermelon, roll your eyes at the whole crowd, shoes kicked off and you're the best thing since sliced bread and the rest of the world can stuff it. 

Ellie Black

The part of me that draws New Yorker cartoons and the part of me that hoards Taxi bootlegs like a jealous dragon have very little in common. Sometimes they make awkward small talk, though. (Bonus green and slightly degraded version included)

Hilary Campbell

In my head this cartoon is about Alexis from Schitts Creek and we all know she is the mascot of brat summer.

Jason Adam Katzenstein

Here’s a rivalry.

Amy Kurzweil

I googled "brat summer" because I notoriously don't know what anyone is talking about. The internet told me "brat summer" is about "having unabashed fun" which I, totally NOT a workaholic, absolutely know how to do. Yessir, I'm on fun like it's my job –I mean, ew jobs! Who likes those? Not me! One "fun" coming right up!

But wait, there’s more!

• Hilary releases Cartoons by Hilary every Friday!

• Amy Kurzweil’s graphic memoir, Artificial: A Love Story, was named a best book of 2023 by The New Yorker, NPR, and Kirkus!

• Amy also teaches cartoon classes on Patreon! Sign up now to get the recording of every past class!

• Check out Navied’s critically acclaimed graphic memoir, This Country: Searching for Home in (Very) Rural America.

• Jason Chatfield has a new Substack about making art called Process Junkie! And Subscribe to Jason’s regular weekly Substack at NewYorkCartoons.com

• Sofia Warren's got an advice column! Read it here.

• Read more of Ellis’s comics on Junk Drawer!

OKAY it’s button time!