Good News

Acceptance, tiny victories, oh my

Last week on ToonStack: we learned how to face rejection. Or, some of us did, I simply did not put in a cartoon for fear of being rejected. So this week—tiny victories, good news, acceptance, brief moments of bliss. An ancient proverb on these themes that guides me in trying times:

Thou who smelt it, dealt it, and other life lessons on learning to accept what we cannot change. Happy Sunday dear readers! - Shelby

Hilary Campbell

It’s important to do what makes you happy. Like if you just love filling out forms, you go fill out those forms, girl! Don’t let anyone stop you. CC: that scene in Romy & Michele when they’re filling out applications at the laundromat. 

Kendra Allenby

Carly is living her best life. Way to go Carly, we’re all rooting for you. For you, and for your funk brass band. We want to come to your place right now and share your takeout and have a glass of wine. 

I drew two of my musician friends into this cartoon. One of them plays in the real Funkrust Brass Band that inspired the cartoon. Funkrust is a national treasure and I wish they were in my apartment right now. 

Johnny DiNapoli

A quick way to come up with cartoon ideas is to pick a character, and think of everything bad that could happen to them. Another way is to think of everything good that could happen to them. Celebrating little victories is important, you know?

Navied Mahdavian

Acceptance by others is important, sure. But self-acceptance is key. For example, I have accepted that I am not tall, or vertically gifted if you will, but that doesn’t mean I can’t make myself taller by two inches in all of my drawings. 

Sofia Warren

Dogs are good news. I don’t have one, and that’s bad news, but I know they exist, and so the pendulum swings right on back to good. 

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Toonstack News and Extras

• Sign up for Kendra’s Urban Sketching Workshop in Manhattan on June 11th

• Amy Kurzweil teaches cartoon classes on Patreon! Sign up now to get the recording of every past class, and join the next live class!

• Listen to Hilary’s brand new podcast What’d You Do This Weekend?

• Pre-order Sofia Warren’s book, Radical!

• Order Send Help! a desert island cartoon collection by Ellis Rosen and Jon Adams, out now!

• Have you checked out cartoonstock.com? Thanks to New Yorker cartoon editor emeritus, Bob Mankoff, this is the place to license and buy prints and merch of the best cartoons in the world, from The New Yorker, Wired, Airmail and...ToonStack! 

• Be sure to check out Shelby Lorman’s newsletter, Please Clap!

• The same goes for Sofia Warren’s advice newsletter, You’re Doing Great!

• See more cartoons from Ellis Rosen’s weekly Junk Drawer!