This and then that: Transformation
Happy New Year from Toonstack
Once, I had a forehead. She was nice! She was smooth like a beach stone, and she sat on her throne atop my brow, the benevolent ruler of the kingdom of my face. But while the humble face dwellers were enjoying life in my forehead’s peaceful nation, a threat was mounting from the north: the adjacent hair states, allied in their thirst for conquest, were plotting an invasion. A few short days ago, they attacked! It was a swift takeover, and my forehead relinquished her throne to the hair commanders without a fight.
I got bangs, is what I’m telling you.
I got bangs, which makes me an expert on transformation in a way that ye of the exposed foreheads will never understand. And, being that it’s the new year (2022! Have you ever heard of anything more sci-fi than that?), more than a few of you have probably set some resolutions, and are thinking about a human’s (read: your) capacity for change.
Mmm, indeed: can people really change? This week, I asked cartoonists to weigh on on the theme of transformation, and the result is enlightening. Read on, but be warned: you won’t emerge from this newsletter the same person you were before. You might even wind up with bangs.
-Sofia
Kendra Allenby
Ah transformation. So easy to achieve on the individual scale and even easier for complex, contentious multi-national discussions. I drew this for an event leading up to the UN Climate Conference where they quickly and easily agreed on all the transformation needed to make everyone on earth safe and happy and secure for all time to come. Either that or they have a bit more work to do. Point is, we all know that any transformation is possible, no matter how complex, if you use the word “roadmap” and you have enough different color sticky notes.
Ellis Rosen
Me? I’m known around here as the cool guy who also happens to hate change. People walk by, they whisper, “See that guy? He’s so stylish and also really bad with change.” It’s no big deal. I’m just a really chill dude that freaks out anytime I have to try something new. People know me as a take-no-prisoners badass that bursts into tears on the first day of school. I’m basically a sex-magnet that actively runs away from new opportunities. The term “New Years Resolution” gives me gastrointestinal distress, in a hot, sexy way. What can I say? Some folks got it, and some don't, and it HAS TO STAY LIKE THAT.
Hilary Campbell
Is it possible to transform? Like actually? Because according to literally all of my diaries, the answer is a resounding no. Don’t tell my therapist!! But I have made the exact same entries for basically years. I sit around wondering, will I ever calm down? Will everything always disappoint me, just a little bit? Will I always feel like I’m stuck in the prison of my own brain, questioning whether or not I’ve become a robot? Lots of basic, typical diary entries.
Navied Mahdavian
According to my mum, I’m still a “growing boy.” But according to my primary, Dr. Roxy, MD CCMD, I need to watch my cholesterol now that I’m over 35. In any case, what they both can agree on is that I should skip that glass of water before bed.
Suerynn Lee
Bringing about real change in oneself is incredibly difficult to engineer. More often, you’re paying attention to something other than transforming yourself, and “poof” the world has enacted itself on you and mutated you into something that you hadn’t intended at all. “How did I get so comfortable with myself when previously, my inner monologue was an unending, self-loathing screed that years of therapy barely put a dent in?” I really wish the answer was something we could all achieve by following a 5-step listicle, but until then, I guess I’ll just uneasily draw the conclusion that self-determination is more complex than any of us would like it to be.
Leise Hook
When does a person transform into a Real New Yorker? When they’ve lived in the city for ten, twenty years? Or when they’ve finally learned the chorus to “New York, New York” from the musical On the Town and can be heard singing it under their breath when they shower, when they cook, when they ride…in a hole in the ground, New York, New Yooooork!!
Johnny DiNapoli
You may not know this about me, but I’m really wise. That’s how I coined the phrase “Everything changes but change itself.” Because it’s true! It’s good to look inside yourself and ask how you’d like to grow, and it’s also good to remain open to the changes in your life- accepting change opens you up to new possibilities. That’s why I coined the phrase “Life is like a box of chocolates: you never know what you’re going to get.” I hope 2022 is good to you, and I’ll leave you with another phrase I coined: Happy New Year!
Amy Kurzweil
Ah, a new year of this thing called life. What’s it all about? Are we here to amass Stuff, or are we skating on thin ice? Is life like a game of Supermarket Sweep, whoever dies with the most double-ply toilet paper wins? Or is this more like a game of dodgeball—just stay out of sight? Pick your strategy, but if we’re playing Life I want to be the shoe… wait, that’s Monopoly. If we’re playing Monopoly, I want to be the bank. And let’s not forget every game night needs snacks. Game on, 2022.
Sofia Warren
And reader: that’s exactly how I look.
One last thing—
I know you come here for the ha-ha’s, and I hope we haven’t disappointed. But now that I’ve gotten you good and chortle-drunk, I want to slip into something more sincere, which is this: thank you for reading Toonstack. We love what we do, and we love sharing it with you. It’s been a great first year of this newsletter, and we hope to keep it going—and maybe even growing?— in the future, which is 2022, which is right now. Wishing you lots of laughter and happiness and intergalactic teleportation in the year to come.
For Your Pleasure: Cartoon Extras
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