10 years of MARCH: BOOK THREE.

10 years ago today, March: Book Three was released— an all-hands-on-deck effort as our work was increasingly a part of what was happening in the streets, classrooms and communities of America. We did our third visit to The Rachel Maddow Show, all of us stunned by Rachel’s moving 5-minute testimony to the power of the trilogy before our interview.

Before going to bed that night, we discovered that our books were the best-selling books in the US (except for the new JK joint, also released that day), and all printings of the trilogy sold out overnight, making it extra weird for the next few weeks. We also did some guerilla signings in bookstores as we walked by, saw the Ghostbusters HQ, and got a secret tour of young Jim Henson’s 1960s proto-Muppets still hidden in the pipework panels of the 30 Rock building.

All of this seems like the plot of a dream now— but that’s exactly what happened.

Six years gone.

Today marks six years since John Lewis passed on to the other side, amid the vivid horrors of summer 2020.

Memories swirling with everywhere we traveled over the years, people and communities who were moved by our work, the bonds forged with him, Andrew, and Leigh over those years, the immense dedication and help from people all over the map who believed in what we were trying to do.

John’s life and example indelibly impacted the lives of my kids at such a young age— and in ways which will continue to impact them, and us.

If you’re interested, here’s an op-ed Andrew Aydin and I co-wrote for CNN after John Lewis’s passing. Everything in it is just as relevant today, as we are thrust further into the abyss of fascism. The future is unwritten.

The quest to live freely as our authentic selves. All of us.

For the record, and today in light of the Supreme Court’s oppressive decision:

Fuck the fascists, fuck the homophobes, fuck the transphobes, and fuck those who carry water for them.

People of all stripes will continue looking out for each other. Institutions and systems will not— but nobody’s free unless we’re all free, to paraphrase the great Fannie Lou Hamer.

(art from Diana, obviously)

Fresh from the printer.

The very first copies have arrived straight from the printer, and they turned out beautifully!

The triptych is complete: Diana will be released October 6th, and these new editions of Fall Through and Come Again will be out September 15th— all from Abrams ComicArts.

Preorder now from your local shop, Bookshop, Barnes & Noble, Powell’s, or Amazon if you must— or get signed copies directly from me here. I also have several limited 11”x17” prints, with discounted bundles of all 3 books or all 6 prints available.

Thanks for your support— please spread the word!

New book(s) underway.

Getting started on my next nonfiction book— as artist on a graphic memoir. That’s all I can share. Really excited about this one— more info down the road!

I’ve also been writing and sketching for my next solo graphic novel, which will be moody, emotional horror. More on that when the time is right!

Signed preorders open for DIANA, FALL THROUGH & COME AGAIN!

Orders are now open for signed copies of Diana, as well as new editions of Come Again and Fall Through— and a bunch of new prints directly from me!

I’ll send any print orders now, and the new books will ship as soon as they arrive here by early September. Diana’s release date is October 6th, so these should reach you a few weeks early.

In my shop, please note that I have discounted bundles available for all 3 books, and for all 6 prints.

International orders: please email me at seemybrotherdance@yahoo.com for shipping and payment info.

Thank you for your support, and please spread the word!

Ann Arbor art exhibit this July at Vault of Midnight

I’ll have some original artwork at an exhibit to celebrate both the 30th anniversary of beloved comics shop Vault of Midnight AND the 5th anniversary of Athenaeum Comic Art—alongside artwork by Alison Bechdel, Caroline Cash, Tillie Walden, Noah Van Sciver, and more!

This exhibit will be running from July 11th-19th at Vault of Midnight’s 3rd floor gallery space (219 S Main St., Ann Arbor, MI 48104), with a reception on July 11th from 7:00-10:00 pm. Please spread the word— thanks!

Attention comic shops & bookstores-- help with DIANA!

Attention comic shops and bookstores: if you’d like a signed, limited-run poster and some postcards (and stickers!) to help spread the word about my forthcoming book Diana, email me at seemybrotherdance@yahoo.com and I’ll send some stuff your way. (Please include a mailing address and a contact name to ensure the package gets in the hands of someone who’s expecting it!)

It’s hard for indie graphic novels to get a leg up or maintain any awareness/visibility, and your support is incredibly helpful— thank you!

Diana will be out Oct. 6th, along with new editions of Fall Through and the long-unavailable Come Again out Sept. 15th, all from Abrams ComicArts.

10 years since finishing MARCH.

Today marks 10 years since finishing work on the March trilogy— a life-changing collaboration and once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in so many ways. I’m endlessly thankful to the late, great John Lewis and Andrew Aydin for trusting me at the drawing table and on the stage.

Me, this morning, with one of my unpublished March tryout pages from January 2011.

And some words of faith from the man himself, given to me as I began full-steam-ahead work on March: Book One.

More new commissions!

Here are a few more from my recent batch of commissions— thanks to everyone who’s ordered artwork from me! Please contact Sean at Athenaeum Comic Art (athenaeumcomicart@gmail.com) if you’re interested in either commissioning a piece from me, or if you’re interested in buying pages of original artwork from my books.

First, I did pieces of my two favorite X-Men characters as a set. Presenting Kitty Pryde (and Lockheed):

Paired with her soulmate Illyana Rasputina AKA Magik (in a worn-only-once “graduation costume” designed by my all-time fave Arthur Adams for the influential Uncanny X-Men Annual #10)":

And most satisfying of all, three Asian-American superheroines (Maps Mizoguchi, Silk, Cassandra Cain) combating the fascist forces of ICE, continuing a tradition dating back to Captain America’s early 1941 punchout of H*itler on the cover of his debut issue:

All of these are drawn in india ink and acrylic ink washes on bristol. Art is human-made as a testament to our own humanity. Fuck AI, fuck fascism.

One year since finishing DIANA.

Today marks a year since I completed the story and art in Diana— probably the most Nate Powelly book I’ve ever made, and a serendipitous closing of the last decade’s work on this interconnected triptych of stories. Every day I appreciate the rare fortune of having written and drawn this entire graphic novel on my own terms, without publisher or editorial feedback or attempts to shape it until after the entire first draft of the book was completed. (This, of course, does not include crucial editorial feedback by my wife Rachel, who is an excellent editor in her own right, and who’s the first person to read all of my books in their pencils-only form.)

This book means a lot to me, and a year later it feels even more like a crystallized form of my spirit in ink and paper. Diana will be released on October 6th from Abrams ComicArts (along with new editions of its triptych companions, Come Again and Fall Through, which will be rereleased on September 15th), and all will debut at SPX on September 12th-13th. Please preorder copies if you can— preorders are incredibly important to a book’s healthy start, especially in the eyes of their publishers.

I’m currently booking and organizing events and travels throughout the fall— some are up on my events page, and I’m updating as events are confirmed. Thank you!

Price update for new prints + DIANA preorders

I just mailed off the first batch of orders for my new signed print series— thank you so much!

This is a note that I’ve slightly adjusted the prices to account for shipping costs which were a bit higher than expected— the prints are now $15 each, or all 6 for $60. Thank you for your understanding and support— there are only about a half-dozen left of each print from this limited run, so definitely don’t sleep on em.

If you’d like to preorder copies of Diana, or the reissued editions of Come Again and Fall Through, you’ll find links to order via Bookshop, Barnes & Noble, Powell’s, Amazon, and more. You are also invited to order directly from your local comics shop or bookstore— thank you!

Come Again and Fall Through will be rereleased on September 15th, and Diana will be released on October 6th, with a debut for all at SPX in Rockville, MD on September 12-13!

New commissions in progress

Here are a few of the current batch of commissioned pieces I’m finishing up: a cover illustration for Ray Bradbury’s masterpiece Something Wicked This Way Comes, and a Kate Bishop/ Hawkeye pinup. Plenty more on the way!

If you’re interested in commissioning a piece from me, holler at Sean from Athenaeum Comic Art at athenaeumcomicart@gmail.com and we’ll figure it out— thanks! He also has a wide variety of my original work for sale.

Cover art for Mt. Forever LP-- out today!

I’m pleased to reveal the cover art for the Mt. Forever LP, out today and available here!

Mt. Forever is a heavy blues-laden punk-adjacent band from Richmond VA, featuring my old Memphis friend Jonathan Lee— a fellow HeartattaCk columnist, and formerly of the bands Andere, Souvenir’s Young America, Dead City, The People’s War, and Remus & The Romulus Nation.

I’ve really been enjoying opportunities to return to black & white line art this year, and this is my favorite album cover I’ve ever done.

Please help support independent music & ideas, and order/download a copy if you feel so inclined— the LP is limited to 200 copies on beautiful purple vinyl, so don’t sleep on it. I hope to have a few copies available soon as well.

6 new limited prints now available!

I have a limited run of 6 different 11”x17” signed prints available now!

These are each limited batches of 15— and if this trial run goes well I’ll do an additional printing. They’re available individually (see below) or as a bundle of all 6.

From my forthcoming book Diana, we have a print of Diana herself from the cover art:

There’s one of Jody from the pages of Diana, in a character-defining moment:

There’s a lovely, haunting Diana/Jody embrace from the back cover of Diana:

Prints of a commissioned illustration I did of the beloved X-Men character Magik, ruler of Limbo:

There’s a print of my cover art for The Twilight Zone #4 (and I have copies of the comic for sale as well):

And a print of a recent commissioned piece inspired by Tillie Walden’s graphic novel On a Sunbeam:

These prints are shipped flat, and they’re $12 each— but I’m also offering a bundle of all 6 prints for $50.

Thanks for your support and interest in my work! To purchase my original artwork, or to order a commissioned piece, please contact Sean at Athenaeum Comic Art (athenaeumcomicart@gmail.com).

Soophie Nun Squad's 1st show cameo in DIANA.

On this day in 1993, my band Soophie Nun Squad played our very first show— and for the sheer joy of it, I fictionalized the moment in a scene from my forthcoming book, Diana, on an “all-new band” bill with Jody and Diana’s bands Old Spice and Diamond Mine, each playing their first shows as well. Our ages ranged between 12 and 16, and yes, our drummer (now of the metal band Pallbearer) was still in elementary school.

In Diana, the show takes place in the kitchen of a punk house modeled after our legendary Rice Street house there in Little Rock (which is where Soophie recorded our demo tape a year later). But in reality, our first show took place in the back yard of the Arkansas Governor’s Mansion! The new governor’s daughter went to shows, and asked to have one— so we played alongside Nuisance, Thumbnail, Five O, Drain, Otherwise (later morphing in to William Martyr 17), Jet Jangua, Fuse of Ire, Absorption, and Lime Pit over the course of a mere 4 hours. The police were called multiple times over noise complaints, and so our first show made the front page of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette the next morning: “Noisy Punks ‘Nuisance’ at Mansion.”

Diana will debut at SPX this September, and will be released everywhere on October 6th from Abrams ComicArts. For more info and preordering options, check here!

TWILIGHT ZONE original pages now for sale.

Thanks to everyone for their positive response to my recent issue of The Twilight Zone— it means a lot to me! If anyone’s interested in signed copies directly from me, just order here.

Several pages (including the cover) sold at OAX in late February, but all remaining pages are now up for sale via Athenaeum Comic Art, as well as pages from Fall Through, Come Again, March, Lies My Teacher Told Me, Save It For Later, and more.

Thank you for your support— original artwork sales & commissioned pieces are increasingly central to my being able to make a living doing comics, and I certainly couldn’t do any of this without the faith and support of people who are moved by my work. You are appreciated!

Cover proofs for DIANA.

Cover proofs just arrived for Diana, as well as new editions of Come Again and Fall Through— and they look fantastic!

The entire triptych of books will debut at SPX on September 12-13— it’s the most significant indie comics show in the country, so I hope to see you there!

Diana will be released everywhere on October 6th by Abrams ComicArts. I’ll be doing cons, signings, and author talks throughout the fall to discuss my work on these three books— check for updates here.

April 18th in Carbondale IL-- Saluki Con, talk, signing, art exhibit

If you’re near Carbondale IL, I’ll be there on Saturday, April 18th as a guest of Saluki Con! Here’s my schedule:

11:00am-2:00pm— selling books & prints at my table in the SIU student center (1255 Lincoln Dr.)

2:00-3:00pm— author talk/Q&A/signing

3:00-6:00pm— reception for my joint art exhibit, “Words Unspoken,” in the Sharp Museum (West Gallery, Faner Hall, Door #12, 1000 Faner Dr.)

See you there!

Spring's here, don't sleep.

Definitely in my happy place lately, as spring springs: working on the next batch of commissions, and back to work on a long-delayed book with my friend and visionary, Jonathan Vance. I hope to have the first issue self-published in time for SPX this September (alongside the debut of Diana and rerelease of Come Again!). More on this story over the summer!

Like a comet itself, this is the highly unlikely yet perfectly compatible Moss Icon/ Soophie Nun Squad teamup the universe needs.