The Weekend

Jul 13, 2026

an illustration about my adventures over the weekend featuring little book characters representing genres of books like romance, adventure, and mystery.

To be fair, I started on this newsletter yesterday when it was still the weekend. I worked on Saturday at my part-time retail job, which is a tale for another day. But on Sunday, I volunteered for Cartoon Crossroads Columbus (CXC) at the Columbus Book Festival.

a cartoon illustration of actor Daniel Craig saying "ladies and gentlemen, the weekend."

— The Daniel Craig bit is from a meme of him announcing the singer The Weekend in March 2020 when he hosted Saturday Night Live. —

a cartoon illustration of book characters representing genres of books( romance, adventure, and mystery).

I enjoyed the opportunity to talk with people who love comics and books. The CXC Festival is truly an amazing event with opportunities to meet comic creators in a small and intimate setting.

Andy J. Pizza

I visited Andy J. Pizza’s booth at the Columbus Book Festival and picked up a copy of the book Invisible Things that he and his wife, Sophie Miller, created. It is a magical book.

If you are not listening to Andy’s (the other Andy from Columbus, OH) podcast, Creative Pep Talk, I’m not sure that we can be friends. Creative Pep Talk is always the reminder I need to keep creating in a world that is often not kind to creatives. Please check it out if you are not already enjoying it.

Andy and I (Andy squared?), had a few minutes to talk about seeking out community and taking time for analog art. We also talked about how every 10 years it seems like the creative world turns a bit upside down and you have to figure everything out again. He and his wife Sophie are amazing humans and creatives.

a picture of the from cover of the book, Invisible Things, by Andy J. Pizza and Sophie Miller.

The sketchnote this week is closer to how I would love to see the newsletter evolve, just illustrations and handwritten text. I’m not sure how email spam filters would treat image only emails. 🤷‍♂️

— What is Cartoon Crossroads Columbus (CXC)?

A free four-day comics, art, & animation festival in Columbus, Ohio!

“Each year, CXC continues to do what it originally set out to do: make genuine connections between people who share a love, a passion, and a personal reason to believe in the future of cartoon art.”

CARTOONCROSSROADSCOLUMBUS.ORG —

a picture of the Cartoon Crossroads Columbus save the date flyer.

Be kind to yourself on your creative journey.

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You have reached the end of the newsletter. Here one of favorite recent episodes of Creative Pep Talk. This episode is a conversation with artist/writer/ creative Austin Kleon about his new book, Don’t Call It Art.