Tagged out now

The Horrors of Being a Human Q&A

A conversation with Desmond Reed

Desmond Reed is an award-winning Boston-based cartoonist and illustrator best known for his web comic The Cola Pop Creemees. His debut graphic novel, The Cola Pop Creemees: Opening Act, was published by Birdcage Bottom Books in April 2023. Later that year, MIT appointed Desmond a 2023/2024 Residential Scholar in recognition of his work in comics. Before becoming a cartoonist, he worked for nearly a decade as a paralegal at a premier litigation, labor, and employment law firm located in Boston. Desmond is represented by Daniel Lazar of Writers House.

Our team chatted with Desmond to celebrate his latest Cola Pop Creemees creation, The Horrors of Being a Human, in which the eponymous band experience every emotion. Want to know what Desmond is writing, drawing, and reading? Find out in our conversation below!

What inspired you to write your book?

I wanted to write a book that communicated complex and difficult feelings in a palatable and enjoyable way. There is a lot of wackiness throughout The Horrors of Being a Human, and the main characters are total cartoons, but their stories are actually pretty heavy, dealing with topics such as trauma, depression, and addiction. 

What was it like to publish with Microcosm?

It was an absolute dream to publish with Microcosm, and I mean that from the bottom of my heart! Everyone was so friendly, capable, and supportive. It felt like we were all just having fun and then a book magically appeared! I have been a fan of Microcosm for a while and it is an incredible honor to now be a part of their impressive roster. They are such a unique and innovative publisher…I feel like they exist in their own universe. I’ve never really fit into an obvious category within the world of cartoonists, and so I feel like Microcosm and I are kindred spirits. I love that we found each other and have joined forces to make this book a reality!

What was the submission/query process like for you?

The submission process is tough for almost everyone, and I’m no exception! Rejection is just part of the game as publishers are way more likely to say no than yes (if anything at all). All I can do as a cartoonist and author is work hard enough to put myself in a position to get lucky, and so, again, I feel unbelievably fortunate to have teamed up with Microcosm on this project. It is the perfect home for The Horrors of Being a Human. 

What else have you written?

If you like The Horrors of Being a Human, there is actually a whole other graphic novel starring the same cast of characters – and it’s really good! The Cola Pop Creemees: Opening Act was published in 2023 by Birdcage Bottom Books and is also available through Microcosm. Both are standalone books and don’t require reading the other to know what’s going on, but why not just order both at the same time? Live a little! Beyond those two graphic novels, I have self-published a ton of comics and will probably continue to do so for the rest of my life—I’m a machine! I also have a wild amount of comics available on my Instagram @desmondtreed. [Desmond also wrote LEFTY, a comic drawn entirely with his left hand after an injury, following Cola Pop Creemees songwriter Mona Gertrude]

What are you currently reading? 

I just finished reading Acting Class by Nick Drnaso and thought it was incredible. It’s like no other graphic novel I’ve ever read. I don’t want to say anything specific about the story, but there is this sense of unease that exists alongside a calm art style, muted palette, and deliberate pacing that creates a really cool vibe. Highly recommend!

What’s the best book you read in the last year?

I know this is cheating, but it is a tie between Complete & Utter Malarkey by November Garcia and Unended by Josh Bayer. Both of these works are original, enjoyable, and true works of art. To me, the most important aspect of a graphic novel is a unique point of view, and these books absolutely knocked it out of the park in that regard (and every regard)! 

What’s next for you? 

I’m almost ready to pitch a much more experimental THIRD Cola Pop Creemees graphic novel! It’s all brand new and I’m really excited about it. I also have about 100 pages of unreleased Cola Pop Creemees material that didn’t fit into the first two books. What should I do with it all?! I’ve been drawing these comics for five years straight so maybe after 3.5 books I’ve earned a break and I can just coast for a while? I guess it all depends on how well The Horrors of Being a Human performs – buy as many copies as you can!!!

Want to keep hangin’ with Desmond? Check out The Horrors of Being a Human: A Cola Pop Creemees Comic, out now on our site or wherever you buy your books!

May Zine Blast

When we said Year of Zines we meant it!

We publish new zines each and every month (you read that right!), and we want to make sure you don’t miss any that could help you change your life and the world around you. So every month this year, we are sharing a roundup of what’s been released, and maybe a few sneak peeks at what’s ahead in the zine pipeline. Let’s dive in!

Queer Mediations for Dark Times by Rosśa Crean
Trauma specialist, multidimensional artist, and magickal practitioner Rosśa Crean draws upon their work with clients and their own experience with abuse and recovery in this powerful selection of reflections, prompts, and musings to support others navigating dark times.

Resist Monopolies: How to Fight Corporate Control and Support an Economy that Matters by Ron Knox
What can we do to resist monopolies in a world that tells us they’re too big to fail and too strong to fight? We take them on anyway! Written by a worker for the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, this zine documents the battles and triumphs of the growing antimonopoly movement, and shows how you, too, can fight against corporate control where you live and work.

Queer Platonic Relationships: A Guide to the Aro/Ace Spectrum, Friendships, Zucchinis, and Other Terms by Athens Webster
What happens when you leave the relationship mold of romance and sexuality—or when you try to negotiate boundaries, expectations, and intimacy platonically? This zine is your guide to learning more about the history of Queer Platonic Relationships, what it means to be in a QPR, and other commonly used terms (glossary included!).

The Sexual Assault Survivor’s Guide to the Legal Process by Emma Alice Johnson
This step-by-step zine is designed to be a written companion to the legal process following incidents of sexual violence, because while helpful resources may be offered (such as a victim advocate), progress and updates are often communicated quickly and verbally, leaving survivors little time to process or make deliberate decisions about their cases.

Books and Math: A Manifesto on Publishing Tools by Joe BielElly Blue, and Sara Balabanlilar
Learn what you need to succeed in book publishing—and more importantly, how to determine what success means for you. For fellow publishers, future publishers, book industry comrades, systems nerds, and other kindred spirits, this zine is packed with what you need to know about distribution, automation, data analysis, and how to blaze your own bookish path—without making our same mistakes.

Dangerous Gifts: Using Internal Family Systems to Channel Your Madness and Transform Your Life by Sascha Altman DuBrul
For the sensitives, the imaginatives, for anyone who has struggled to fit in or see the world in the normative way, this compassionate zine offers new pathways for thinking about—and treating—different kinds of psychological distress through the lens of Internal Family Systems, and through recognizing the connections between individuals’ mental wellbeing and the health of their communities, families, environments, and social structures.

Ticks and How to Love Them by Emma Alice Johnson
From identifying their markings to cool trivia (fossilized ticks have been found on dinosaur feathers in amber?!), Emma Alice Johnson shares her diverse array of tick-based knowledge, and busts some tick memes and myths along the way. Even if love is too tall an order, this zine will fill you in on useful tick facts, features, and types, which will help keep you stay safe and attuned to your surroundings.

To stay on top of the latest Microcosm news, including the zines digest delivered straight to your inbox, sign up for our newsletter! Also often includes cute pet pics and good (bad) puns.

Portland Queer: Stories of LGBTQ+ Life in Portland, Oregon

Keep Portland Queer!

Portland, Oregon, is a queer city in the queerest state in the US. It’s also a place where, like anywhere in this country, you can experience bigotry, violence, and discrimination. Out of these contradictions bursts this sparkling collection of first-person stories—a heady mix of fiction and fact—written by contributors from across the queer spectrum and beyond, serving vulnerability, humor, and realness.  

Immerse yourself in familiar scenes and landmarks like Washington Park, Caffe Mingo, the Silverado, Powell’s City of Books, Umbra Penumbra, St. Mary’s Academy, the Lloyd Center Mall, Hawthorne Boulevard, Food Front Co-op, Darcelle XV, a ghost bike installation, a backyard barbecue, a call center during third shift, and the many bridges over the Willamette River. Read Gabby Rivera’s original story that became the hit novel Juliet Takes a Breath. Revel in David Ciminello’s tale of a waiter who falls in love with a straight guy from the café next door. Learn Marc Acito’s answer to the question “Where do you find hot men in Portland?” Elevate your vocabulary with Stevie Anntonym’s “Lesbian Lexicon.” Whatever your orientation, these accounts of queer and trans life in the Rose City will make you see the world and your place in it from a different angle.

This new edition of the Lambda Literary Award-winning anthology includes a poem by Nastashia Minto and stories by Christa Orth and Kalimah Abioto. 

March Zine Blast

When we said Year of Zines we meant it!

We publish new zines each and every month (you read that right!), and we want to make sure you don’t miss any that could help you change your life and the world around you. So every month this year, we are sharing a roundup of what’s been released, and maybe a few sneak peeks at what’s ahead in the zine pipeline. Let’s dive in for March!

A Pocket Guide to Natal Astrology: Birth Chart Basics by Maia Sky
This zine will empower you to navigate your astrological fundamentals while fostering a deeper appreciation for the intricacies of the ancient art and science of astrology. Whether you’re birth chart curious or an avid student of the stars, this expertly-organized and highly-detailed guide will build your knowledge and confidence in essential astrological information, from signs and houses to aspects and angles and lots more.

Public Speaking for the Awkward & Overwhelmed by Elly Blue and Joe Biel
Have you ever clammed up, lost your train of thought, or stumbled over a word during a presentation? Talking in front of people can be hard, but fear no more! Elly Blue and Joe Biel put their heads and their 40+ years of combined public speaking experience together to create this zine of helpful suggestions, strategies, and practices, ready to support you any time you have to yap in front of—and really connect with—an audience.

Bigenital Revolution: My (Very) Graphic Guide to Nonbinary Gender-Affirming Phalloplasty by Hyde Goltz and Jey Pawlik
Go on a journey with Hyde Goltz, one of the first people to ever have bigenital surgery—basically, they have two functional sets of genitals. Hyde shares the intimate details of their experience getting this revolutionary surgery as a nonbinary person. Graphic, humorous, and heartwarming, this comic is for anyone who wants guidance and encouragement for this process—or to understand the experience of a loved one who’s pursuing it.

Managing Neurodiverse Workplaces: Autistic and ADHD Teammates & How Good Management Strategies Simply Benefit Everyone by Joe Biel, Elly Blue, and Andrew Coltrin
Accommodations don’t need to mean sacrifice or lowered expectations—by shifting focus from individual diagnoses to playing to all workers’ strengths and abilities, this zine will help you to support employees with completing their tasks, getting past blocks, and avoiding burnout. To be a neurodiversity-friendly employer is to make it easier for every one of your staff to excel—neurodivergent and neurotypical alike.

Upside Down Punks: The Strange but True Story of That Fugazi Basketball Hoop Show by J. Hunter Bennett and Mickey Lynch
In the summer of 1988, a star-struck teenager with zero concert promotion experience booked a fledgling DC punk band called Fugazi to play a decrepit gymnasium in a forgotten section of Northeast Philadelphia. Attendance was sparse, conditions were sweltering, and the sound sucked. And it was legendary.

Sabotage & How to Master It by Office of Strategic Services and Joe Biel
Read along to see 1) how the state weaponizes individual actors to disrupt collective efforts, 2) tactics to watch out for in your groups and collaborations (and within yourself!), 3) ways regular people can hack back against destructive forces through simple, nonviolent means that require no tools, skills, or training. Why let the CIA have all the fun!

Baking with Baddies: How to Succeed in Business, from a Multidimensional Cookie Creative by Via Carpenter
For bakers, business owners, and budding entrepreneurs, this zine gives you a step-by-step guide to small business success. From refining your mission to networking, getting tax help to dealing with burnout and discrimination, this zine is full of sound advice that can be applied to all kinds of small business and start-up situations.

To stay on top of the latest Microcosm news, including the zines digest delivered straight to your inbox, sign up for our newsletter! Also often includes cute pet pics and good (bad) puns.

Notes from Underground: Zines and the Politics of Alternative Culture

Can zines save the world? Maybe, says Stephen Duncombe in the updated fourth edition of his groundbreaking study of the zine publishing underground, but only if we act on what we learn from them. Duncombe’s lovingly critical and thought-provoking book explores the history, theory, and usefulness of zines, from their origin in the early twentieth century sci fi fandom, their spread through 1960s counterculture, and their rise through the 1990s punk and riot grrrl communities. Throughout, zines have critiqued capitalism, broken from mainstream culture, and provided outlets for marginalized people to express themselves and communicate with each other. In an era of book bans and culture wars, we need zines now more than ever. 

Featuring a foreword by Emma Alice Johnson, midwestern farmer-zinester and author of such gems as Alternatives to Beekeeping and Midnight Queens: 80s Horror Movies Written and Directed by Women, the fourth edition of Notes from Underground includes comics, quotes, and excerpts from around the zine scene, inviting us into a vibrant, contemporary zine culture that pairs powerful art with urgent action.

Your Cozy Life: DIY Nesting Skills for a Sustainable Home

Save money, save the planet, and craft a sustainable domestic life without relying on smelly, toxic, expensive consumer products. This handwritten and hand-drawn book of charming tutorials for natural housekeeping and home repair, organic gardening and food preservation, herbal first aid, and mending clothes is both fun and accessible. It’s full of simple skills that anyone can and should learn. From creating healthy tinctures and salves to preserving excess food to fixing a leaky faucet, this book is great if you’re looking to live more simply, create a comfortable nest, and truly do it yourself. Combining the power of Raleigh Briggs’s bestselling Make Your Place and Make It Last to form a complete guide to everything you need to consume less and live more in line with your values. 

Womb Witch: Herbal Magick for Reproductive Health

Liberate your uterus

Herbal remedies and wise perspectives to help make your cycle less of a rollercoaster.

Ever felt like your uterus is out to get you? Or experienced dismay at the politicians out to get your uterus? This book will speak straight to your soul. Get to know your body with this inclusive guide to herbal, holistic self-care for every womb, at every stage of life—from puberty to post-menopause and everything in between. Herbalist and pregnancy loss doula Angelica Merritt offers a wealth of anatomical science, plant medicine, and nutritional and herbal strategies to support body literacy, a regular menstrual cycle, and your reproductive goals. If you’re dealing with irregular menstruation, PCOS, infertility, pregnancy loss or release, perimenopause, or any other reproductive health issue, look to these pages for remedies that bridge the scientific and the spiritual. Inside you’ll find guidance in holistic modalities such as castor oil packs, breath work, breast and womb massage, baths, and infused oils, along with rituals and journal prompts. You’ll learn about the connections between the womb, the moon cycle, and the archetypes of Maiden, Mother, and Crone. Transform your self-care through the magick of the womb within!

Bug Life: How Bees, Butterflies, and Other Insects Rule the World

Bugs are everywhere! Humans often think of insects as gross or creepy, but we couldn’t survive without them. In this love letter to bugs, biologist, linguist, and bug enthusiast Karyn Light-Gibson introduces us to an array of our notable neighbors, from bees to bedbugs, caterpillars to butterflies, ladybugs to katydids, and so, so many more. With informative glee and striking illustrations, she identifies the many bugs we encounter every day and delves into their place in science, history, art, literature, culture, cuisine, and even warfare. You’ll learn so many cool facts about flies, beetles, moths, aphids, cicadas, bedbugs, crickets, cockroaches, and the other creeping, crawling, and flying critters that make our world go round. For every human, there are 1.4 billion insects in the world, playing a vital part of our ecosystem. A small percentage of bugs can be dangerous or spread disease, but the vast majority are our allies as indicators of environmental health, pollinators of our food, and a key part of the food web we rely on. Even the most wary readers will come away with a new perspective on the tiny creatures around them and a serious appreciation of just how important—and cool—bugs are.

January Zine Blast

When we said Year of Zines we meant it!

We publish new zines each and every month (you read that right!), and we want to make sure you don’t miss any that could help you change your life and the world around you. So every month this year, we are going to share a roundup of what’s been released, and maybe a few sneak peeks at what’s ahead in the zine pipeline. So let’s dive in!

Unfuck Your Tarot: Using the Cards for Growth and Overcoming Trauma by Dr. Faith G. Harper
Starting with Carl Jung’s enthusiasm for tarot’s archetypal power up through contemporary usage as a way to explore symbols and imagery in therapeutic settings, bestselling author Dr. Faith lays out helpful basics about the tarot and its connections to therapy work, alongside activities, prompts, and questions to consider in your own journey toward personal development and healing.

Transition Diaries by Finn Animal Bro
An intimate, reflective, and charming personal account of coming out and transitioning, defying transmasc invisibility and enforced cultural norms. Through alter-ego KweerKat, the author celebrates the simple pleasures of becoming, being, and loving one’s self; the satisfaction of weight-lifting; the psycho-spiritual process of transition; and many other smart and tender thoughts depicted through sweet cat illustrations. Remember that no one else can tell you how to be yourself!  

How to Pack for a Trip by Joe Biel and Elly Blue
Packing for a trip can be overwhelming! Trying to future-cast the weather, how much you’ll walk, whether or not you’re going to dump a coffee on yourself…it’s a lot. Longtime and frequent travelers Joe and Elly have made this fun and friendly little zine to help you break down packing and trip prep into manageable chunks, full of tips and tricks to make it all easier.

Criminal or Hero?: Relatable Crimes of Modern Times by Joe Biel and Elly Blue
From political actions to mistaken thefts, unfortunate miscommunications to gleeful mischief, the most sympathetic person in these stories is usually the one on the wrong side of the law, with choice details and a little art to match. Read to be entertained and consider what we consider criminality in a new light—and you, too, can argue with your friends about your faves and foes within!

To stay on top of the latest Microcosm news, including the zines digest delivered straight to your inbox, sign up for our newsletter! Also often includes cute pet pics and good puns.

Shadow Work Exploration Deck

“What emotions do you actively try to avoid?”

“How do you lie to yourself on a daily basis?”

“What do you need to make peace with?”

Healing, growth, and self-acceptance come from seeing our flaws, fears, and mistakes with clarity and compassion. In this 52-card deck, Dr. Faith G. Harper—bestselling author of Unfuck Your Brain and Boundaries Conversation Deck—offers prompts to help you explore the parts of yourself that you usually try not to see. Work through your trauma, improve your relationships, seek true accountability, and embrace your whole authentic self. Use these cards for individual reflection, as a challenging group activity, as part of addiction recovery, or with your therapist to get up close and personal with your hidden side and see what important truths you uncover—and the freedom and joy of truly knowing who you are.