Ho.

2020 has been a year of isolation, hygiene, and stress. And, so many of my favorite places have shuttered for good. I miss going outside. I miss human experiences. I miss hunting for something new or old on the sidewalks of my favorite neighborhoods. I miss finding others in my tribe. The way some of us found each other via niche when we were young.

Comic books are how I met my lifelong friends. The horror and Kung fu sections at the video rental store is where I confirmed those friendships. I remember diddy bopping into Tower Records and I knew exactly where the Rap section was due to the kids wearing Kangol's and Gazelle's. You knew where the Punk Rock section was due to the kids with Mohawks and piercings. And, leather jackets made everyone a rebel. Fashion and attitude shaped and celebrated our diverse identities but kept us in our respectful lanes with the encouragement to lurk. Add shelves to our cultural library.

I voiced aliens SALIFRENNIX and TRONCORBLOX for the radio play, LIFE WITH ALTHAAR episode 24: “Benefits of a Classical Education,” produced by Gemini CollisionWorks.

"Dean Haspiel turns his love for misunderstood monsters into latest creation for Red Hook series." I was interviewed by Chris Arrant for NEWSARAMA about my current webcomic, BLACKOUT. Here is an excerpt: 

Starting January 6, 2021, Brooklyn artist/teacher Jen Ferguson is offering two new online art classes: Creative Journaling 2, and Drawing Animals.

Studio mate Khary Randolph was featured in a Samsung commercial called "Can This Pro Illustrator Design The Ultimate Final Boss In 60 Minutes?"

Singer/songwriter Don Rauf was inspired by my Red Hook comix and he produced a ditty called "Freak of Nature with a Lonely Heart," with his band, Life In A Blender, on their new album, "Satsuma."

Josh Neufeld also produced "A tale of two pandemics: A nonfiction comic about historical racial health disparities."

Due to the pandemic, my group studio of many iterations is dissolving come January 31, 2021. For me, what started as a webcomics collective called ACT-I-VATE in 2006, and physically became DEEP6 in 2007, only to transition into Hang Dai (and Trip City), which evolved into Gowanus Comics Artists (aka Studio CLOACA) has been a strange and rewarding 13-years of creative incubating with too many artists to list here. And, despite the challenges of renting and sharing affordable work space in NYC, it doesn't diminish our legacy of making comix together during a robust era of Brooklyn-inspired creativity.

Whether my next phase is physical or virtual (or a little bit of both), Whitney Matheson and I have decided to spark Nightwork Studio, a satellite for our occasional collaborations.

We've published a few things from co-hosting "Halloween Squares" to grieving about "Wet Books" and discussing our lack of sleep, swimming and sewing via "Leif Erickson." Be sure to subscribe/follow Nightwork Studio on YouTube and Facebook and look out for our upcoming "Holiday Squares" event.

You know how when some people really like something they say "That's the shit!" It's a declaration of cool. But, it always bothered me that the word "shit," which is usually meant to describe something less than desirable could mean something cool. But, I guess that's how we dismantle words. So, with that in mind, I'm thinking of starting a new term. One that acknowledges 2020 but in a positive way.

What if when you saw something you liked you proudly claimed, "That's the pandemic!" Not in a negative, virus kind of way. But, in a way that recontextualizes the virus and quarantine. Takes a horrifying word we hear a thousand times a day and makes lemonade out of lemons. And, to push it further, maybe "the pandemic" is something cool that happened DURING the pandemic or BECAUSE of the pandemic. Like, when people started to applaud @7pm everyday for first responders and the people who delivered supplies, groceries and food/etc.

"That's the pandemic!"

I know some people will find my attempt at levity to be insensitive to those who died as a direct result of the virus which is NOT my intent. We all know people who were infected and/or died because of COVID-19. But, I'm just trying to think of a way to put a positive spin on an otherwise dreadful term during an otherwise awful year. Something "That's the pandemic!" besides the actual pandemic.

No?

Terrible idea?

(I'll just see myself out the door)