It's another entry in Panel Patter's SPX SPOTLIGHT series! We've been
highlighting creators, publishers, and comics related to SPX since the
site opened in 2008, but 2015 marks our fifth year of extensive coverage
that is unlike what you'll find elsewhere! It's a great way to create
your own personal guide for the show onSeptember 19th and 20th, 2015, in
Bethesda, Maryland. Don't miss it! You can find all our SPX SPOTLIGHT posts here.
Everybody loves their pet - some people can be a little more
vocal about it than others. We all know that person who will talk about their
dog, cat, hamster, goldfish, or what-have-you at length. This is a legitimate
thing, pets are great. They make us feel better and give us an excellent sense
of companionship (for the most part). The existence of the internet and the
prevalence of internet culture in our daily lives has made pets, especially
cats, even easier to share and obsess over. Cats are everywhere. I can say with
certainty that I have personally not gone a day where I accessed social media
(or the internet in general, let’s be honest) without seeing a cat. Cats have
become celebrities, with some like Grumpy Cat or Lil’ Bub making more money
than I will likely ever see at once. Soon to be among their star studded but oh
so fuzzy ranks, I believe, is Rachel Duke’s cat Frankie, the inspiration behind
her series Frankie Comics.
Now is as good a time as any for full disclosure: Rachel
Dukes is a personal friend of mine. I believe that Rachel is one of the most
inspirational, supportive, and talented people I know. Frankie is an adorable
cat, whose antics provide ample inspiration for Dukes’ comics. It is easy to
see Frankie the character in Frankie the cat, who is equally as charming in her
real form as her comics form. Very few animals I have met have as much
personality as Frankie does, as such, she is thoroughly deserving of the comics
she is a star of. Right now, there are three issues of Frankie Comics you can get your hands on, with a fourth from a
recently finished Kickstarter on the way – or, if you are so inclined, you can
read a great deal of the shorts online.
As a frequent contributor to anthology projects, Rachel
Dukes has a great deal of varied work. It was her story, Shiny, that appeared in Maple
Key Comics #1 that introduced me to her work, and is still one of my
favorite things she has done. Over the last couple years, Dukes has had comics in
To Boldly…, Symbolia, and SubCultures, as well as the upcoming Beyond and Oath anthologies. She has contributed illustrations to My Radio Zine and Mermaid Zine, among others, and variant covers for a variety of
Boom! Studios books. Sometime in the near future, Dukes will also be releasing
her first graphic novel, Let Me Walk You
Home. Along with Frankie Comics #4,
the aforementioned recently completely Kickstarted campaign also funded some quite
adorable Frankie Dolls.
Rachel Dukes is one of my favorite creators, and one of my
favorite people in comics right now. Her passion for comics and cartooning comes
out in her consistently quality work, and she support and love she provides for
the cartooning community is important and helpful to a great deal of
cartoonists. I thoroughly hope that if you are at SPX that you stop by her
table, and if not, take a look at her work and enjoy what you see.
