The Lost Comics #9

This is the last of the “lost comics.” This was the most lost of all. It was laid out, written, and forgotten. Instead of trying to recreate it, I simply saved the dialogue because I don’t want to dwell on old projects. But I do LOVE this memory.

That first pregnancy was such a beautiful experience because it was mostly just the two of us navigating all of these changes together. Ashley excitedly sharing the science of what was happening to her body with me. Until the eighth month anyway. The end of her pregnancy took place during the June and July heat of Florida summer. It was my first time having a summer break. We did almost nothing. I watched the entirety of the Wire, Justified, the Last Kingdom, and probably several other shows and made a LOT of comics.

Our daughter, Jules Dean Dease, was born the day before I was supposed to report back to school. So I got an extra week off because of her.

It was the scariest thing I have ever experienced and the most incredible.

Thank you for reading these.

New comics starting TOMORROW!

peace + love,

-joshua.

The Lost Comics #7

I made this comic five years ago. This birthday will be 37. I feel like I have aged at least 20 since I made this.

20 wonderful years.

The Lost Comics #6

In retrospect, given what we went through with church life that brought us to Ocala, we should have taken a year off from “finding a church.” My faith hadn’t yet grown to the point where I found this acceptable.

I don’t regret being part of Brick City Church (which we eventually “found”), but taking a year to heal and rest from previous experiences before jumping into a new community and accepting little leadership roles here and there would’ve been very wise and more healthy than the path I pushed us down. Especially since I was in over my head with a brand new career and our lives were about to change with a baby on the way.

If you find yourself in this place, I encourage you not to rush. I don’t know that there’s a specific time frame you need to follow, but there’s nothing ungodly about taking a sabbath from church if you’ve been through a lot. Especially if you have some friends who can help guide you through.

The Lost Comics #1

During the boredom of COVID, a lot of cleaning has taken place. Which has turned up an unfinished sketchbook where I started a comic about Ashley and I moving to Ocala, getting pregnant, and having our first child.

These are the comics that I finished.