When You Are Brave (Redraw)

I redrew this daily cartoon from 2016 because I need to relearn how to be brave again today. Sometimes I forget and have to keep reminding myself.

Original 2016 sketchbook drawing: https://www.conniewonnie.com/2016/03/when-you-are-brave.html

Thanks for continuing to show up and be there for one another.

[Two-panel comic of a girl with a bun, trekking across a lush, pastoral, mountainous landscape. In panel 1, a tortoise follows along right behind her. In panel 2, they become a party of 3, with an elephant trailing close behind, moving forward one step at a time. Caption reads: "To all who get up everyday and dare to be brave in the world -- you are an inextinguishable LIGHT. Shine on." This is a newly re-drawn comic by Connie Sun, cartoonconnie, in 2022. The original sketchbook cartoon was drawn in ink and colored pencil and scanned. Titled "When you are brave," 2016.]

Sketchbook: Cat Dog Connected

May we one day grow wise. That is my hope for the future 

Take good care and thanks for reading.

[Single-panel drawing of a tabby cat resting on a shiba inu dog like a cozy pillow. Caption reads, "we are all connected - more than ever."  Titled "Cat Dog Connected." Digital sketchbook illustration by Connie Sun, cartoonconnie, 2022.]

Teacup Meditation

Everything's FINE! Really!

Take care and thanks for reading.

[Two-panel comic of a girl with a bun, trying to meditate with a teacup on her head. In panel 1, she is sitting cross-legged in a meditation pose, teacup balancing atop her bun. Text reads, "No need to worry...everything's FINE." In panel 2, an elephant enters the frame and asks, "What about -" to which she abruptly interrupts the elephant's train of thought with a "Sh-shh-sh-shh! I'm meditating." The teacup wobbles and splashes, as she scrunches her eyes closed in determined concentration. Webcomic by Connie Sun, cartoonconnie, 2022.]

Subway Sanity (Plus Crayon Cat)

I got myself out to see friends over the weekend, which was both hard and good. Hopefully it all balances out.

These times are crazy-making, but friends are also sanity-saving. Thanks for reading.

[Image 1 is a 4-panel autobio comic of a girl with a braid, anxious to ride the subway. She is wearing a winter coat with a hood pulled over her head. In panel 1, she stands on an NYC subway platform, tense and looking over her shoulder. In panel 2, she is hunched against a support column on the crowded platform, trying to calm herself down. Text reads, "I've been scared to take the subway lately, as an Asian woman in New York City...but I also haven't seen friends in way too long, so I made myself." In panel 3, she's sitting in a subway car, masked, hands on her knees, still tense. A mustached man in the background wears surgical mask on his forehead, like a headband. In panel 4, she reaches her destination and is greeted by the smiling faces of her friends. Text reads, "These times are crazy-making, but friends are also sanity-saving." Webcomic titled "Subway Sanity," by Connie Sun, cartoonconnie, 2022.]

[Image 2 is a photo of a crayon drawing of a girl with a barrette hugging a giant cat, drawn on a dinner table topped with paper, background containing a wine glass and plates. Caption reads, "When they give you crayons with your dinner." sketch by Connie Sun, cartoonconnie, 2022.]

How Depression Does Not Work

Giving shade where shade is due!

Take good care of yourselves this weekend. 

Thanks for reading.

[4-panel comic about how depression doesn't work. Panel 1, girl with a braid at an artist easel, drawing a slightly pensive, melancholy figure. Panel 2, man walks by, offering unsolicited advice, "Why don't you just be less of a bummer?" Panel 3, girl says with a straight face, "Sure, why not? That's genius." Panel 4, man walks off with a satisfied expression, totally oblivious. Girl breaks the "third wall" and looks directly at the reader, resigned. Webcomic strip by Connie Sun, cartoonconnie, 2022.]

Practicing Radical Self-Love

Practicing radical self-love in the face of apathy is a matter of survival. Tough time to be an Asian woman in America. I feel very alone and invisible. Few people will understand the long trauma of this experience and many more know much worse. This week, all I can do is do my best to cope and learn from the ancestors. Then we organize and fight for change.

Thanks for reading.

[4-panel comic of a girl with a bun, coping with a subtle, dismissive kind of racism. In panel 1, she is sitting in front of a laptop, with a pencil behind her ear, listening to the audio of someone swearing. In panel 2, she scribbles the phrase on a notepad. In panel 3, she practices saying the word out loud. In panel 4, she takes a sip of tea. Caption of comic reads: "Fighting the erasure of my Asian American identity...by learning to swear...in the language of my ancestors." Comic is titled: "Practicing Radical Self-Love." Autobio comic strip by Connie Sun, cartoonconnie, 2022.]

When Hate Crimes Happen

I needed to draw this for myself today. Sharing with anyone who needs it too. It can feel like our trauma is invisible and nobody cares, but sometimes we need to remind ourselves that we matter and believe it. 

News of violent attacks and senseless murders has been unrelenting in the past 2 months. In particular, attacks against Asians have increased a staggering 361% in the past year. It is very, very personal.  (https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/13/nyregion/murder-chinatown-nyc.html)

Everyone, take care and stay as safe as you can.

[4-panel comic about hate crimes in America and the feeling of being targeted based on your race. Panel 1: girl with a braid sees the news of another violent crime against a person of color in her city. Text reads, "When hate crimes happen to people who look like you, it is personal. You feel it in your body." Panel 2: the ground buckles underneath her, like an earthquake, and everything is thrown off-balance. Text reads, "But your pain is not invisible." Panel 3: ground disappears and she is free-falling through the sky, anguished, everything feels out of her control. But there is a backpack. Text reads, "Your trauma is not a mere inconvenience." Panel 4: in the final frame, she is able to open a parachute she wasn't sure would work. It's a small relief, as she continues dropping down over a dense, gray cityscape. Text reads, "Remember that your feelings are valid." Original webcomic by Connie Sun, cartoonconnie, 2022.]

Connie on Ko-fi

My Cynical Valentine

In the spirit of disclosure, happy Valentine's :)

Connie on Ko-fi

[3-panel comic of a girl with a braid, being cynical to hide her idealism. In panel 1, Elephant says, "Happy Valentine's Day." Girl, not stopping her stride, scoffs, "BAH! Love means nothing to me!" Panel 2 is a beat, girl walks away. In panel 3, still poker faced, the girl's unspoken thought bubble reads, "Love means everything to me." Original webcomic strip by Connie Sun, cartoonconnie, 2022.]

Small Reminders

Better after talking with a good friend. Every point of connection counts.

Thanks for reading. Connie on Ko-fi

[Single-panel comic of a girl with a braid at home, seated on a yoga mat, connecting with a friend on the phone. This is represented by a hand reaching out from a phone screen, index finger extended. The girl meets the hand halfway, fingertips about about to connect. Elephant looks on in the background. Caption reads, "Small reminders that you are not alone can be huge."]

Accidental Loneliness

I've been testing the limits of social isolation lately. This is probably a sign that I need to get out more. 

Hope you're managing okay and have what you need to keep moving forward. 

Thanks for reading. Connie on Ko-fi

[4-panel borderless comic of a girl with a braid, going too long without social interaction. In panel 1, she is looking out the window at a cityscape on a dreary day. Panel 2 is a bubble of a dream of being among friendly faces, which blends into panel 3, where she wakes up from the dream, alone in a bed. Captions read: "I got absorbed in work and accidentally didn't leave my apartment or talk to a single person for days. I was so isolated that I had a dream about being around people that I miss and felt a momentary sense of relief inside my head...Waking up was a bit sad. Loneliness often catches me off guard because I'm usually very good at being by myself."]

Yellow Jacket

If you see someone wearing a very vintage yellow jacket walking around, it might be me! This is the story of how my dad got this for me when I first moved to NYC 15 years ago.

My brain wants to tell longer stories these days, but I don't have a great way to share them yet. Many ideas are too long for short comics and take more time to develop. I'm still working on a book. This is an awkward comic strip that is more a window into my creative process than a finished product.

Thanks for patiently reading along and not giving up on me. Connie on Ko-fi

[3-page comic]

Page 1, 2 panels: flashback to Los Angeles, 2007. A father proudly holds up a large yellow jacket on a hanger to a younger version of the girl. The girl tries it on and looks ridiculous. Text reads, "15 years ago, my dad got me a large, second-hand, butter-yellow, puffy jacket to wear when I moved to New York City. He says, matter-of-factly, "It's so you can survive winters and not get hit by cars." 

Page 2: illustration of an yellow armchair, walking passed a fire hydrant on the sidewalk. Text reads, "For years, I was too embarrassed to wear it because it made me look like a piece of yellow upholstered furniture." 

Page 3: girl with a bun, wearing an overwhelming, butter-yellow jacket because it was given to her by her father and is a reminder of where she comes from. Text reads, "I recently took it out of storage and started wearing it again because, if my dad taught me anything, it's "WHO CARES what anybody else thinks?!" 

Perfect Hair Day

Hope you're having a good hair day! 

Thanks for reading and supporting

[3-panel comic of a girl at home alone, having a perfect hair day. She looks into a handheld mirror, then down dejectedly. In the last frame, a fan is creating a wind effect, as she takes glamour shots on her phone in bunny slippers, with the best hair of her life. Caption reads: "If you have a perfect hair day and nobody is around to see it, how many selfies...is too much??"]

Winter in New York

Not today, but a persistent feeling in winter months. By now, the snow has melted and I'm fine. 

Thanks for reading through the ups and downs :)

Connie on Ko-fi

[Two-panel comic of a girl wearing a winter coat, walking alone against a winter cityscape, snow covering the ground and trees bare. In panel 2, she stops to observe a frozen pond in Central Park with a family of geese on the ice surface of it, foraging. Caption reads, "I feel very alone today, but maybe this is my jam." Titled "Winter in New York."]