Hourly Comics Day 2026
Also... a new book!
Hello friends!
It’s been… some time… since I’ve updated Notes from Beyond. I won’t apologize. In fact you’re welcome! I certainly know that my own inbox is overflowing with unread newsletters and emails. And if your inbox is anything like mine, the last thing you need is some jerk like me adding to the pile in the spirit of Making Content™.
A new book you say?
I do say!
It’s called Every Space Between, and it’s written by my dear friend Naseem Hrab, and published by Groundwood Books. I drew the pictures. The cover looks like this:
Every Space Between is a meditation on the moments between other moments. For example, right now I’m experiencing the moment between having finished the book, and when it comes out next month on March 3, 2026.
Quill and Quire gave it a starred review, saying:
Cerebral in a breezy way, there is much to ponder between the pages of this thoughtfully and artfully conceived concept book.
It’s available for preorder now, and I’ll be sharing more about the book closer to its publication. I hope you’ll like it.
Anything else?
I’ve updated the Design section of my website with a number of new book covers that I designed and art directed for Tundra Books.
Hourly Comics Day
For the last several years I’ve watched cartoonist friends participate in Hourly Comics Day, which is exactly what it says on the tin: a day during which participants draw a comic every hour.
I’ve never participated because usually I’m halfway through the day before I realize it’s happening. But also, it turns out, it’s a lot of work. This year I was prepared, and put together a little template the night before.
I’ll be honest, my cartooning chops feel a bit rusty. When I was doing regular work for MAD Magazine, The Nib, and the Globe and Mail, I was drawing comics every week, but it’s been a minute since I’ve drawn pictures in little boxes. As the day progressed, I found my stride, which was reassuring. I tried to find an efficient method, lest it take me an hour per strip, and every single entry was a picture of me drawing myself drawing. Even still it took up more time than I anticipated, and I’ll think twice about my methods if I participate again.
Without further ado, this past Sunday:















James <3
John, congrats on the new book! ….and those hourly comics crack me up. So good!❤️