Authors, cartoonists cover the state and internet to raise awareness, money

Minnesota writers and cartoonists are conveying what’s been happening in the state, using the tools they have: words and images.

They’re doing it with at least two huge collaborations since, even as Operation Metro Surge ends, communities will continue to need help.

Authors for Minnesota, an effort to support struggling bookstores across the state and raise money for immigrants, is set for noon-4 p.m., Feb. 28 at 24 stores. More than 50 Minnesota writers — including William Kent Krueger, Curtis Sittenfeld, Bao Phi and Lorna Landvik — will sign books at independent stores including Black Garnet Books in St. Paul and Drury Lane Books in Grand Marais. Each author also will donate at least 20 books as incentives for customers to make on-site donations to either the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota or Women’s Foundation of Minnesota’s Immigration Rapid Response Fund.

The other collaboration is among Minnesota cartoonists. They launched #iceoutcomics on Instagram last month, calling for artists from around the world to create four-panel comics in response to ICE’s immigration crackdown. It went viral. In the past month, 237 comics have been created (some can be viewed at crucialcomix.com, without an Instagram account), generating millions of views (the post announcing the project has more than half a million on its own).

Both projects began with writers and artists trying to figure out what to do.

“Like most writers, I’m an introvert. This is all so far out of my wheelhouse,” said thriller writer Jess Lourey who, nevertheless, asked the owners of Once Upon a Crime and Comma bookstores in Minneapolis if it would be crazy to assemble a statewide event to get people into stores. “They said, ‘No. Do it!’”

First, Lourey reached out to members of her writing group, which includes Krueger, Landvik and Kristi Belcamino. They were all in, so she and Belcamino began making calls.

One of those yeses came from Minneapolis poet and children’s book writer Phi, who is Vietnamese American. When Lourey described Authors for Minnesota to him, it struck him as a “win-win-win.”

“It’s important to me as an Asian American who really wants to support independent bookstores and social justice causes of all types,” said Phi, who will be signing his books for kids and adults at Black Garnet.

Cartoonist Katharine Woodman-Maynard also was motivated by the thought, “I have to do something.” In mid-January, she got on a call with fellow Twin Cities cartoonists Jason Walz and Trung Le Nguyen. They started ringing other cartoonists (including Minneapolis-based Jim Keefe, who draws the “Sally Forth” strip) and put a callout on Instagram with specifications for the comics. Almost immediately, art started pouring in.

“What really surprised us was the outpouring of support from people who didn’t have any direct experience with ICE. People in France would write to say, ‘I can make a comic for someone if they have a story they want to tell,’” said Woodman-Maynard, who was thrilled to see people making those arrangements in comments on the #iceoutcomics Instagram posts.

Nguyen — who is Vietnamese American and who lives about a mile from where Renee Good was killed — does have direct experience, and it has given him a specific take on ICE’s presence in the Twin Cities. Since officers arrived here, he hasn’t left the house unless someone else is with him.

A variety of experiences have been expressed in the comics, which cover such topics as neighbors helping each other, health concerns and the importance of kindness.

Woodman-Maynard noted that cartoons have long been an effective vehicle for strong messages, because they’re a form of art that can help break down barriers. Nguyen said #iceoutcomics may be breaking down other barriers, as well.

“My art is this part of my life that is my job and is siloed off. But the more I have talked to other artists about this project, I feel more strongly that we should be able to show up in this facet of our lives,” said Nguyen about reaching out to readers. “These are stories that they can take in and make a part of their lives.”

Nguyen notes that cartoonists, like novelists, tend to work in isolation. But #iceoutcomics and Authors for Minnesota are ways for creators to get out of their silos and speak their minds.