Hello from the founders of the Comics Advocacy Group, and welcome to the fifth installment in our series highlighting the thirty recipients of our inaugural CAG Mini Grant! You can find previous posts here. Please look forward to the rest, and thank you again for your support!
Priya Huq
Priya Huq is a cartoonist and illustrator in Brooklyn. They make zines, are in lots of anthologies, and made a graphic novel called Piece by Piece.
For more information, and to follow Priya, visit http://batsabatsabatsa.com.
Rachel Lea
Rachel Lea is a comic creator in the Twin Cities, Minnesota. Her work centers around the intersection of mental illness and religious trauma.
For more information, and to follow Lea, visit https://www.instagram.com/rachelleacomics/.
Sanika Phawde
I am an illustrator, educator, cartoonist and reportage artist born and raised in India and based in Boston. I make comics to cope with life. My recent work strives to capture and communicate instances of emotional connection, queer immigrant culture and conversations people have over meals.
For more information, and to follow Sanika’s work, visit https://www.sanikap.com/.
SCUMSUCK
I’m a Chinese American artist living in the USA. I draw cartoons and comics that are about, like, the human condition of endless loss and unrequited love and peepee jokes. I like DIY projects like printing and cutting my own art/zines/stickers, developing my website, and organizing small online art events.
For more information, and to follow SCUMSUCK, visit https://scumsuck.com/.
Shannon Spence
Shannon Spence is a comics community leader and medical technologist living in Jersey City, NJ. Her newest book, Punk Lab Girl (P*NK LAB GRL!) is a sci-fi lite inspired by her experiences working in for-profit healthcare. She co-founded the Comix Accountability Club (@comix.accountability.club) in 2022 with her best friend Kathy in an effort to create an online and inclusive comics community.
For more information, and to follow Shannon, visit https://www.shannonprints.com/.
More About the CAG Mini Grant
The CAG Mini Grant provides small, unrestricted funding to comic creators who reside within the United States and are in need of additional resources. As the cost of food and rent are growing prohibitive, many creators find themselves taking on additional work with time they do not have in order to make ends meet. Our goal in offering this $500 mutual aid grant is to give cartoonists some time and space to work on the projects most important to them.
This launch effort was made possible by many wonderful donors. If you would like to contribute to our future grants and other initiatives, please consider making a tax-deductible donation (or setting up a recurring donation) – or let us know if you’d be interested in sharing your expertise as an in-kind contribution!
If you would like to receive updates from the Comics Advocacy Group, please follow us on social media (twitter, bluesky) and we’ll let you know the moment we have our newsletter up and running. We are a young nonprofit, and your support makes all the difference. Thank you!!
