Responses to "Shallow Grave," part 2

Since I posted those nice letters regarding my cartoon on the murder of Gwen Araujo, I've gotten some more that I'd like to share.

Saja (who I believe comes from San Francisco) writes:

thank you so much for your piece "shallow grave". all week i've been composing "trans 101" type letters to various media outlets that have reported on gwen's death with erroneous and transphobic language. and i'm struggling to be articulate and make a well-reasoned argument for why a girl should be called a girl, but i keep wanting to scream "why can't you just get it?" along with a slew of profanities. just thinking about her death, and the countless other transpeople we've lost to violence or suicide, makes me feel desperate and like i have no words left in me. so i had to write to you and say thank you for just getting it.

The following nice letter comes from Sindee (again, from San Francisco):

My name is Sindee Nakatani. I'm a pre-op TS from Osaka, Japan but currently living in San Francisco. Your cartoon strip puts into words/pictures what I've been feeling when I see the sad news reports of Gwen. I was very very moved by it. Thank you so much for your kindness and understanding regarding this matter. Keep up the great work!

From Denver, Colorado:

i don't know what else to say. i just read shallow grave. and the transgendered sewing circle of denver colorado says thanks.

And Nick (again from San Francisco) writes: thank you so much for expressing so much that the trans community has been feeling. i thought shallow grave was beautiful and well done. i wanted to write and ask your permission to reprint it and leave copies around places. i've been trying to created/find something that expresses the pain i've been feeling over gwen's death and the lack of respect she's been given, and this has hit the nail on the head. i would be greatly honored if you granted me permission to do this. and i would probably distribute it around the SF bay area.

I of course sent him a high-res black + white version of the cartoon, so if you live around there, keep your eyes peeled. I've also received nice requests from Community United Against Violence and a university group to use the cartoon on posters. As I mentioned in my bio, I am very happy to let people use my cartoons free of charge for a good cause, just write to me first so (a) I know what that cause is and (b) I can send you a higher-res copy of the image (gifs don't look so good printed out as is.) But if you know of any professional (i.e. paying) publications that might be interested (a local TBLG newspaper, for example), I'm into that, too.

And in response to a few questions I received, you definitely don't need my permission to post the cartoon on your wall at work or send it to your friends (please send it to everyone you like!) I just want to know if you're using it on a large scale so I can send you higher-res B&W files.

And again, I can't say how much I appreciate all the nice letters.