Houston Is Not All Bad

You Just Have to be Willing to Check the Nooks and Crannies

Y’all know me. Hating on Houston is part of my brand.I’ve written about this well-earned hate here and here and here. (And obviously, I’m not the only person who feels like this.) But a positive spin on Houston came into my inbox today. “Ecologies of Houston” is a comic strip drawn by Ted Classon, who was briefly a resident of Houston while he was getting his MFA. I followed his work while he was in town. One thing that he did that I thought was impossibly cool was that for the 2012 MFA exhibit, Closson decided to turn his part of the floor into a small-scale zine/comics show (that year the MFA show was held at Diverse Works because they were in the middle of rebuilding the Blaffer Gallery at UH). It was funky and designed with small-press, amatuer publishers in mind. Much closer to Zine Fest than to Comicpalooza. It felt like a perfect wrap-up to two years of studying comics art at University of Houston. It’s not like UH had an already-existing program of study for would-be cartoonists. That world exists, but it is a subculture, nutured through social gatherings like small-scale comics festivals.I just wish someone had picked up the ball Closson “dropped” (by graduating) and run with it. To put it another way, I wish that I had picked up that ball and run with it.

For “Ecologies of Houston”, Closson reminds us how nature finds the times and places in Houston where for a moment or two, it can thrive.

Anyone who flies into Houston will see how green it is. We try and try but can’t seem to pave it all. What Ted wants us to remember is how that green is packed with life, especially in those moments we aren’t looking at it

.So, for all my Houston hatred, I have to concede this point to Closson. Despite our best attempts to create an uninhabitable hellscape here, nature has a way of showijng us the limits out our power

.This was a beautiful bit of art. But if Ted Closson has produced a classic piece of comic art, it was “A GoFundMe Campaign Is Not Health Insurance”, also published on the Nib. In this 2017 strip, Closson talks about our mutual friend, Shane Patrick Boyle. Boyle was one of the founders of Zine-Fest, which has evolved into a long-lasting and vital part of Houston culture. But Shane suffered from diabetes and died when he ran out of insulin. This is what Closson’s searing strip is about. It’s impossible to read without getting mad. Not that I think of Closson as an angry dude, but “Ecologies of Houston” is a calming breath of fresh air compared to the righteous anger of “A GoFundMe Campaign Is Not Health Insurance”. Read them both and tale a close look at Clsson’s art. You will be rewarded.

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