This cartoon is another collab between me and Becky Hawkins.

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A reader emailed me a while ago to say that he really appreciated the cartoons I’ve done about disability issues - about ableism, really. (And that was striking to me, because at that time I think I’d done only a few cartoons about ableism, plus another couple that touched briefly on it.) 

(I haven‘t done many more since then, alas. You can see all of them at this link, if you’re curious.)

The reader, who identified himself as autistic, mentioned that he’d really like to read a cartoon by me focusing on issues experienced by autistic people. I said what I always say when I get requests like that - ”That could be a really good idea for a cartoon, but I can’t control where my inspiration goes. But I’ll see if an idea comes up.”

For me, inspiration often comes from listening to people complain. So I began listening, both by lurking on relevant public forums, and by talking to some of the autistic people I know. Some complaints about things neurotypical people say to or about autistic people waaaaay too often began occurring again and again, and presto: A comic strip. (Honestly, there was enough material for two comic strips, so you may see a sequel someday).

Once this strip is public, I’ll search through my email and try to find the person who wrote me, so I can point the strip out to them. I hope they’ll be pleased. (Defaulting to "they" because I don't remember what pronouns they prefer.)

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I was planning to draw this one myself, but Becky saw it in my scripts folder and asked if she could do it, because (she said) drawing eight jerks would be fun. I couldn’t argue with that logic! And she did her usual great job. I especially like the way she used limited color this time (because I love comics done with limited color, as I’m sure many readers have noticed).

It was Becky’s idea to have the “Have you tried Yoga” character go on and on and on and on, appearing against a background of endless words. I loved that idea, and I love Becky’s drawing in that panel - all that chunky jewelry looks great.

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As I’m writing this, I’m in the airport hotel in Ithaca, New York, where I’ve been celebrating a couple of family milestones. I’ll be taking a 6:20am flight tomorrow, and will be back home by tomorrow night.

Between lovely family stuff, finishing up a Wings of Fire graphic novel script, and doing four political cartoons, this may be the most enjoyable month of 2022 so far. Thank you, everyone who supports this patreon, for making doing this work I love possible. Y’all are so cool, and I hope you’ve had a good month as well.

As usual, you’re seeing this cartoon about a month before it’ll go public; but if you’re supporting at the $5 level or above feel free to show it to folks without waiting.

I’ll be back with more cartoons in July. Stay well!

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TRANSCRIPT OF CARTOON

This cartoon has nine panels, arranged in a 3x3 grid. The central panel has nothing in it but large, cheerful letters, which say:

THINGS TO STOP SAYING TO AUTISTIC PEOPLE

Each panel features a different character speaking directly to the reader.

PANEL 1

A young person with a jeans vest over a white shirt with torn short sleeves - essentially looking like a modern person who for some reason is dressing like a 50s greaser - is speaking to the reader with a wide-eyed, sincere expression, one palm held up.

GREASER: A kid at my son’s school is autistic! I feel so BAD for the parents.

PANEL 2

A middle-aged man wearing a suit and tie, with a beard that screams “I am an intellectual,” is looking a little puzzled, one hand stroking his beard.

MAN: You don’t LOOK autistic.

PANEL 3

A balding man with white hair is holding out a hand in a “please stop that” gesture.

MAN: Could you stop flapping your hands? It’s weird.

PANEL 4

A woman with carefully-messy-styled hair and wearing a full makeup job is holding her hands with their palms against each other in front of her chin. She’s smiling very large.

WOMAN: Autistic? That’s VERY fashionable these days.

PANEL 5

This is the central panel, which has nothing in it but a caption, in large, cheerful letters.

CAPTION: THINGS TO STOP SAYING TO AUTISTIC PEOPLE

PANEL 6

A man with an enormous beard, and nice glasses, glares suspiciously at the reader, with arms akimbo. 

MAN: My niece is autistic and noisy rooms don’t bother HER.

PANEL 7

A middle-aged woman with a somewhat hippy-ish vibe is smiling and talking to the viewer. She has fluffed-out white or blonde hair, and is wearing at least three rings, six bracelets, and four necklaces, nearly all of which are large and chunky.  She’s speaking so much that it forms a wall of words behind her, most of which we can’t make out because she’s in the way, but we can read enough to get the gist of it.

WOMAN: Have you tried yoga? Not eating sugar? Not eating dairy? Sun… celery juice?  …matory diet? … Acupunct…. Quitting sm…. Float?

PANEL 8

A young guy carrying a drink with a straw is grinning and pointing to himself proudly with a thumb.

GUY: I know ALL about autism. I’ve seen “Rain Man” AND “Big Bang Theory”!

PANEL 9

A middle aged woman leans forward towards us, a concerned expression on her face. She‘s dressed nicely in a jacket over a blouse and a simple necklace. She’s got one hand aside her mouth, as if she’s whispering to us.

WOMAN: Have you just TRIED acting NORMAL?