KIDS Contributors Amy and Melissa Mendes

Sisters Amy and Melissa Mendes grew up in the woods of Western Massachusetts, where they built houses for fairies and covered themselves in mud. Now they both draw comics and illustrations, and create crafts with their mom at Little Crafty Birds.
Amy contributed a 2 page story called "Brave" that features the three ladies outside their house in a rain storm:



Melissa is the co-editor of the Kids anthology and came up with the idea for Kids! She drew a 3-page story about a kid who wonders what his house looks like from the outside:



Check out more of Melissa's work at her website, and stayed tuned for her Xeric-award-winning book, Freddy, which will be super cute and interesting!

KIDS Contributor Dane Martin

Dane Martin draws Salt Mines Comic Books in a underground dwelling full of cartoonists and slime. You can tumble after him on tumblr, spot him on blogspot, or get him at the source.
Dane created the 4-page comic, 'Bad Place,' featured in the KIDS anthology. First page is above!

KIDS Contributor Chuck Forsman

Charles Forsman draws great comics, and he puts a ton of them online, including his series Snake Oil, all of which you can read at his website. He also has a sweet shop, The Oily Boutique, where you can buy his handmade comics and the Sundays anthologies.
Chuck's Kids contribution, Witch Beach, concerns a precocious little girl and has a nice John Stanley vibe. Here are the first 2 pages:

KIDS Contributor Nate Beaty

Nate Beaty is currently perfecting the draw-fast-engouh-to-start-a-finger-fire technique in Chicago, IL. Regular updated comics and other titillating tomfoolery can be found at his website!
Nate has the longest story in the Kids anthology, a great peak at a group of kids obsessed with break dancing; here's the first 3 pages of the 11-page story:

KIDS Contributor Alex Kim

Alex Kim is a Xeric award-winning cartoonist currently living in Vermont. You can read a ton of his comics on his website in full-color. He is also an editor of the Sundays anthologies alongside Chuck Forsman, Joe Lambert, and Sean Ford.

Alex contributed a story about a meddlesome little girl named Brucie. Check out the first two pages below:

KIDS Contributor Max de Radiguès

Max de Radiguès is a cartoonist from Brussels, Belgium. He's a member of the publishing house L’employé du Moi and was a fellow last year at the Center for Cartoon Studies. Max was once a kid and still is a little bit... Check out page one of his story, "The Witch's Transforming Potion," one of two comics in the Kids anthology with a witchy theme:

Max's book, L’âge Dur, is out now! It's a French-language graphic novel about being a teenager:

l'âge dur from Max de Radiguès on Vimeo.

KIDS Contributor Lydia Conklin

Lydia Conklin is a cartoonist and fiction writer living in Madison, Wisconsin. Her work has appeared in Narrative Magazine, New Letters, The Minnesota Review, and other publications. We were really surprised that both Robyn and Lydia shared a passion for leopard print at such a young age! Lydia contributed the five-page story, "The Kittens Hate You," which reminds readers of the super-close bond children have with animals:

KIDS Contributor Robyn Chapman

Robyn Chapman grew up in Alaska and draws comics about it sometimes. She's also been an editor of many great comic anthologies, including True Porn, Hey 4 Eyes, Make: Comics about an Intimate Act, and most recently, This Isn't Working: Comics about Ex-Boyfriends. We're really excited that Robyn is starting her own publishing house, Paper Rocket, where she will continue to produce beautifully crafted handmade comics. Thanks, Robyn, for your touching story, "Krissy," which appears in the Kids anthology. Read the first page below:

KIDS updates

Thanks to Rob McMonigal over at Panel Platter for his review of Kids!
Rob writes:

Kids is a themed anthology of stories having to do with childhood in some way. Whether it's looking back at a time past or seeing things as a child sees them, the stories all have a strong connection to the idea of what it is like to be a child.

We also just mailed out comics to several comic shops. Look for the Kids anthology at these awesome establishments:

Ada Books, Providence RI
Million Year Picnic, Cambridge MA
Casablanca Comics, Portland MA
Chicago Comics, Chicago IL
Quimby's Bookstore, Chicago IL
Copacetic Comics, Pittsburgh PA
Dr. Comics & Mr Games, Oakland CA
Jim Hanley's Universe, NYC NY
Bergen Street Comics, Brooklyn NY

Coming up, profiles of the Kids anthology cartoonists!