It’s February which means a NEW Pick of the Month! As we ease into 2015, a new year full of new opportunities and resolutions, I wanted to select someone who is already on a roll, and colors outside the lines (figuratively, in this case) to help inspire us. This person is Carolyn Belefski, of Curls Studio. And she is so much more than her comic strip. She takes that next step and gets involved in her community, broadening her horizons, and that’s where a lot of us can learn from Carolyn. We can be so much more as cartoonists than the comic we draw.
I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Carolyn as she’s in the same “con circuit” as I, along the upper east coast. It’s always wonderful to see motivated and talented female artists (there’s only so many of us *smirk*) with their own comic books in Artist Alley, which is still a male-dominated arena. Based in our nation’s capital, Carolyn is active in local organizations like “Cartoonists Draw Blood” (Red Cross Blood Drive), and the Washington DC comics newspaper Magic Bullet. And when she’s not doing all that, plus her many published comics, she also freelances illustration and design work, which you can browse HERE.
There’s simply too much work Carolyn has produced over the years to give you a decent summary. So I will focus mainly on her ongoing webcomic, “Curls”.
A first impression of Curls is “cute”. Which, of course, is true. Carolyn’s style is sweet and simple, with a bold use of colors. The subject matter is equally “cute”, a collection of fun life moments as told by the main character Curls (based on Carolyn herself) and her lovable assortment of odd friends.
….But as you read a little more, you realize “cute” is just the bait. There’s a subtle depth, a celebration of eccentricities, that ties Curls up and give it a uniqueness that’s hard to find elsewhere. The end result is an adventurous and imaginative comic full of positivity.
“Slice of Life” just seems too… boringly realistic a category for this comic. Curls is more of an exercise in free-writing, or free-drawing I suppose. There’s plenty to relate to but each moment contains twice the amount of imagination. The adorable entourage Miss Curls spends her time with says it all: a turtle named “Turtle Neck”, a fighting fish named “Applause”, and a penguin with possibly my favorite name: “Pitter Patter”. And let’s not forget the most likely character to give you whiplash as you do a double-take:

Then there’s “Toast”, with that endearing jelly smile. He now exists as a plush Carolyn takes to shows and entices customers to wear like a mask for a picture.
Even with the cuteness and the positive eccentricity, Curls is also not shy about dabbling in pop-culture and fun references, like a Lady Gaga song intertwined with a fish’s fantasy sequence. There’s a little something for everyone!
And to properly fill out the archives, Curls will toss in a topical cartoon that speaks to Carolyn’s ties to the community and her fellow creators and artists.
My bet is anyone reading this POTM summary can relate to what this comic below conveys.
More Than Comics
Outside of the continuation of Curls, after a whopping 13 (!!!) years, Carolyn is making great strides in 2015 already! In keeping with “being more than her comic”, she landed a HUGE freelance project with the White House to help promote the Affordable Care Act and why healthcare and getting insured is important to every type of persona. Not everyone can say the First Lady laid eyes on their work and shared it! Also, it’s quite wonderful after all of our advancements, cartooning can still be a useful tool and even the White House can hire an illustrator (and a woman at that)! You can read about her entire process in this excellent write-up she did on her website, HERE. Join me in congratulating Carolyn on her fine work and accomplishments.
Upcoming for Carolyn!
A little birdie told me that a Kickstarter is in the near future for Carolyn, so if you enjoy Curls and would love to see it printed in a full collection, keep an eye out for this campaign soon!
Follow Carolyn!
- Twitter: @CarolynBelefski
- Facebook Fan Page: Curls-Studio
- Etsy Shop: cartooncarolyn
- Carolyn & Joe Show Podcast
- Comics & Studio: http://www.curls-studio.com/
- Portfolio: http://www.carolynbelefski.com/
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Dawn Griffin is the resident “crazy chick”. She likes steak, Cleveland sports, video games and oh yeah, comics. She spent her formative years either playing street basketball, pitching, or drawing comics and submitting them to syndicates. Once she –accidentally– discovered the world of webcomics, the syndication route became a pointless hurdle. After all, “Crazy Chicks” do things their *&%$ selves. Dawn is the mastermind behind Zorphbert and Fred, and you can find her portfolio site HERE. She can be easily bribed with ice cream.












A very nice write up, Dawn. And an extremely inspirational artist in Carolyn. I really enjoy the cleaness of the comic as well as the bright colors. It just screams “Have a GREAT day!!”
Congrats, Carolyn, on being WCotM
Cory
Thanks Cory! her comic always makes me smile.
I like this strip quite a bit. I enjoy the ebulliant tone of Carolyn’s comic, reminds me of being a kid reading Sunday funnies.
Incidentally, I have a free webcomic up at http://www.wareuretales.tumblr.com/shivering. Check it out, if you like. It’s a 22-page one-shot adapted from one of my previously published short stories. 7 pages are up with the 8th coming tomorrow.
I Love POTM, by the way!
OOoo.. “ebulliant”. Fancy words!
Thanks for sharing!
Heh, yeah. “Ebulliant” was perhaps a bit much, though it’s what I felt. I rarely feel airy or nostalgic about my youth, but this comic brought me back to some of my childhood’s happier aspects.
Also, in addition to loving POTM, I love you, Dawn. You’re great.
Have you covered “Hinge” by Meredith McLaren? What a wild webcomic that is.
-Josh Eure
wareuretales@Gmail.com
http://www.twitter.com/wareuretales
wareuretales.tumblr.com
Wareuretales.blogspot.com
googled it quickly. WOW! gorgeous! It’s one from Image Comics though, and we tend to stick to creator owned webcomics you can browse online. But Hinges looks intriguing– I’ll see if I can flip through it next time I’m at my favorite comic shop!
Right on! I didn’t realize Image was printing it now. That’s pretty awesome for her, no doubt.
-Josh Eure
wareuretales@Gmail.com
http://www.twitter.com/wareuretales
wareuretales.tumblr.com
Wareuretales.blogspot.com
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