Emerald City is a semi-autobiographical comic strip that tells the story of a basically clueless but well meaning 20-something (Will) with a liberal arts bachelor’s degree and zero marketable skills, and how he navigates the perils of early adulthood alongside his hedonistic alter ego (Barry) and later with his precocious niece (Katie). Initially, the strip is specifically set in Eugene, Oregon — a place where Will is exposed to alternatives to the mainstream cultural lifestyle he is accustomed to. A major early theme of the strip is the often humiliating quest to find gainful employment, and the struggle to balance that need to earn a living with the desire to find meaning in life. The arrival of Katie adds a third dimension to the strip, and forces Will and Barry to confront the ignorance of their limited experience, to great comic effect! 

Inspired by Doonesbury, Calvin & Hobbes and Stone Soup, Emerald City is an exploration of the author’s experiences and inner world as a young adult, through the lens of three characters living in the panels of a comic strip. They tackled topics such as love, friendship, gender roles, network marketing, Y2K, birthdays, pet ownership, French cuisine, sports fandom, and an abiding love of cheese. As the strip matured, these characters began to take on voices of their own, and, hopefully, tapped into something that is universal to the human condition.

Enjoy!