Brain Frame 10, a Chicago comics reading series, featured six amazing artists reading selections of their work. And I had the distinguished honor of assisting the venerable Marian Runk with her quirky, queer comics.
The space was filled to the brim with comics artists and/or enthusiasts alike, and of course, Marian and I were dressed to impress:
Assisting Marian Runk at Brain Frame 10, and looking good while doing it | Gillian Fry
Clearly, we were happy to be at Brain Frame 10 | Gillian Fry
Outfit details
- Tank top: Old Navy gold cotton tank top via the Gap Clearance Store in Northern Kentucky, size XL, 50 cents
- Jacket: Forever 21+ amber all-over sequin bolero, size 1x, $19.99
- Bottom: Torrid Black pencil skirt, size 28, $17.49
- Leggings: Torrid black leggings, size 2x, $10
- Footwear: Torrid black boots, size 12, $25
- Pearl necklace: gift
- Earrings: Banana Republic amber and gold chandelier earrings via the Gap Clearance Store in Northern Kentucky, $3.99
- Glasses: EyeBuyDirect.com Rock! Peggy cat eye frames in black, $55
I was also super excited about my hair. I was running behind and needed a quick updo, so I went with a femme pompadour. To preserve my color, I wash my hair about once or twice a week, which leaves me with perfectly textured dirty hair for victory rolls, beehives and other classic looks. (Really, never wash your hair. It’s so great.)
Showing off the ever elusive femme pomp, via my Instagram account
To achieve this long-hair pomp, gather the hair at the nape of the neck and start twisting into a french twist all the way up until you nearly reach the forehead and secure with pins. I teased mine a bit before twisting for extra volume. Then take the leftover pieces and any bang fringe, gently tease it and form into curl on the side and secure with pins. Set the style with hair spray, smoothing back any flyaways or loose pieces.
Brain Frame 10 poster | Lyra Hill and Jenna Caravello
Anyway, back to the reading. I was impressed by everyone who shared their work at the January Brain Frame gathering, learning more about the creation, transformation and sharing of comics than I even knew was possible. Here’s a little bit about all of the participating artists:
- Marian Runk makes sweet and funny memoir comics. She read and sang a selection of music-based short comics.
- Ezra Claytan Daniels, multi-media comics artist extraordinaire and founder of the Comic Art Battle, read chapters 3 and 4 of his compelling science-fiction serial created for tablet computers. Upgrade Soul, about an elderly couple and their malformed clones, is an iPad app — and the first chapter is free!
- Sara Drake presented a collaboration with Aussie playwright Anna Barnes about ansomnia, the loss of taste and smell. This personal narrative, beautifully illustrated, debuted last fall at the Sydney Opera House as part of the GRAPHIC Festival.
- Lyra Hill — bazillion-time Brain Frame alumna, emcee, and founder — read her new comic Banana Glove Game, about a small town distraction gone wrong. Banana Glove Game will be published in the upcoming all-comics issue of Lumpen (which is hosting a release party Friday, Jan. 25).
- Grant Reynolds lead the audience in an informative trance experience titled Mind Body Sex: An Introductory Session to the Sexual Meditation Institute.
- Andy Roche is a performance artist and filmmaker, presenting his first comics-based work, written expressly for Brain Frame.
Video of Runk’s set is below:
Follow me on Instagram for my latest raw photos from the wild.
Follow @queerknowledge
