ThereвЂ™s absolutely nothing I can do to stop it. Even my Patreon page is scraped wholesale, now, with anything I post there вЂ“ and even the comments legitimate patrons leave вЂ“ appearing on mirror pages that anyone can view for free. What I never expected was that huge archives of my content would be collated, or how damaging to my endeavours those archives would be. ItвЂ™s the fate of all digital content: once you put it out there, itвЂ™s gone. When I started up The Apsara Portfolio, I knew that the comics I posted there would eventually find their way onto forums and image boards outside my control. вЂKeep up the struggleвЂ™ he encourages as I depart.IвЂ™d always hoped I gave enough away for free, via my website and DeviantArt, to win enough favour so that people wouldnвЂ™t mess with my revenue stream. For once being an American abroad is relatively safe! I figure he should return to Cambodia at some point, he speaks some French and is big on teaching and community building. WeвЂ™re both intrigued by the recent controversy surrounding the Danish cartoons. To him itвЂ™s exotic and a reminder that heвЂ™s on the road, but to hear it at home would of course be completely different. He digs hearing the call to worship 5 times a day. He points out that the nearby gay nightclub is just a few hundred meters from one of the most historic mosques.

We wander around a bit, killing time before JustinвЂ™s bus leaves that PM. вЂњItвЂ™s as big as your HEADвЂќ he enthuses about these icy treats. Justin in search of a tasty вЂshave iceвЂ™ dessert, me looking for Malaysian Hip Hop. We head out to see Petaling Street, the Chinese shopping district. Justin thinks thereвЂ™s a lot of similarities, but points out that queer cartoonists are alienated even from *alternative* comics culture. This leads to a bit of speculation вЂ“ is doing comics (always being marginalized, always having to assert your legitimacy) similar to identifying as gay? We play with this notion a bit. Yes, there are comics, queer folk, and queer comics in Australia. I suggest he connect with Silent Army and take it from there. Thanks to the gods of comics I happen to have a Melbourne comic on me so I proceed to give it to him. HeвЂ™s happy to hear we are working on finding a way to publish Em Satya, have published two NGO comics recently, and that Sin Yang PiromвЂ™s done a new book. Justin is very curious about both Cambodia (and the folks he met last January) and Australia, where heвЂ™ll be going next. We both note that Something Should be Done for JesseвЂ™s 10th anniversary of Slow Wave, one of the first ever web comics. ( Pull quote!)Д«eyond his travels heвЂ™s curating two comics shows with Jesse Reklaw ( Slow Wave) вЂ“ one of queer artists at the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco, and one of Bay area cartoonists. Me, fashion advisor? Justin: вЂњyes, I am the worldвЂ™s most sartorially challenged gay manвЂќ.

HeвЂ™s looking for some clothing to take back to the states. (Well, it seems extreme to westerners like us.) Apparently thereвЂ™s some pretty extreme behaviour at these gatherings вЂ“ piercings, trances, etc. JustinвЂ™s here in part to document Thaipusam, MalaysiaвЂ™s important Hindu celebration, which takes place every year by the caves outside of Kuala Lumpur. But heвЂ™s really known for вЂTrue Travel TalesвЂ™, which won him a Xeric grant and may eventually be collected into a book size anthology. JustinвЂ™s over 6 feet and rumor has it that heвЂ™s the inspiration for the wave of вЂњ Malaysian BigfootвЂќ sightings. We hit a local eatery and proceeded to chow down, interspersing comics updates with gulps of tandoori and daal. Malaysia is a riot of architecture вЂ“ local, international, colonial, new, old вЂ“ but donвЂ™t let that deter you go for the food! He suggested we meet in downtown Kuala Lumpur at a Starbucks just as a landmark, not to eat. ThereвЂ™s been plenty of talk about this in Cambodia, but is anybody really focusing on this exclusively? Already we have Cambodian deminers going to Sudan, there could be more than just technical interchange between these two very different worlds.ДЄs the clock hit 7:30 I ducked out of the conference intro party to meet comix compatriot Justin Hall. Most arresting for me is the short intro by MonashвЂ™s South African visitor, who talked about some of the terminology used in the reconciliation effort there. Today the Conference opened with the usual speeches and dedications.ДЄn entertaining addition was a theatre troupe that was employed to break down formal barriers by doing short skits interpreting conference events.

Jollyjack apsara collected curios