Michael Avolio
@michaelavolio.bsky.social
Silver Spring, MD
Indie cartoonist making comics.
Autistic and in constant physical pain.
Former theater artist. Forever cinephile.
Buy my comics and paintings at michaelavolio.etsy.com. Support my comics work at patreon.com/michaelavolio.
Indie cartoonist making comics.
Autistic and in constant physical pain.
Former theater artist. Forever cinephile.
Buy my comics and paintings at michaelavolio.etsy.com. Support my comics work at patreon.com/michaelavolio.
Pinned
Michael Avolio
@michaelavolio.bsky.social
· Oct 23
Art prints: michaelavolio.etsy.com
(Plus comics, paintings, and other art!)
(Plus comics, paintings, and other art!)
Tatsuya Nakadai (1932–2025)
Yojimbo, Sanjuro, Harakiri, High and Low, The Face of Another, When a Woman Ascends the Stairs, Kagemusha, Ran, The Human Condition, Kill!, Sword of Doom, Kwaidan, The Wolves, The Inheritance, and even one shot of Seven Samurai.
What an intense actor.
What a career.
Yojimbo, Sanjuro, Harakiri, High and Low, The Face of Another, When a Woman Ascends the Stairs, Kagemusha, Ran, The Human Condition, Kill!, Sword of Doom, Kwaidan, The Wolves, The Inheritance, and even one shot of Seven Samurai.
What an intense actor.
What a career.
November 11, 2025 at 6:24 AM
Tatsuya Nakadai (1932–2025)
Yojimbo, Sanjuro, Harakiri, High and Low, The Face of Another, When a Woman Ascends the Stairs, Kagemusha, Ran, The Human Condition, Kill!, Sword of Doom, Kwaidan, The Wolves, The Inheritance, and even one shot of Seven Samurai.
What an intense actor.
What a career.
Yojimbo, Sanjuro, Harakiri, High and Low, The Face of Another, When a Woman Ascends the Stairs, Kagemusha, Ran, The Human Condition, Kill!, Sword of Doom, Kwaidan, The Wolves, The Inheritance, and even one shot of Seven Samurai.
What an intense actor.
What a career.
Artists who like drawing with fun pens or razor blades, grab one of these! I got the earlier model without the pump, & it's a fun challenge to draw with. I got it because I was looking for something like the parallel pen to use with archival ink, but its curve allows for more line weight variation.
Less than two hours remaining on my pen sale!
Short clip of the blade pen in action, featuring music by me!
(also featuring my hands, which look like a pair of workers gloves you’d find in a peat bog)
These pens are on sale until midnight on Monday, 10% off with the code TENTENTEN!
thingsbydan.myshopify.com
youtube.com/shorts/g8pB2...
(also featuring my hands, which look like a pair of workers gloves you’d find in a peat bog)
These pens are on sale until midnight on Monday, 10% off with the code TENTENTEN!
thingsbydan.myshopify.com
youtube.com/shorts/g8pB2...
November 10, 2025 at 10:20 PM
Artists who like drawing with fun pens or razor blades, grab one of these! I got the earlier model without the pump, & it's a fun challenge to draw with. I got it because I was looking for something like the parallel pen to use with archival ink, but its curve allows for more line weight variation.
Farran Smith Nehme @selfstyledsiren.bsky.social introducing the silent film Saxophone Suzy at AFI Silver — opening night of their 2025 Classic Film Weekend!
November 7, 2025 at 12:10 AM
Farran Smith Nehme @selfstyledsiren.bsky.social introducing the silent film Saxophone Suzy at AFI Silver — opening night of their 2025 Classic Film Weekend!
As filmmaker Mira Nair's son Zohran Mamdani becomes the next mayor of New York, now may be a good time to enjoy some of her work. The Criterion Channel has some interviews, several of her shorts, and her acclaimed film Mississippi Masala available to stream:
www.criterionchannel.com/mississippi-...
www.criterionchannel.com/mississippi-...
Mississippi Masala - The Criterion Channel
Directed by Mira Nair • 1991 • United States, Uganda
Starring Denzel Washington, Sarita Choudhury, Roshan Seth
The vibrant cultures of India, Uganda, and the American South come together in Mira Nair...
www.criterionchannel.com
November 5, 2025 at 3:23 AM
As filmmaker Mira Nair's son Zohran Mamdani becomes the next mayor of New York, now may be a good time to enjoy some of her work. The Criterion Channel has some interviews, several of her shorts, and her acclaimed film Mississippi Masala available to stream:
www.criterionchannel.com/mississippi-...
www.criterionchannel.com/mississippi-...
Reposted by Michael Avolio
Border Patrol agent Lairmore testifies that he was not injured by the sandwich, but he felt the impact through his ballistic vest.
The sandwich came apart and "kind of exploded" on his chest upon impact, he says.
"I could smell the onions and mustard."
The sandwich came apart and "kind of exploded" on his chest upon impact, he says.
"I could smell the onions and mustard."
November 4, 2025 at 3:33 PM
Border Patrol agent Lairmore testifies that he was not injured by the sandwich, but he felt the impact through his ballistic vest.
The sandwich came apart and "kind of exploded" on his chest upon impact, he says.
"I could smell the onions and mustard."
The sandwich came apart and "kind of exploded" on his chest upon impact, he says.
"I could smell the onions and mustard."
For a limited time, due to the lack of SNAP benefits, the DC area FRESHFARM farmers' markets are offering SNAP card holders $30 in fresh produce vouchers at each market (one redemption per person per day), no balance required. The same will be given to furloughed or unpaid federal workers w/ fed ID.
November 4, 2025 at 6:25 PM
For a limited time, due to the lack of SNAP benefits, the DC area FRESHFARM farmers' markets are offering SNAP card holders $30 in fresh produce vouchers at each market (one redemption per person per day), no balance required. The same will be given to furloughed or unpaid federal workers w/ fed ID.
AFI Silver is showing a free advance screening of the sequel Sisu: Road to Revenge on Nov 18: silver.afi.com/movies/detai...
November 4, 2025 at 5:58 PM
AFI Silver is showing a free advance screening of the sequel Sisu: Road to Revenge on Nov 18: silver.afi.com/movies/detai...
Diane Ladd (1935-2025) earned a best supporting actress Oscar nomination for her brilliant work in Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore as the larger than life diner waitress Flo, who takes Ellen Burstyn's Alice under her wing. That's her on the right with her hair up. A tour de force performance.
November 4, 2025 at 4:55 AM
Diane Ladd (1935-2025) earned a best supporting actress Oscar nomination for her brilliant work in Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore as the larger than life diner waitress Flo, who takes Ellen Burstyn's Alice under her wing. That's her on the right with her hair up. A tour de force performance.
If you used SNAP for an Instacart order in Oct, you can get 50% up to $50 off a grocery delivery order from EBT-eligible retailers in Nov.
It's kind of Instacart to offer this discount to those of us whose SNAP benefits will be delayed and/or decreased (or just not paid at all) this month...
[1/2]
It's kind of Instacart to offer this discount to those of us whose SNAP benefits will be delayed and/or decreased (or just not paid at all) this month...
[1/2]
November 3, 2025 at 11:56 AM
If you used SNAP for an Instacart order in Oct, you can get 50% up to $50 off a grocery delivery order from EBT-eligible retailers in Nov.
It's kind of Instacart to offer this discount to those of us whose SNAP benefits will be delayed and/or decreased (or just not paid at all) this month...
[1/2]
It's kind of Instacart to offer this discount to those of us whose SNAP benefits will be delayed and/or decreased (or just not paid at all) this month...
[1/2]
I'm debuting my new comic Jaywalkers at DC Zinefest today! I'm also selling my other comics, prints, and some new paintings.
Come by if you're in the Washington, DC area — it's free to attend, and there'll be more than 80 exhibitors.
11am-4pm at Martin Luther King Jr Memorial Library. #DCZF2025
Come by if you're in the Washington, DC area — it's free to attend, and there'll be more than 80 exhibitors.
11am-4pm at Martin Luther King Jr Memorial Library. #DCZF2025
November 1, 2025 at 12:02 PM
I'm debuting my new comic Jaywalkers at DC Zinefest today! I'm also selling my other comics, prints, and some new paintings.
Come by if you're in the Washington, DC area — it's free to attend, and there'll be more than 80 exhibitors.
11am-4pm at Martin Luther King Jr Memorial Library. #DCZF2025
Come by if you're in the Washington, DC area — it's free to attend, and there'll be more than 80 exhibitors.
11am-4pm at Martin Luther King Jr Memorial Library. #DCZF2025
Wow, this has been a problem for at least two years.
October 29, 2025 at 8:39 AM
Wow, this has been a problem for at least two years.
25 Democratic-led states are suing the Trump administration for illegally withholding SNAP benefits.
(Red states, your Republican public servants don't give a shit about you, even though you're more likely to be on SNAP.)
I'm on SNAP in one of these blue states (MD).
www.reuters.com/world/us/sta...
(Red states, your Republican public servants don't give a shit about you, even though you're more likely to be on SNAP.)
I'm on SNAP in one of these blue states (MD).
www.reuters.com/world/us/sta...
States sue over Trump administration suspending food benefits during shutdown
A coalition of Democratic-led states filed a lawsuit on Tuesday to stop President Donald Trump's administration from suspending food aid benefits starting on November 1 amid the ongoing U.S. government shutdown.
www.reuters.com
October 28, 2025 at 4:51 PM
25 Democratic-led states are suing the Trump administration for illegally withholding SNAP benefits.
(Red states, your Republican public servants don't give a shit about you, even though you're more likely to be on SNAP.)
I'm on SNAP in one of these blue states (MD).
www.reuters.com/world/us/sta...
(Red states, your Republican public servants don't give a shit about you, even though you're more likely to be on SNAP.)
I'm on SNAP in one of these blue states (MD).
www.reuters.com/world/us/sta...
William Hootkins' audiobook of Moby-Dick is excellent - he gives us a wide variety in tone, a playful sense of humor, and a grandiloquence when called for.
RIP William Hootkins. Thanks for all the memories!
October 24, 2025 at 7:45 PM
William Hootkins' audiobook of Moby-Dick is excellent - he gives us a wide variety in tone, a playful sense of humor, and a grandiloquence when called for.
If you were writing the Trump regime as satire, having the president begin demolishing the White House to add a gaudy new ballroom during a government shutdown a couple days after he shares an A.I. video in which he wears a crown and shits on Americans might seem too on-the-nose.
October 20, 2025 at 8:48 PM
If you were writing the Trump regime as satire, having the president begin demolishing the White House to add a gaudy new ballroom during a government shutdown a couple days after he shares an A.I. video in which he wears a crown and shits on Americans might seem too on-the-nose.
quick digital sketch drawn with my finger on my phone
October 18, 2025 at 12:46 AM
quick digital sketch drawn with my finger on my phone
Reposted by Michael Avolio
white house has joined bluesky
click here to block all official us government accounts instantly
bsky.app/profile/did:...
click here to block all official us government accounts instantly
bsky.app/profile/did:...
October 17, 2025 at 10:08 PM
white house has joined bluesky
click here to block all official us government accounts instantly
bsky.app/profile/did:...
click here to block all official us government accounts instantly
bsky.app/profile/did:...
Yet another reason to hate generative "A.I." and not use it.
wikipedia's data shows that AI is siphoning traffic away from the site, which is a danger to its sustainability. ironically Wikipedia is more important than ever to users who want reliable information instead of slop, and to AI companies that need it for training data www.404media.co/wikipedia-sa...
Wikipedia Says AI Is Causing a Dangerous Decline in Human Visitors
“With fewer visits to Wikipedia, fewer volunteers may grow and enrich the content, and fewer individual donors may support this work.”
www.404media.co
October 17, 2025 at 2:16 AM
Yet another reason to hate generative "A.I." and not use it.
Reposted by Michael Avolio
ProPublica obtained records from the Department of Agriculture that detail the 94 million pounds of food, down to the number of eggs, that never reached food banks because of the #Trump administration’s cuts to The Emergency Food Assistance Program.
My latest video for @propublica.org.
My latest video for @propublica.org.
October 13, 2025 at 2:59 PM
ProPublica obtained records from the Department of Agriculture that detail the 94 million pounds of food, down to the number of eggs, that never reached food banks because of the #Trump administration’s cuts to The Emergency Food Assistance Program.
My latest video for @propublica.org.
My latest video for @propublica.org.
I read that in Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere, Springsteen comes across the movie Badlands when channel surfing before writing his song "Nebraska," inspired by the same events as the film.
Springsteen had released a song called "Badlands" years prior on his album Darkness on the Edge of Town.
Springsteen had released a song called "Badlands" years prior on his album Darkness on the Edge of Town.
October 13, 2025 at 3:12 AM
I read that in Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere, Springsteen comes across the movie Badlands when channel surfing before writing his song "Nebraska," inspired by the same events as the film.
Springsteen had released a song called "Badlands" years prior on his album Darkness on the Edge of Town.
Springsteen had released a song called "Badlands" years prior on his album Darkness on the Edge of Town.
Epicenter is doing a Kickstarter for a new set of English editions of some Bonelli comics Sergio Toppi did. Their recent Dino Battaglia set turned out beautifully.
www.kickstarter.com/projects/epi...
www.kickstarter.com/projects/epi...
Sergio Toppi's Bonelli Collection
Limited edition graphic novel collection by maestro Sergio Toppi in a slipcase! Featuring Nick Raider, Julia, and Martin Mystère!
www.kickstarter.com
October 12, 2025 at 4:04 AM
Epicenter is doing a Kickstarter for a new set of English editions of some Bonelli comics Sergio Toppi did. Their recent Dino Battaglia set turned out beautifully.
www.kickstarter.com/projects/epi...
www.kickstarter.com/projects/epi...
Last year's Classic Film Weekend at AFI Silver focused on pre-code films, and this year's is almost all pre-code too. Very exciting!
The returning Kim Luperi and David Pierce are among the introducers (is that a word?), and this year has 100% more Farran Smith Nehme!
The returning Kim Luperi and David Pierce are among the introducers (is that a word?), and this year has 100% more Farran Smith Nehme!
Is fall festival season causing FOMO? Consider The AFI Silver Classic Film Weekend in Silver Spring, Md. It returns Nov. 6–9 with restorations, rarely-screened gems, silents with live musical accompaniment, delicious pre-Codes, 35mm prints. I'll be introducing a few! silver.afi.com/classic-film...
Classic Film Weekend | AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center
silver.afi.com
October 6, 2025 at 12:13 AM
Last year's Classic Film Weekend at AFI Silver focused on pre-code films, and this year's is almost all pre-code too. Very exciting!
The returning Kim Luperi and David Pierce are among the introducers (is that a word?), and this year has 100% more Farran Smith Nehme!
The returning Kim Luperi and David Pierce are among the introducers (is that a word?), and this year has 100% more Farran Smith Nehme!
I had fun tabling at Philly Comics Expo for the first time yesterday! It was a light show sales-wise, but everyone was nice, and it was cool to meet some cartoonists I hadn't before and to see a few I knew.
(And I made it to The Philadelphia Museum of Art the day before and also ate cheesesteaks!)
(And I made it to The Philadelphia Museum of Art the day before and also ate cheesesteaks!)
October 5, 2025 at 2:59 PM
I had fun tabling at Philly Comics Expo for the first time yesterday! It was a light show sales-wise, but everyone was nice, and it was cool to meet some cartoonists I hadn't before and to see a few I knew.
(And I made it to The Philadelphia Museum of Art the day before and also ate cheesesteaks!)
(And I made it to The Philadelphia Museum of Art the day before and also ate cheesesteaks!)
Free to attend, 10am-6pm Saturday October 4 at Old Pine Community Center in Philadelphia, PA:
Philly Comics Expo
partnersandson.com/pages/philly-comics-expo
I'll be there selling my comics, prints, and paintings, and over 160 other cartoonists and publishers will be there too!
Philly Comics Expo
partnersandson.com/pages/philly-comics-expo
I'll be there selling my comics, prints, and paintings, and over 160 other cartoonists and publishers will be there too!
October 4, 2025 at 3:54 AM
Free to attend, 10am-6pm Saturday October 4 at Old Pine Community Center in Philadelphia, PA:
Philly Comics Expo
partnersandson.com/pages/philly-comics-expo
I'll be there selling my comics, prints, and paintings, and over 160 other cartoonists and publishers will be there too!
Philly Comics Expo
partnersandson.com/pages/philly-comics-expo
I'll be there selling my comics, prints, and paintings, and over 160 other cartoonists and publishers will be there too!
Reposted by Michael Avolio
U. S. STYMIES JAFAR PANAHI VISA
October 2, 2025 at 7:49 PM
U. S. STYMIES JAFAR PANAHI VISA
Sammy Harkham's next issue of Crickets is on the way! You can pre-order it from his online shop to get a limited edition process zine:
sammyharkham.bigcartel.com/product/crickets-9
Great cover. I love the way the "C" lines up with the "r" here.
sammyharkham.bigcartel.com/product/crickets-9
Great cover. I love the way the "C" lines up with the "r" here.
October 1, 2025 at 2:35 AM
Sammy Harkham's next issue of Crickets is on the way! You can pre-order it from his online shop to get a limited edition process zine:
sammyharkham.bigcartel.com/product/crickets-9
Great cover. I love the way the "C" lines up with the "r" here.
sammyharkham.bigcartel.com/product/crickets-9
Great cover. I love the way the "C" lines up with the "r" here.