Damian Alexander

Cartoonist & author of the books Other Boys & Absolutely Everything

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Hand-Me-Down got a starred review from School Library Journal!!

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Did you ever have any really odd interests as a kid? I was weirdly fixated on old-timey things (and still am TBH) and forced to have trendy Pokemon shirts and fun Toy Story sneakers (that I also enjoyed TBH). I think American Girl and Anne of Green Gables are to blame.

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I never know what to say when someone just... stares at me. But somehow it's always the wrong thing. I'm not sure he was interested in talking about fiber arts.

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Sometimes I'll try as softly as possible to let someone know that a word or phrase they're using is derogatory... and suddenly it becomes their most favorite word in the whole world and I'm the worst person to ever exist in the universe for saying something. I can't count how many times I've stumbled into this same situation.

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Preview of my next book, Hand-Me-Down, available to preorder now and releasing July 28, 2026.

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I decided to draw this scene from a picture book idea I had that I really loved but was rejected a year or so ago. It was about a quirky, crafty and colorful little boy who lives in a gray brooding gothic family that loves him the way he is. Most of what I see on social media is about book ideas that have "made it," but I just wanted to share with anyone who might feel a little bummed over their own rejections that you can have your whole heart in something and sometimes it just... doesn't make it. I thought the concept of Eldric's story was really fun and lended itself to some quirky visual gags and heartfelt scenes. I was so excited like, "Everyones gonna love this!" ... and then they didn't. I really would've loved to explore this character and his family in a picture book or maybe even early reader graphic novel?? Maybe someday... but for now he hangs out on my shelf of rejected concepts.

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The guy next door to me mows his already mowed lawn multiple times a week. It's so loud!!!!

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Yes, I was there when Polly Pocket changed forms. What'd your Polly look like? [Patreon]

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I notice something new each year and I am grateful to be here.

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my cat!!!

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My dentist told me about how her 7-year-old son is very interested in the Titanic out of the blue and it got me thinking about my childhood interest (fear) of The Great Molasses Flood of 1919 in Boston. For some reason I assumed "great" meant there were others to varying degrees that could and would happen again.

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I was drawing a very sad comic (that I'm note sure I'll post) and suddenly I noticed my cat, Alfalfa, being veeeery interested in the corner of the room. Turns out it was just a clump of his own dander.

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Happy New Years Eve!!! Barnes & Noble is running a 25% off preorder sale, which is a great deal if you'd like to preorder my next diary graphic novel, HAND-ME-DOWN, for yourself or for a friend or family member or your local library or some gay teen you know or whatever!!

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It's been over a year since my grandmother passed, and the holidays without her strike the hardest. But whenever I draw little comics about her, part of me feels like she isn't just... gone.

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Around the holidays I had way more questions than my grandmother could answer, but she got pretty good at redirecting me, so she didn't have to spoil the wonders of childhood with the harsh realities of... reality. And I can't help but wonder how I would've answered little me???

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As a kid I just didn't understand costumed characters at all. They seemed like imposters to me and I would start analyzing all the reasons they weren't who they said they were. I wish I could've just gone with the flow like other kids seemed to be able to instead of asking a million questions. [If this comic seems familiar to you that's because it's a redraw of one I did in 2021!]

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Sometimes ADHD makes it feel like your brain is just floating away. This scene in my graphic novel, Absolutely Everything, was inspired by my own experience as a kid. I sometimes found it hard to focus on the things people were saying, even if I wanted to. It can be incredibly frustrating, especially when you don't know why.