Foreword

We live in a weird time. Not until recently could someone shoot an opinion about pugs out into the void and have it reach thousands of people with relative speed and ease. Replace “opinion about pugs” with “opinion about congressional term limits” and it’s still an accurate statement. Or replace “opinion about congressional term limits” with “vaporwave remix of Carly Rae Jepsen’s Emotion”. Or “Avengers/ Golden Girls crossover fan art”. Or “proof that vaccines are harmful to children”.

Oh, that’s a whole other thing. Another sign we live in a weird time? Some people don’t want to vaccinate their children anymore.

Welcome to VIRAL: a comic collection about how we all want to go viral online, and how we all want to avoid contracting viral infections. Or wait, no— how we all want to be famous? And prevent the collapse of society? How we all want to produce viral content and all the while society is increasingly at risk of a measles outbreak?

Here is a small collection of infectious tales from VCU’s finest comics creators. If you enjoy this small sample of comics, check out www. EmanataComics.com for an extended version of this book as well as previous volumes of EMANATA. Perhaps you can help us... go… VIRAL...

Wishing you good health and an abundance of internet clout in this strangest of times.

Thanks for reading!

- Sammy Newman

Table oF ConTenTs

Cover illustration by Shannon Wright

Bad Dog by Uri Hamman ....................................................... 7

1234 by Mac Wood ........................................................... 12

Flora by Laurel Alleman ....................................................... 14

Viral Dinner Date by Andrew Ansah ...................................... 19

Time to Split by Hunter Hutcherson ........................................ 26

Crown Juul by Madeline DeMichelle ..................................... 29

Malwere by Alexis Dejesus .................................................. 36

Homunculus by Lauren Hart .................................................. 38 Difference by Tiffani Green .................................................. 40

Bloom by Michelle Dominado ............................................... 44

Threat by Cindy Roman ....................................................... 47

The Rift by Aubry Lassiter ..................................................... 48

Pro{Malicious} by Alexis Hilliard-Worth .................................. 52

No Cops @Pride by Alex Hwee 58

Teracotta by Evan McGrady 63

A Tragedy in Four Parts by Sonnet Marie Garcia 68

Transport by Kingston Molina-Delgado 74

Crisis by Logan Mannikko .................................................... 80

Children of God by Alex Mehr ............................................. 81

Body by Sam Pandolfe ........................................................ 87

Love Sick by Seulgi Smith ..................................................... 92

A Smile is Contagious by Trinh Tran ...................................... 96

Funky Fungus Feast by Heather Winn .................................. 102

Dawn by Seth Woodies ..................................................... 108

Fishsticks by Jeffrey Belfield ................................................ 114