Committing to your art is a terrifying endeavor. I’ll go for months, writing every single day, and then have a week with no ideas and fall into full blown panic. So, when I see a writer actually updating their blog with fresh content every day, I’m impressed, but tend to be judgmental about content. After all, I can sort of do what they can do.

Judgmental, and maybe a little jealous.

A visual artist who updates their website every day, though, impresses me, no matter what they write about. The American Elf books totally sold me on all things Kolchaka. I used to keep one volume in each room of my old apartment, and whenever I thought I might be stuck for ideas, I’d read a single panel about James fighting with his wife, or licking a snowflake, or being angry for no reason, and think, “Technically, writing anything beats the alternative.” And then I’d write a War and Peace size examination of the last terrible person I put my penis in. Those were good times.

Somewhere in my last move, I lost the Kolchalka books, and I’m now going to blame my lack of prolificness on the lack of his collections.

Today, when unpacking the books for the store, I got to the collection of Emitown, and started flipping through it. I thought, “Huh. This looks like some sort of” turn to cover “sketch diary!”

This is Emi Lenox’s answer to American Elf. Every day a finished piece of art. A vignette on something she did: whether it’s seeing a band with a friend, petting a dog, or just illustrating the lyrics to a song stuck in her head.

Is the writing going to change your life? Fuck, no. But that’s not the point. This is more a book to read for inspiration than for entertainment. Look at all the beautiful drawings one person made simply to achieve the task of keeping a daily record of her life.

It’s also great if you always wanted to stalk a cartoonist but don’t really have the inclination to leave your house, or the chains necessary to keep one in your living room.

I mean, it’s very inspirational.

The collection also includes a candid into by her good friend and fellow Image writer, Joe Keatinge, as well as a bonus cartoon by Jeff Lemire, featuring Sweet Tooth.