When I was still in high school, one of the coolest things I could think of to do in Ann Arbor — after going to Dave’s Comics and Dawn Treader — was to hang out in one of the two big art stores, Ulrich’s and Michigan Book and Supply. I’d stay in there for hours, picking out Prismacolors and wishing for fancy sketchbooks. I never left without a copy of The Metro Times, the free weekly newspaper that introduced me to alternative radio, Matt Groening (before The Simpsons, that’s how old I am, guys), and best of all, Lynda Barry. So you can only imagine how excited I was when I got a call from one of the editors at The Metro Times asking me to contribute a comic for an upcoming issue. It arrived this Wednesday, and I’m still on cloud nine about it. Big thanks to Walter J. Sports and Runway Photography, Colin Johnson and DB Family Photography & DJ who all generously allowed me to use their photos for reference for the comic, and to all the skaters who volunteered their words and likenesses!