higu rose #4

remember me, avenge me, etc etc

Jan 01, 2026

hello! it’s me, higu rose!

it’s been over a year, huh? well hell hell.

first off the bat, i’m closing this substack! over the last couple years there’s been a lot of buzz about substack allowing nazi scum to roam free on their site. i actually meant to post about jumping ship sooner, but searching for a newsletter client that wouldn’t cost $$$ was a pain in the ass… so i opted to just not post at all. hi!!!

so today, here, i will do a recap of “Where The Hell Has Higu Been?” then in january i will migrate to a different newsletter client (yes, i picked one!!) and i will resume doing… “mostly” monthly updates.

if you don’t want to follow the transition to a new newsletter, unsubscribe to this newsletter by like, january 10th? if you are still interested in my bullshit, you don’t gotta do anything.

so let’s do a 2025 recap. i didn’t proofread this.

COMICS!

YINZ CITY #7 was published in september this year!

What better way to spend your day off than getting too high and locking yourself in the bathroom at your favorite coffeeshop? Isaiah Kitterson is freakin’ out and he brought his partner Sage along for the ride. It isn’t the most romantic spot for a date, but at least they’re enjoying their time together... hopefully. Maybe if they work together they can figure out how to escape.

i think this is the first YC issue that like… 100% could potentially stand on its own without strong references to previous issues. so if this is your first issue of YINZ CITY… welcome!!! please read the other ones, cuz i spent a lot of time on them!!

as always, you can read this issue for free on the YINZ CITY website. ← this is a hyperlink

you can also pick up a copy from my etsy ^_^ ← this is another hyperlink

QUILTS!

i finished over 10 quilts of varying sizes in 2025! holy shit! i think at the beginning of the year i said to myself, “i want to start calling myself a quilter, rather than saying i am someone who quilts”. i guess i nailed it. a few highlights, which are not featured in that photo above:

BIGASS patchwork star quilt (almost queen size!), entirely hand quilted.
wall-hanging that i designed and calculated yardage for myself
hand-quilted a digitally printed panel of my own art
had a quilt hang in pittsburgh’s first ever Folk Fest at the Munhall Pumphouse

RESIDENCIES!

FOLK LAB

i wrote about it previously, but i was selected as an artist for Folk Lab’s “These Hollow Hills” residency back in 2024; in March of this year (2025) we came together to put on an immersive show, which was a wild fucking experience unlike any i’ve had. brought back memories of assisting with theatre shows in highschool, except i actually cared about what we were doing this time.

you can read an article about the show here. i wish i had done a better job of recording my own experiences and reflections, but to be honest, i was pretty fucking out of it for most of 2025.

BUNKER PROJECT

BEHOLD! i’ve been selected for the Bunker Project’s 2026 residency roster! my residency begins in september and i already have an idea i’m really fucking psyched about. please look forward to it!!

SHOWS!

i did a handful of shows including – in no order whatsoever – the Pittsburgh Queer Craft Market (Pride and Holiday editions), Massachusetts Indie Comic Expo, The Pittsburgh Artbook Fair, the Detroit Zine Fair, the Pittsburgh Zine Fair, Pittsburgh Indie Expo, and Flamecon.

i’m particularly proud of myself for MICE, because i tend to go back to my hotel and pass out after shows, but this time around i actually spent time with people, and it was a ton of fun! yahoo

ZINE!

finished just in time for MICE, i threw together this activity book based on some lesson plans i’ve made during my time as a teaching artist. these will perhaps one day be listed in my shop, but for now uh… you just gotta wait and see what happens. man it’s new years eve. i’m tired. gimme a break.

ONWARD TO 2026!

i have pretty humble goals going forward this year. something about 2025 ran me ragged and i spent a lot of time figuring out what i actually wanted to do. on my patreon i talked a little bit about how YINZ CITY #7 was not fun to work on (even if i am proud of it in the end). so in the new year i would like to figure out how to have a good time doing things i enjoy.

some things to perhaps expect in 2026

fewer shows – i didn’t actually go to many shows this year either, but i am not making any plans to table much, at least for the first half of the year.
more fiber projects and experiments – i’ve been doing natural dye tests in my basement and holy cannoli i love that shit!
a new comic project – maybe… just maybe…
a break from YINZ CITY – i think this has been a long time coming.
more regular newsletters – I SWEAR TO GOD I WILL DO IT! I WILL DO IT!!!!
more regular patreon posts – to keep up with my dye adventures and new projects. subscribe to my shit!!!!!

MANGA

what would a higu rose newsletter be without a moment devoted to mother fuckin’ manga… SO HERE ARE SOME HIGHLIGHTS I READ THIS YEAR!

Kashimashi Meshi, Okazaki Mari
Umi ga Hashiru End Roll, Tarachine John
Tonari no Stella, Ammitsu
The Star of Girls’ Garden, Wayama Yama
Torch Song Ecology, Ikuemi Ryou (and the rest of her catalog)
Outlaw Star, Ito Takehiko
anything i could get my paws on by Nakamura Asumiko, especially The Breath of Copernicus