When I was ten, my Dad drove our family out west for my first time. Colorado quickly became my favorite state, and Mesa Verde National Park became my favorite National Park. It is an ancient city built right into the sides of cliffs, invisible from above or below, and I found the place enchanting.

     Skip ahead about two and half decades; I was working as a teacher’s aide in Seattle, Washington, and working on a new graphic novel. I discovered a picture of the Mesa Verde dwellings in the math textbook the kids were using. I incorporated the scene from the math textbook into my story, and the above drawing is the result: The ancient city of Kribble. This was drawn in 2005 while I was working on my teaching degree. Here, one of the characters from the book, Dig Dag, is celebrating his 129th Birthday.