Today’s guest strip comes from illustator extraordinaire and creator of Silent Kimbly, Ryan Sias!

I’ve been a big fan of Ryan’s ever since I stumbled upon his now defunct journal comic Urban Observations. Not only because it was a journal comic, which I’m always a sucker for. But because it captured a quintessential persepective about living in New York City and parsing it through a very upbeat and child-like fantasy filter. I thought it was totally unique and it really made me think differently about what it meant to live in Gotham.

You know how it is; New York is portrayed in very specific ways. Either gritty and crime-ridden or the fantastic magical playground of the affluent. It was interesting to see it through the eyes of someone who could translate the New York experience in very relatable terms.

Ryan has carried his unique vision into all sorts of projects. Illustration, creating and pitching his own children’s television program and doing storyboards for movies like Robots and Bowling for Columbine. It’s an impressive resume!

His most recent foray back into web comics is Silent Kimbly which, by evidence of today’s comic, is more adorable than words. I think within the web comics "scene," it’s really easy to get caught up in what’s trendy or dubious. But then comes a comic like Silent Kimbly that silently excutes its purpose with extreme precision. It entertains. It makes you smile. It’s not pretentious about itself. It honestly aims to please. And that is *SO* refreshing.

With that in mind, I was honored that Ryan wanted to contribute a guest strip and I think this one is excellent. He totally got Tom’s "voice" down and I thought the punchline was especially poignant.

So a tip of the hat to Ryan. Thanks. And be sure to check out Silent Kimbly!