Riders in a Mink Cage: A Comic by Reed Olsen

Reed Olsen is an artist and illustrator living in Seattle, where he’s been wrenching with the do-it-yourself community bicycle kitchen, The Bikery, since 2016. Reed’s first publication, Riders in a Mink Cage, which is in full color and printed on hemp, is a bicycle-centred comic inspired by his year-round bicycle rides on the East Coast. The story explores the need to live fearlessly and joyfully, addressing difficult topics like expectations around masculinity, a changing economy, and climate change.

From Reed: “Have you ever felt the ground evaporate from underneath you? And Free-falling feels normal? Riders in a Mink Cage tells the story of Reilly, who is trying to find peace in a reality which feels increasingly slipping off the rails. With his two best friends & their bicycles, they set off in search of a new normal.

Six years post the Great Recession, jobs are hard to come by and a sense of steady even harder. The story fiercely begs us to lean into our closest friendships through the more difficult chapters in our lives. Riders in a Mink Cage explores the need to live fearlessly and joyfully. The story connects and paints a picture of a pragmatic life on the fringe. It’s about two young farmers, their lifelong friendship, bike culture, and a blatant disregard for propriety. It goes after the more difficult nature & expectations around masculinity. The story holds the complexity of a changing economy and the creeping doom of climate change. Riders in a Mink Cage weaves together lived events in a dream-scape.”

To pick up a copy of your own, you can head to Emerald Comics Distro (ECD) in Seattle or a few other shops in the city, including Fantagraphics in Georgetown. You can also order a digital copy here.

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