The Green Man of Portland tells a cross-generational story about people affected by the Green Man of Portland. The legend says that since Portland’s founding, sightings of small green archers have been reported throughout downtown. Along with the archers, a celestial stag, a phantom building and a huge tree have been spotted, time-to-time, throughout Old Portland. Whenever the archer hits someone, her vision changes. An aura of flowers grows from the heads of passersby. Suddenly a building called “The Greenwood” is visible where there was no building before. A giant tree larger than any buildings in town towers over the city. On certain nights, a great white celestial stag is spied in the skies over Portland. The Green Man’s arrows pierce the secret history of Portland. This invented legend serves as the catalyst for a series of interconnected short stories. The stories range from the earliest tribes in the Willamette Valley to contemporary Portland, Oregon. The Green Man’s arrows touch each character, changing their lives.

The first version of the story was created for an exhibition called The Green Man of B Street. The exhibition included wall drawings, small acrylic paintings and a 16-page comic. The Green Man of Portland #1 collects the first two minis as well a new short story. It is available from Lulu Publishers. Green Man of Portland is the basis of a permanent public art installation as part of Portland’s Old Town light rail extension. There are two sculptures and eight “historic” markers that occupy 10 blocks of Old Town/Chinatown.