Sally here with comics by Sacha Mardou, Jessica Campbell, Hope Larson, and more!
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Sacha Mardou has a comic up on MUTHA Magazine called Someday, My Witch Will Come. She writes:
“According to journalistic science, women are likelier to go though a midlife crisis earlier than men, between the ages of 35-44. Well my midlife crisis certainly showed up on schedule, as this comic details. I discovered that you don’t learn to be a whole human being all by yourself, you need to ask for help. I’m still learning, it being a process, not a destination, as they say.
I hope that by sharing this story it might help other women feel okay about the kooky stuff we do on this path to Self-Realization (whatever that means).“
There is also a comic published this month by Grace Farris on MUTHA Magazine which you should check out – Of Firsts and Donuts.
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Alenka Figa reviews Jessica Campbell‘s new comic XTC69 (out from Koyama Press this month) for Women Write About Comics. She comments:
“While mostly focused on biting commentary and indulgent plot, XTC69 also contains some moments of sharp realness that contrast its usual tone. In an early scene, Human Jessica can’t climb up a cliff face and has to piggyback ride on Alien Jessica’s back. Human Jessica’s skirt rides up revealing her underwear, and when they get to the top she clumsily readjusts it. These details are small, but they’re unsexy and real. Jessica is already emotionally vulnerable from learning her entire world is essentially gone, and then has to face her physical vulnerability. Campbell’s character designs are simple and lack the familiar level of detail used to exploit women’s bodies; despite the thick line work and cartoony style, the women in the comic are awkwardly real. In a comic full of commentary on misogyny, it’s small details like this through which Campbell shows how easy it is to draw outside of the male gaze.“
John Seven also reviews XTC69 for The Comics Beat – read his review HERE.
Jessica Campbell‘s most recent comic for Hyperallergic can also be read HERE.
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Hillary Brown sat down with Hope Larson to discuss Larson’s newest comic – All Summer Long – for Paste Magazine. They talk about Larson’s shift from being primarily an artist to a writer, and about the role of music in her life, among many other things.
“Paste: One of the things I see as recurring in your work is this determination not to take a narrative where most people would (i.e., the idea that Bina and Austin would end up together is made to seem ridiculous). Is that intentional?
Larson: No, it’s not. I’m one of those people who feels that there’s nothing new under the sun, and all the stories have been told, and all you can do is write honestly, in the hopes that it will feel new and resonate with readers. I’m definitely not trying to gotcha anyone. I just do my best to understand the characters and write them making the choices that feel true to them.“
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Weekend Snacks
- Koyama Press has announced their Fall 2018 lineup and I’m pleased to note that Mickey Z‘s Space Academy 123 is being collected! Keiler Roberts also has a new comic coming out, and so does Britt Wilson.
- There is an excerpt from Lucy Bellwood‘s upcoming comic 100 Demon Dialaouges up on Boing Boing – check it out HERE.
- Colleen Frakes is the daily comics diarist for The Comics Journal this week – see her Cartoonist’s Diary HERE.
- Kriota Willberg offers 5 Things You Can Do to Reduce Drawing Pain – part of the Get a Grip! series on The Comics Beat.
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Suzy and Cecil – 5-18-2018 – by Sally Ingraham