Essential bibliography: Bonnie N. Collide, Nine to Five (LipsticKissPress); Assassin Roommate (Webtoon)
First comic: “The first were comic strips – Calvin & Hobbes and Garfield – but for comic books it was Elfquest.”
Currently working on: The Black Ghost (Dark Horse); Can I Pet Your Werewolf? (Kickstarter)
“I’d just copy Garfield and Calvin & Hobbes, and make my own ridiculous strips. I didn’t realize comic books were a thing until later. I was 11 or 12 when I found Elfquest, and then I decided to try to draw it on my own, and I found my local comic book store, and I’d go there and ask them, ‘Where’s the rest of your Elfquest?’
“A lot of comics have to do with whatever appeals to people at a certain point in their life. I never got into the superhero stuff. But Blankets was huge, and a lot of indie comics inspired me, anything by Adrian Tomine. And Strangers in Paradise by Terry Moore – a huge, huge influence. I mainly read stuff I pick up at conventions, from friends. A friend of mine just had a really good comic come out from Dark Horse, called Leibestrasse, it’s a gay romance set [in] Nazi Germany. And I just want people to know that there’s so much more – that there are different genres within comics, it’s not just one genre. I think people make that mistake a lot.
“I am a die-hard comics fan and supporter. There’s a lot of people who just think comics are a jumping-off point for a TV show or a movie. And I am 100% ‘Comics are comics!’ They are their own medium, and it’s important.”
This article appears in May 5 • 2023.