What I Read When I Was Supposed to be Drawing
/I mentioned that when I was at Staple! I was honored to be part of the Women in Webcomics panel with MariNaomi and Liz Prince. Ironically, we didn't talk about much about webcomics at all, but we did get swap a few tales of our experiences being comickers AND female at the same time (or as Mike Dawson/Alex Robinson put it - Ladytoonists!). I might write more about that topic later.
Most importantly, though, I also got to swipe a few of their comics.
First, I checked out Liz Prince's adorable Will You Still Love Me If I Wet The Bed. It reminded me a little of similar relationship/comic strip style comics, but with one important distinction: it was positive. Not just positive, but unabashedly sweet and cute and reminded you of what it's like to be smitten in a totally weirdo way with someone.
After that smooshiness, I turned to Liz's Alone Forever, which I have to admit liking an eensy bit more. This one was fun, witty, sad, mean, and awesome, and a lot more relatable. You get the perfect sense of what it's like to bop around in Liz's world for a while, and her search for love is as familiar as it is fun. Again, a "relationship" type comic that's full of snark and fun, not depresso-ness. Yay!
Next up, I turned to MariNaomi's mondo memoir Kiss & Tell .
I wasn't exactly sure what to expect from diving into someone's massive, personal, detailed relationship history in comic form. The book details all of Mari's private, fleeting, detailed, and thorough relationships with lovers, friends, and more over the years. I loved how surprisingly honest it was, but also how matter of fact. Even though she relates very private specifics, she does so in such a way that makes the reader feel comfortable relating to it without feeling creepy for spying. My favorite part was how she shared her experiences. This isn't an aggressive recounting, or one tinged with regret. It's a fun, voyeuristic ride that's peppered with deeper messages that catch you buy surprise. Lovely depth, I'll call it.
Awesome stuff. Guess I'll slink back to work now ...