1. What initially drew you to comics?
Ever since I saw The Little Mermaid in theaters as a kid in 1989, I felt compelled to draw. My enjoyment of animation and later Japanese anime and comics as a fan made it seem like a natural choice to pursue comics and sequential art as a career. I had an interest in becoming an animator for a big stretch of time in my childhood, but when I realized how much singular creative control a comic artist can exert on their work, I thought that was a better fit for me. 2. What do comics allow you to do as a creator?
In general, writing and drawing my own comics gives me power over everything from the timing/pacing of the story to expressing something through the style of a sequence or panel. For example, I can show and not tell how a character is feeling simply by changing up the line weight or distorting the perspective in a panel, etc. I love how much room there is in comics to show the world through not just my eyes but through a character’s eyes. I was inspired by how Gene Luen Yang portrays individual perspectives in American Born Chinese, especially regarding Jin (and Danny’s) struggles with his personal racial identity. I love that comics as a medium can be used to tell fantastical stories, or show small, realistic and slice-of-life moments, and the suspension of disbelief allows readers to be completely invested in a comic’s particular sense of “reality.” Gene Luen Yang’s work made me realize that the sense of “reality” within a comic could be used to explore racial identity, which is an issue that has followed me throughout my life as a transracial adoptee. For example, there’s a portion of my upcoming graphic memoir Monstrous where I used hatching and a sketchy line quality to show the surreal nature of my dysmorphic body image. If I were to express verbally how I’d felt in that specific moment in my life, I’d probably find it difficult to speak about it without getting emotional. But drawing it in that way, with those effects, allows me to directly share my inner experience with my audience.
Image from macmillan.com
3. Please tell us about your work of Maker Comics (as well as any other projects you'd like to share about). Maker Comics: Create a Costume! was my first graphic novel, and I loved my experience working with Robyn and the crew at First Second Books. I was able to bring my decades-long passion for making and wearing my own cosplay costumes to the project, and I hope that it will inspire and encourage others to have fun with dressing up. It was important to me that the comic also included some body-positivity and messages of inclusion in addition to the instructional projects, because there can sometimes be a sense of elitism in the competitive cosplay/costuming circles. I wanted readers to feel confident that they can enjoy cosplaying even if they don’t look like the character or have a “superhero” body. I really appreciated that the team at First Second was so supportive of that message and allowed me to express those points within the book.
My past projects include a story (“Asian American Exclusion”) in the Ringo Award-nominated Votes for Women Comic Anthology by Little Red Bird Press, illustration work in Sanrio and Viz Media’s Hello Kitty & Friends Coloring Book, and some freelance comic illustrations for the website EmpathizeThis. My upcoming work includes my YA graphic memoir Monstrous (2023) from First Second. I recently completed freelance illustration work for IDW on a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles project to be released in Fall 2022, which was a dream come true for me as a longtime TMNT fan who grew up loving the 1987 cartoon. I also worked as a comic artist/illustrator and writer for an educational software game co-created by The Game Agency and McGraw-Hill. When I am able to say more about those projects, I’ll be posting info on my social media and my main website. I’ll also be producing some mini comics and personal comic projects to be sold at my artist alley table at conventions, and those who stop by my table at conventions can purchase copies of my published work, mini comics, original illustration pieces, commissions, and art prints.
4. Where can we find more information about your work? You can find information about my work on my website: http://www.sarahmyer.net My Instagram and Twitter are @smyercomics, where you can find recent art posts.
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