Interview with Comic Artist Jenny Gonzalez-Blitz

Jenny Gonzalez-Blitz, dubbed by my Gmail account as Jenny DevilDoll, is one hot comic artist. Yes, that was a pun because, “Too Negative,” one of Jenny’s long-time works is a collection of comic strips and mini comics set in a halfway house in hell. She does a bunch of other stuff too (a renaissance woman, like a female comic artist version of Benjamin Franklin) like non-comic art, a graphic novel, and experimental noise collaboration. Read on for some words from Jenny.

Tell us a little about “Too Negative.”

"Too Negative" is about a group of indigent devils and other creatures who live Hell's Halfway House. I don't know if I could truly call it social satire, since it filters the world into this scenario I would like to see. "Hell" in the comic is a sort of urban but still very wild landscape. I was born in a neighborhood of NYC known as Hell's Kitchen, maybe that's why the idea of reexamining the concept of Hell appeals to me? You hear that Hell is a "bad place", though no one's been there, and I've heard that a number of neighborhoods I've lived in were "bad places".

Where did you come up with such an unusual concept for a comic strip?

I began sketching a lot of the characters and initial strips in early 2001, I was also going through a slow mental breakdown at the time. I just sort of stuck all that together in a mini comic in January of 2002, despite the fact that a lot of it was more fragments of ideas than fully realized comic stories. 

What is your favorite “Too Negative” strip?

That changes a lot, what I like about my work or think could be better. I'm happy with the wordless one, where Dahlia is in this desert and tears out and replaces her heart, and the hummingbird appears from the discarded black one. It was from this vision/hallucinatio

n I had one morning, just played in front of my eyes like a little movie. 

You recently started drawing “Living in La-La Land,” which is an auto-biographical strip about the everyday life of you and your husband. How is creating this strip different than “Too Negative?”

Well, it's a little looser in the drawing style, yet more of a representational depiction of surroundings, the buildings of Brooklyn and such. I also tend to break away from the panel-to-panel comic narrative more because to me life isn't always neat and linear--some days are just a jumbled impression of various things that happened or that I saw.

My mom, a 25 year lawyer, is planning to take her first creative writing class. After writing in a serious, straightforward lawyer tone for years, she’s worried about not being humorous enough. Much of your work has a biting, ironic humor. How did you develop the humor in your writing? Any advice for my mom (and others writers striving ty o be funny)?

I think in my case, it's just my way of coping with my utter disbelief about what's happening, whether it's something the other person is doing, something I'm doing despite myself, coping with mental illness, which can be overwhelming sometimes, despite all the new talk of "dangerous gifts" and such -- I've heard it said that humor has a meanness to it, but at its core it's a bit defensive. Like in our primal tribal brain we're going "If I laugh at the thing that's threatening, it will be less powerful." Hmmm, I'm not sure if that really explains to someone else how to be funny though. 

You mentioned you’re starting the script for a graphic novel. That’s awesome! Is going from writing comic strips to a full out graphic novel daunting? Does your approach to your writing change when you work on a longer piece?

It seems more rife with possibilities. Instead of setup-punchline you can delve into stories and characters. At the same time there's more of an onus to convince them this is worth their time--to publish, to sit and read. With strips it's like, don't like this joke? Here's another one.

You’re not just a comic artist. You do work in art shows and perform with an experimental noise collaboration called Doll Hospital. Can you tell us a little more about these other forms of artistic expression?

I've started painting in the past few years, with both acrylic and watercolor. It's weird how I started at first feeling that some things could be more compelling as standalone images than full comics, and would work better as paintings. And the things that could be done with paints, textures, brushmarks. I've been in some local art shows, most recently my work was in the Underground Howl Festival, which is an annual art event on the Lower East Side, named after Allen Ginsberg's poem. Various galleries participate. 

With Doll Hospital, Eric has been studying percussion since he was a kid, primarily jazz, rock and improvisation. We've both played in rock bands, but with this the focus is on sound creation and spoken word, free form, and vocal intonations. We've performed out a few times, both with other musicians and once just as vocal and percussion. Eric described experimental music to me once as "painting with sound" and it just clicked for me! We're also part of a group (Urchestra) that performs Kurt Schwitter's piece "Ursonate" with sound collaboration. 

Do you ever notice any crossover between your comic art and the other art forms your create?

Yeah, I think there are themes and obsessions that recur in all of them. 

Did you always know you’d like to draw comics, or was your journey to comics a winding one?

I always liked cartoons, I guess I wanted to have my own cartoon series, and drawing comics was a way to do that since I didn't have the means to do animation at the time. I drew derogatory comics to amuse my friends in middle school about the imagined secret lives of the meaner teachers and principal.

Comment upon the current state of women in the comic book industry. Do you think your experience as a female comic artist differs from that of your male peers?

I think there's still sexism in the comics industry and scene, sure, but then again there's still sexism in society at large. I mean recently there's been the controversy about Dan Didio's remarks about hiring women at DC, or Scott Adams' remarks likening women to children or regarding rape, or the whole blowback after Gabby Schulz did that comic about sexism on the internet, resulting in a bunch of online commenters pretty much proving the point of the strip. I know Anne Elizabeth Moore has begun a column over at truthout.org examining discrepancies in the comics industry. Personally I've found that a lot of individual comic creators have been very cool. I've also encountered some of these types of guys in the indy scene--not the bulk of them, but they are there -- who exhibit a lot of hostility towards women but deny that THEY personally are sexist because they personally don't read books where the women have huge breasts and skimpy outfits, therefore they feel their behavior gets a pass.

If you could recommend one comic book, what would it be?

There's so many! But recently Feminist Press put out a short graphic novel on Ana Mendieta (another artist who was Cuban, confrontational, and feminist in her work) called "Who Is Ana Mendieta?" It deals with her work and how it (and that of other woman conceptual artists) was received by the art world at the time, and a bit about her early life and "mysterious"(maybe murder?) death. It's written by Christine Redfern and illustrated by Caro Caron. 

Review and Rating of "Wolves" by Becky Cloonan

http://estrigious.com/becky/

Writer & Artist: Becky Cloonan

Publisher: Self-published

I was drawn to “Wolves,” a short 20 page comic in which the readers follow the story of a hunter on a mission that will change his life, by the beauty and simplicity of the artwork. Happily, the writing follows suit. Cloonan rarely uses dialog, but reveals the depth of the character through first-person captions and compelling full-panel close ups. The plot is sophisticated, employing flashbacks and memories, yet simple. The world of the hunter is depicted as chilling and cold by the sharp lines of the black and white artwork. Cloonan’s panels are expressive as well. Square panels enclose events happening in real time, rounded panels, the past. The last panel on the second page encloses a smaller panel within it, an interesting technique. 

It’s hard to talk about the writing separately from the artwork, since the two work together so closely. This syncing of art and writing is no doubt the result of Cloonan’s work on both aspects. She even self-published the piece, making me re-think my prejudices against self-publishing. The only disappointing elements of "Wolves" are the occasional lack of clarity in artwork and the somewhat cliche fantasy motifs. Nonetheless, it's a lovely read.

% Panels Devoted to Women

11%

Women in Action

˜˜ Women occasionally participate in plot-moving action.

The one female character provides the romantic interest and the personal motivation and internal struggled for the male protagonist.

Women as Leaders

˜Women are followers, not leaders.

The woman in the comic is significant, but her role is passive.

Women as Sex Objects

˜˜Women’s features are over-emphasized. Their sex separates them from male characters, but they do engage in plot-moving action.

Cloonan does a lovely job of creating a sexy female character who isn’t over the top sexual.

Men Deviating from Male Stereotypes

˜˜Men sometimes deviate from the male stereotypes of a logical mind, rationality, lack of expression and empathy.

We’ve got a hunter as a protagonist, so luckily the first-person captions reveal his inner struggles and emotions. This guy’s a fighter and a feeler (Yeah, I made that term up for the sake of alliteration, but you get it, right?)

Something to ponder: As readers, do we expect women writers/artists to create works with female protagonists? Do we, without knowing the gender of an author, assume that books with female leads are written by women?

Read a Comic Book, Seriously, It Might Change How You Write

Have you ever heard anyone say, “I hate novels! I’d never read one.” Probably not because the term “novel” is an umbrella term, clumping together Agatha Christie mysteries with Ender’s Game science fiction with Jodi Picoult “chick lit.” But I’ve bet you’ve heard this phrase before, “I hate comic books! I’d never read one.”

 Marvel superhero comic books, Vertigo Fable tales based on myth and fairy tale, and Japanese manga romance are all comic books. Doesn’t this leave the smart reader wondering, isn’t the term “comic book” like “novel” just as all encompassing? We don’t condemn the medium of novels because we don’t like “chick lit,” one of the many genres a novel can take. But, we see it all the time, comic books are often condemned in just this way, and by condemning them, we’re denying ourselves the pleasures of both reading and writing in this unique form.

Perhaps because of the stigma against comic books, I’d lived eighteen years without ever reading one. I grew up surrounded by books. My dad would read Nancy Drew novels to my sisters and I before we went to bed, I devoured The Lord of the Rings trilogy in a single week when I was in middle school, and I reluctantly read Thomas Hardy and Milton in my college literature classes. But not once did I read a comic book. By seventh grade, I was dead set on following my dream of becoming a novelist. I had been writing since first grade when my mom bought me a journal with kittens on the front, yet by college I felt something was missing. I loved to write, to create ideas and bring them to life, creating something out of nothing. But I wasn’t reading very much anymore. And reading for school doesn’t count, because, honestly, I never finished Tess of the d’Urbervilles, or The Jungle, or All Quite on the Western Front, or The Canterbury Tales…

And then one summer I fell in love with the Iron Man movie, and the can of worms was opened. The new movies based on comic books metaphorically snatched the James Joyce novel from my reluctant fingers, and Shazam! replaced it with Origins, my first ever comic book. Comic books were a form of reading (and writing) I’d never experienced before. The visuals combined with words, an emphasis on characterization and plot, not on elevated language or fancy metaphor. Comic books contained the best elements of a novel, and, I’d argue, could represent the human condition as well as The Great Gatsby, all while visually involving the reader, pulling her along on a more compelling adventure. I decided to write a graphic novel for my senior thesis this coming year. I’ll take the traditional novel I’d been struggling to write for nearly three years, and write it as a graphic novel script. Just a month ago, I pulled up a blank Word document and began writing my novel as a graphic novel for the first time. I couldn’t believe how rapidly my thoughts propelled themselves onto the screen. I was writing more than I’d written in months, and I was enjoying it!  I’d found my new form, shook loose my musty old views of what writing should be, and took a step closer to finding myself as a writer.  I wish someone had told me earlier that it was ok to read comics, and perfectly acceptably awesome to write them

I’d like to challenge anyone who hasn’t read a comic book yet to do so. Try to push aside the prejudices you perhaps have against comic books. Remember, you’d never say “I hate novels!” Right? So don’t clump all comic books together. Explore the different genres within the graphic writing medium and you might (probably) find a new favorite way to read.

Review and Rating of Captain America: The Chosen





Writer: David Morrell

Artist: Mitch Breitweiser

Color Artist: Brian Reber

Letterer: Cory Petit

Publisher: Marvel

REVIEW

In Captain America: The Chosen, Marvel’s touching upon what it does best, World War Two (Who are better villains than the Nazis?). The comic, starring Corporal James Newman in Afghanistan, parallels Captain America’s struggles in the Second World War with the hardships of today’s war. And I should mention, this isn’t a story just about Captain America.  Long story short, The Chosen follows a new hero, Newman, with a dying Captain America as his guide (the hero’s “supernatural aid,” according to Joseph Campbell, if you want to go there.). Although this is Morrell’s first foray in comic book writing, he gives us a very decent script, with a solid plot and compelling characterization. I was drawn into the story enough to not question the bizarre think/mental teleportation machine Captain America was hooked up to. Without Captain America taking the lead, Morrell had to create a pretty darn convincing new hero. I’d say he succeeded. The use of flashbacks, of both Captain America and Corporal Newman, strengthen the characterization by contributing to our understanding of the character’s fears and motivations. Yes, the solider-fighting-for-his-wife-and-child bit is cliché, but at least it’s not over-emphasized.

            The art, particularly through color and sharp lines, set the tone of the comic. Sandy tans, harsh browns, an almost monochromatic artist’s pallet, and muted grays and reds reflect the mood of the dying Captain America. Check out the panel-less page of everyday heroes in chapter six. Non-existent panels give the content a feeling of limitlessness, adding to the effect (created by captions) that heroes can be anywhere (and everyone). And that’s the ‘moral’ of the comic, by the way.

            Yeah, Captain America died already, but this burp in continuity can be forgiven by the uniqueness of Captain America’s second death and the comic’s solid script and artwork.

P.S. Morell includes part of his script in the back of the book. Great reference for new comic writers!

RATING

%Panels Devoted to Women

2.11%

Women in Action

* Women don’t participate in plot-moving action

The only women in the entire comic are Newman’s wife, who appears only in panels that are flashbacks/daydreaming, silent everyday heroes in chapter six, and “extras.”

Women as Leaders

n/a

See above.

Women as Sex Objects

*** Women are depicted as sexy (or their sex is not emphasized at all), but their allure does not define their purpose as a prominent, plot-moving character in the comic.

But here’s a caveat: women aren’t plot movers. At least they aren’t objectified.

Men Deviating from Male Stereotypes

** Men sometimes deviate from the male stereotypes of a logical mind, rationality, lack of expression and empathy.

Okay, so it’s a comic about men in war. But Corporal Newman (and even Captain America at times) is surprisingly in touch with his emotions.

Here's my question as I prepare myself for the release of Marvel's Captain America movie this weekend: Will the Captain America movie be as compelling as The Chosen?