MRR Comics & Art Issue Artist Q&A with Suzy X
This month’s MRR magazine is the Comics & Art Issue! Throughout March we are highlighting some of the participating artists right here on MRR.com. Today we hear from Suzy X from New York.
What are your main publishing projects?
I just published the third installment of my zine series, Malcriada. The whole series grapples with the guilt that comes with being a child of immigrants, living in the United States and fighting assimilation. My latest zine is a travel diary of my visit to Belize, my mother’s home country, where I would have to examine my own definitions of home and nationality.
What are some of your artistic influences?
I really love the work of Hellen Jo, Alison Bechdel, Lauren Weinstein and Jamie Hernandez. (Although I admit my work is not nearly as R-rated.)
Musical influences?
Chavela Vargas, Lydia Lunch and Donna fucking Summer.
How would you describe your style of drawing?
Art school dropout working with cheap pens and boudoir lighting. (Hey, I own it.)
What other punk projects are you involved with?
My band Shady Hawkins is wrapping up four years of playing with our final EP, The Last Dance. It comes out next month. Besides that I’m enjoying a lot of zine fests and tagging along with my friends at their out-of-town shows.
What’s in the future for you as a cartoonist/artist?
I’m currently putting together my Rookie Mag serial comic, “The Best Song Ever,” into an anthology. Right now I need to redraw some things and find a good press for it. But I hope to have it out by the end of the summer! I’m also working on a book design for novelist Stephanie Kuehnert, whose upcoming memoir is all about growing up punk in the late ’80s/early ’90s. It’ll be a classic cut’n’paste operation. I’m really excited about it. Someday I’ll draw my own graphic novel, but I think I need a big fat grant and a whole lot more life to live before I shackle myself to a book. We’ll see.
Check out more from Suzy X at suzyx.wordpress.com.
For links and more info about this artist and all of the artists in our Comics & Art Issue, check out the artist bios page.
