Hello, how are you?
I’ve been pretty down since November 8, to be honest. It’s a sobering thought to realize that “my kind” might not be welcome here by almost half the voting country, when “here” happens to be the country I was born and raised (“sobering” being an ironic word, as I’ve been drinking a lot more since the election lolz).
I’m not going to talk about the orange elephant in the house, as it seems like it’s all I can talk (and think) about lately. Instead, I’m going to fill you in on all the months I’ve neglected my email list. (Sorry!)
MERCH (aka, buy my stuff!)
I recently was commissioned by the Nerds of Color/SIUniverse to create some Asian-American-themed art for Smithsonian APA’s CTRL+ALT exhibit in NYC. The exhibit was overwhelmingly inspiring! Over forty artists got together and turned an empty warehouse into art upon art upon art. I had my comics art displayed, plus I led a couple workshops. It was an amazing experience. Also: I freaking love New York!
With the permission of NOC/SIUniverse, I’ve put the images from my comic onto some pillows, prints, mugs, clocks and other stuff over at Redbubble. If there’s a mixed-race or Asian-American person on your holiday list, perhaps they’d like a pillow referring to their very private birthmark? 🙂
I also put a bunch of my images on Print All Over Me awhile back, including dragon-print robes, punny t-shirts and bedbug-print leggings.
NEW BOOK
Did you know I came out with two books this year? The latest is called I Thought YOU Hated ME via Retrofit Comics, and it’s a memoir about a long-term friendship of mine. I wrote and drew this book not only because I wanted to tell the story of our complicated fromance, but because there’s a dearth of books out there that accurately depict friendship between women. Read about it here.
And in case you missed it, here’s my book that came out earlier this year with 2dcloud, Turning Japanese, about seeking out my cultural heritage by working at hostess bars.
ONLINE COMICS
Here are some comics you can read for free online that came out recently:
Back in the Olden Days (a short, optimistic comic about gender)
Things that go bump in the night (a short, bleak piece about sexual assault)
ARTICLES
I wrote an article for Catapult about my process when writing/drawing I Thought YOU Hated ME.
Also on Catapult, here’s a comics round table I participated in with cartoonists Liana Finck and Amy Kurtzweil, moderated by Nicole Chung.
INTERVIEWS and stuff
There are too many of these to mention lately, as I’ve been promoting the hell out of my books this year. So instead of giving you a bunch of links, I’ll direct you to this one link containing all the links.
DATABASES
Lastly but not leastly, please take a look at my pet projects, some lists meant to highlight the work of marginalized comics creators:
The Cartoonists of Color is almost at 1000 people!
The Queer Cartoonists database is almost at 500 people!
And here’s an interview I did for VICE about why I started them.
Thank you for reading this far, and I hope you are warm and safe this winterly season.
Love,
MariNaomi
PS. To cheer myself up, I bought a ukelele and have been learning chords. Here’s a video of me being a dork.
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