I’ve known for a while that I don’’t want to continue (in comic form at least).  I think it was a good format for my quarter-life (and love?) crisis and I’ve been waiting for something new to come alive.

Probably the fact that I GOT MARRIED has had something to do with it… (You might remember Elie from some of my comics eg. My Elie Belly).

This was the brief I set myself for a new comic:

1. Make something my mum likes

Some of you might have seen the review my mum gave me for my book. She basically said she was proud of me but “why do you always have to talk about your depression and sex, can’t you make something fictional and/or light-hearted?”. Soon after she gifted me a notebook in which she’d stuck daily newspaper cuttings of Snoopy and Dennis the Menace comic strips –  I got the hint.

2. Make something about marriage

In my friend group I feel radical for getting married. I also feel like there’s not much contemporary content on millenial long-term relationships. I’m particularly interested in heterosexual gender politics today. My relationship is also a big part of my life now and feels like the most interesting and obvious thing to explore.

3. Make something that’s child AND adult friendly

Partly because of my mum, I am drawn to creating something wholesome and cute. I still want to talk about the patriarchy but I also like cute rabbit videos – what can I say. Maybe I’m aiming for something Calvin and Hobbes-esque.

4. Make something newspaper sized and serialised

Why? Fuck knows. Print media is dead. But I just like the short-form storytelling style. Go figure.

Presenting…. Schmatu & Belly