Maybe An Artist, A Graphic Memoir
-
-
5.0 • 1 Rating
-
-
- $9.99
-
- $9.99
Publisher Description
A heartfelt and funny graphic novel memoir from one of the first Black female cartoonists to be published in the New Yorker, when she was just 22 years old.
When Liz Montague was a senior in college, she wrote to the New Yorker, asking them why they didn't publish more inclusive comics. The New Yorker wrote back asking if she could recommend any. She responded: yes, me.
Those initial cartoons in the New Yorker led to this memoir of Liz's youth, from the age of five through college--how she navigated life in her predominantly white New Jersey town, overcame severe dyslexia through art, and found the confidence to pursue her passion. Funny and poignant, Liz captures the age-old adolescent questions of “who am I?” and “what do I want to be?” with pitch-perfect clarity and insight.
This brilliant, laugh-out-loud graphic memoir offers a fresh perspective on life and social issues and proves that you don’t need to be a dead white man to find success in art.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
While struggling to "create something from nothing," Montague wonders as an adult, "Why do I do this?" She answers that question in this sincere graphic memoir debut by doing what comes naturally: drawing it out, and examining the motivations she discovered in her childhood leading up to her publication as one of the first Black female cartoonists to be featured in the New Yorker. Growing up post-9/11 as one of the few Black girls in Marlton, N.J., Montague struggled to see herself in visiting career day professionals (when a classmate asks which one she'd grow up to be, Montague replies, "None of them—they don't have the right hair"). She uses art to overcome obstacles such as dyslexia and her classmates' casual racism, as well as to contextualize the world around her. Embracing a sense of entrepreneurial spirit after first being paid for her art, she determinedly pursues art as a career. Told with a classic comic strip flair and divided into chapters that recount each life stage, Montague's illustrations, rendered in a flat pastel color palette and paired with deadpan humor and insightful social commentary, crafts an inspiring journey of self-discovery, self-expression, and self-love. Ages 12–up.
