Issue date: 5/8/08 Section: The Buzz

Longtime veteran of the independent comic scene, Megan Kelso, chatted with the Buzz about what actually makes a comic good and how art affects people. Kelso is working on a graphic novel, "Artichoke Tales," and has recently released a well-received anthology of her short works called "The Squirrel Mother Stories." Kelso has also edited a collection of comics by indie female writers and artists.

BUZZ: You have mentioned that you were a history student in college. How hard was it to transition from the wordy prose of that study to a narrative in comics?
Megan Kelso: I actually found that was really good training for writing comics because every piece of writing, whether it's a research paper or a story, essentially has to have a beginning, middle and end.

BUZZ: Was there a stigma against women doing comics when you started in the early 1990s?
MK: It was definitely different from how it is now. There were certainly a number of high-profile women who had done underground comics, including the whole "Twisted Sister" comics in the '80s. But it's true that there weren't as many women, that is absolutely true. And that has always been something people have been curious about because, especially here in the States, comics were always associated with guys. Although, I feel that now it seems like so many young women are reading manga that it kind of seems like that whole divide of "boys read comics and girls don't" doesn't really seem true any more.

BUZZ: Have you gotten strong reactions from people who read your work like "Squirrel Mother?"
MK: I often do. A lot of people interpret the stories in many different ways. There was one friend of mine who read it in draft form. She was looking at a panel toward the end of the first story where the little girl cuts a big "V" shape out of the new dress that she is wearing. And my friend looked at me and said, "Well, I hope you realize that that panel just screams genital mutilation."

BUZZ: Since your comics seem so personal, do people ever suspect that they influence particular good or bad moments in your stories?
MK: All of my work has little bits of autobiography sprinkled here and there, but none of it is really true or real.

BUZZ: Do people often interpret your stories so differently from how you write them?
MK: If the creator leaves things a little open - I leave space for you, the reader, to have your own thoughts about what it's all about - That's definitely my favorite kind of art. The kind that kind of respects my intelligence and assumes that I will have my own thoughts about what it all means. That's definitely the work that I'm trying to do.

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