On My Radar: Kara Passey and finding radical comics through Tumblr
Writing about my comic-reading and “professional” reviewing history last week inspired me to find some new comic delights to share this week. Here’s one for today:
Kara Passey is a multimedia artist who makes feminist work with abject themes, often with a humorous twist, drawn from her own biographical experiences. She has attended the University of Manitoba for a BFA with Honours, consistently makes and shows work, curates and organizes events.
I love that she included this description:
Why yes someone did make me mad today. Don’t fetishize my body type. Don’t dictate how I should feel about myself and how I should present myself to society in order to be deemed fuckable.
I found Kara’s comics by browsing items tagged on Tumblr with “feminism,” “radical,” and “gender.” All of Kara’s comic panels that I’ve seen usually address a social issue that I don’t frequently see in the “indie” section of comic shops. I’m pointing this out because I’m just as guilty as the next person of sometimes complaining that something in popular culture doesn’t represent me. Usually I make this complaint after seeing something I don’t like or not being able to easily find someone I want.
My point is that if you can’t find what you want in popular culture/mainstream media, you should try harder to find it or make it yourself. I was looking for indie comics that touched on gender and feminist themes and BAM! I found Kara on Tumblr.
Kara is in the middle of putting together a zine of her art (I can’t wait to get a copy!). You can view more of her work by checking out the “comics” tag on her Tumblr.