Why do I have this deep-seated desire to self-represent in comics?

Here are theories I’ve come up with:

 

1. I love to tell stories and it was easiest to use my own as creative fodder

2. I have always felt like my voice was unheard and comics helped me solve that

3. The inside of my head was full to the brim, and I needed to tip it over onto paper

4. I am a huge narcissist and I want the world to have the pleasure of basking in my beauty and wit

5. I fell deeply in love with the practice of meshing words with images to better embody my lived experience

6. I like the smell of ink on paper

 

Some of these theories are truths, some lies and some utter nonsense.

 

I think Dale Jacobs sums up my desire perfectly when he writes - “We continually construct our identities, we do so through narrative, whether in private thought or public autobiography” 

 

Once I read that, things finally snapped into place – I truly believe that identity and the Self are narrated concepts inherent in every individual. To then express the Self in memoir is as natural to the human as breathing. Plus, as a Graphic memoirist, with my multi-modal artillery – I’m better equipped at narrating my story in a manner that is closer to lived experience, than words alone.

 

What do I hope to gain from this tricky business?  My goal is simple – I want to put my work and my Self out into the world, then, lie in wait to see what comes of it.