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Emil Ferris

Emil Ferris
Ferris at Miami Book Fair 2016
Born1962 (age 61–62)
Chicago, Illinois
EducationSchool of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) (BFA, MFA)
Known forGraphic novels, writing
Notable workMy Favorite Thing Is Monsters

Emil Ferris (listenⓘ; born 1962) is an American writer, cartoonist, and designer.[1] Ferris debuted in publishing with her 2017 graphic novel My Favorite Thing Is Monsters, which was praised as a "masterpiece" and one of the best comics by a new author.[2][3]

Biography

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Emil Ferris was born to Eleanor Spiess-Ferris and Mike Ferris[4] on Chicago's South Side and grew up in the North Side's Uptown neighborhood.[1] Her parents are artists who met at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago,[5] and she would often visit the Art Institute of Chicago with them.[6]

Ferris traces her Hispanic lineage from Indigenous Mexico to Spain, and is also of Lebanese, German, French, Irish emigres, and Sephardic Jewish descent.[7][8]

Ferris' mother took diethylstilbestrol when pregnant, leading Ferris to say she was biologically male but transformed to female in utero, and she therefore identifies with others who have gender dysphoria.[9] Ferris identified early in her life as a lesbian but later on came to see herself as bisexual.[10]

She was sexually abused as a child, which she says negatively affected her ability to draw in a cartoon style for many years.[11]

This was the '60s. I watched protests being broken up by the police. I saw bigotry. It made me think about our own inner monstrousness.[1]

– Emil Ferris

Ferris was obsessed with monsters as a child, eagerly looking forward to Creature Features on Saturday nights, which had monsters she would weep for.[8] Ferris had scoliosis, and to get attention on the playground, she told horror stories. Ferris has discussed how she saw herself as a child: observing the oppressive social role her beautiful mother, as well as other humans, had to play.[6]

As a child, Ferris was part of a theatrical troupe near the Graceland Cemetery — which she visited, hoping to find monsters or a ghost.[8] Ferris gained an understanding of World War II by talking to Holocaust survivors who lived in the neighborhood of Rogers Park, which she had moved to.[7] She would visit the owner of a gallery who had an identification number tattoo, as well as elderly survivors, forming a connection between their experiences and monsters.[12]

In 2001, when she was 40, Ferris contracted West Nile fever from a mosquito bite. Three weeks after going to the hospital, she was paralyzed from the waist down and lost movement in her right hand. She eventually regained motor functionality and returned to working and drawing, receiving a MFA in creative writing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.[1]

Artistic influences

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A person sleeps at a table, as imagined winged creatures swarm around him
Francisco Goya was a childhood influence on Ferris.[7] Pictured is his etching, The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters.

In terms of artistic influences, Ferris was exposed to the works of Francisco Goya and Honoré Daumier as a child, as well as Collier's illustrated Dickens.[6] Cartoonists who were inspirations for her include Robert Crumb, Alison Bechdel, and Art Spiegelman. She has also cited horror film posters and stories from EC Comics as ideas for the mock covers she drew in My Favorite Thing is Monsters.[1]

Career

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Ferris discussing My Favorite Thing Is Monsters with Michael Cavna at Small Press Expo 2017

Ferris worked as a freelance illustrator and toy designer for clients such as McDonald's and Takara Tomy before becoming an author.[13]

While recovering from the paralysis caused by West Nile fever, Ferris worked on her graphic novel. My Favorite Thing Is Monsters tells the story of Karen Reyes, a 10-year-old girl and fan of monster movies (like Ferris herself) who, growing up amidst the social tensions of 1960s Chicago, investigates the death of her upstairs neighbor. The book is written and drawn in the form of Reyes' diary notebook, with crosshatched artwork drawn with a ballpoint pen.[3]

The 400-page My Favorite Thing is Monsters (volume one) was released in 2017 by Fantagraphics, receiving praise from authors like Art Spiegelman, Alison Bechdel, and Chris Ware; it was regarded as one of the best comics of 2017.[14] My Favorite Thing is Monsters volume two was released on May 24, 2024.[15]

In April 2022, Ferris was reported among the more than three dozen comics creators who contributed to Operation USA's benefit anthology book, Comics for Ukraine: Sunflower Seeds, a project spearheaded by editor Scott Dunbier, whose profits would be donated to relief efforts for Ukrainian refugees resulting from the February 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[16][17]

Personal life

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When Ferris contracted West Nile virus at age 40, she was the single mother of a six-year-old daughter named Ruby.[13]

Awards

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Jennings, Dana (2017-02-17). "First, Emil Ferris Was Paralyzed. Then Her Book Got Lost at Sea". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
  2. ^ Sava, Oliver (2017-02-24). "My Favorite Thing Is Monsters is a brilliant, eye-opening graphic novel debut". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on Feb 27, 2017. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
  3. ^ a b Salkowitz, Rob (Jan 27, 2017). "How This Unlikely 'Monster' Is About To Transform Graphic Literature". Forbes. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
  4. ^ Borrelli, Christopher (2 March 2017). "Riding the 'L' with 'Monsters' graphic novelist Emil Ferris". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  5. ^ "Emil Ferris". lambiek.net. Retrieved 2017-05-06.
  6. ^ a b c Thielman, Sam (February 20, 2017). "Emil Ferris: 'I didn't want to be a woman – being a monster was the best solution'". The Guardian. Retrieved January 4, 2018.
  7. ^ a b c Brown, Hillary (2017). "The Holocaust, Art, Chicago & Sickness: A 3,500-Word Interview with My Favorite Thing Is Monsters Mastermind Emil Ferris". Pastemagazine.com.
  8. ^ a b c Tumey, Paul (February 16, 2017). "The Emil Ferris Interview: Monsters, Art and Stories (Part 1)". The Comics Journal. Retrieved January 4, 2018.
  9. ^ Chicago Public Library (2024-06-02). Emil Ferris: My Favorite Thing is Monsters Book Two. Retrieved 2024-06-05 – via YouTube.
  10. ^ "In 'Monsters,' Graphic Novelist Emil Ferris Embraces The Darkness Within". NPR. 2017-03-30. Retrieved 2018-09-12.
  11. ^ Ferris, Emil (2019). "How Cartoons Became My Friends... Again". In Noomin, Diane (ed.). Drawing Power: Women's Stories of Sexual Violence, Harassment, and Survival. Abrams Books. pp. 243–249. ISBN 9781419736193. I was visiting relatives and one evening I asked to see a Mr. Magoo T.V. special while I sat on the bedroom floor in front of a little T.V., the folding door of the room was shut and I was alone with a person who had repeatedly subjected me (and, as I later learned, other cousins) to sly, sexually-oriented brutalities. [...] Even now, even looking at my drawing of a Magoo-like character, I feel panic.
  12. ^ Dueben, Alex (April 25, 2017). "My Favorite Thing is Monsters Author Talks 2017's Buzziest Graphic Novel". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
  13. ^ a b Rao, Naveen (March 31, 2017). "Emil Ferris Wiki: Paralysis, Monsters, Sketching, Daughter & More". Earn The Necklace. Archived from the original on Aug 3, 2018. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
  14. ^ Dueben, Alex (2017-04-25). "My Favorite Thing is Monsters Author Talks 2017's Buzziest Graphic Novel". CBR. Retrieved 2017-05-06.
  15. ^ Grunenwald, Joe (June 19, 2023). "My Favorite Thing Is Monsters Book Two coming next year from Fantagraphics". Comics Beat. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
  16. ^ Kaplan, Rebecca O. (April 18, 2022). "ZOOP launches benefit anthology COMICS FOR UKRAINE: SUNFLOWER SEEDS". The Beat. Archived from the original on April 18, 2022. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  17. ^ Brooke, David (April 18, 2022). "'Comics for Ukraine: Sunflower Seeds' to benefit Ukrainian refugees". AIPT. Archived from the original on April 26, 2022. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  18. ^ a b Jasper, Marykate (September 17, 2017). "Queer, Black, and Female Creators Lead the 2017 Ignatz Awards". The Mary Sue.
  19. ^ Nelson, Georgia (May 29, 2018). "My Favorite Thing Is Monsters Wins Reuben Award for Best GN!". Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.
  20. ^ a b "Here are the 2018 Eisner award winners". DoomRocket. 2018-07-21. Retrieved 2018-07-21.
  21. ^ "30th Annual Lambda Literary Award Winners Announced". Publishers Weekly. June 5, 2018.
  22. ^ MacDonald, Heidi (Oct 1, 2018). "2018 Ringo Award winners announced". The Beat.
  23. ^ Vidal, Jaume (April 6, 2019). "Altarriba obté el Gran Premi". El Punt Avui (in Catalan). Retrieved 2021-05-28. Lo que más me gusta son los monstruos (Reservoir Books), d'Emil Ferris, ha guanyat el premi a la millor obra estrangera.
  24. ^ a b Grunenwald, Joe (July 24, 2020). "SDCC '20: The 2020 Will Eisner Comic Industry Award winners". The Beat.
  25. ^ "HQ pernambucana está no top 10 do Prêmio Grampo 2020". Jornal do Commercio (in Portuguese). April 14, 2020.
  26. ^ "The 2024 Eisner Award Winners Are Here". Book Riot. July 29, 2024.
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