We continue our interview series with creators speaking at the monthly Picture + Panel event in Boston, which brings together two comic creators to talk about a specific topic — in this case, love stories.
K. Czap, Suzana Harcum,and Owena White, along with Lily Barrett from the pop-up romance book store Read My Lips, will engage in a discussion about “the many faces of falling in love.” The event is hosted by the Boston Comic Arts Foundation, Porter Square Books and the Boston Figurative Arts Center.
Suzana Harcum & Owena White, a lesbian couple from Tucson, Arizona, and Worcester, Massachusetts, respectively, are an artist-writer duo making LGBT-centered comics. Their collaborative efforts blend Suzana’s art with Owena’s storytelling, crafting stories that explore communication, self-discovery and acceptance. In creating together, they seek to share their perspectives and experiences growing up queer, through heartfelt slice-of-life comics. They enjoy making relatable stories for readers, aiming to foster a sense of community and understanding through their work.
K Czap is an acclaimed cartoonist, author of Four Years and Fütchi Perf, and colorist for comics from Scholastic, First Second and more. Residing in Providence RI, Czap is a board member of Binch Press × Queer.Archive.Work., an artist studio collective.
How did you get interested in love stories?
Karen Czap: A steady diet of love songs on the radio growing up – yearning, pleading, apologizing, dreaming all in the name of love.
Suzana Harcum: I’ve always had a soft spot for reading romances, and when I started writing a story with Owena I think it’s what felt the most relatable and enjoyable to write about together. Personally, I fell in love with Owena young and always held a spark for her, it was almost a decade before we started dating and I still feel that spark when I think of her 26 years later.
Why did you start making comics about love stories?
Harcum: Comics are a passion for me, I absolutely love devouring stories that are woven into visual art from a wide range of genres. I’d always wanted to make a comic myself after being a fan of them for so long, and Owena agreed when I floated the idea of working on something together. It felt natural for us to write something that mirrored our own love story: characters that we had written together for years became a wonderful starting point for longform comics for us.
Czap: When I realized how important and life-changing the love of friendship can be, I wanted to tell the world!
How are love stories integrated into your work?
Czap: My comics are usually trying to magnify a particular transcendent moment or feeling where love shakes your soul.
Harcum: We’ve been writing stories and characters together for so long, many of them end up incorporating a little romance in whether it’s the main focus of the story or not. I just find it fun to sprinkle some flirting into the details I add, like a little love note.
What’s your favorite thing about love stories?
Harcum: Usually it’s the dynamic of the characters! One of my favorite moments in reading a new romance is seeing the moment one of the characters suddenly recognizes something about their love interest that they never noticed before. It can be such a lovely moment that pulls you into how they relate to each other. I really enjoy the exploration of how many ways people can enjoy each other, and how their personalities can meet and find compliment in each other.
Czap: The moments when there’s an initial touch, the thrill of limerence, followed up by the rubber meeting the road of reality, when people have to work at the relationship and grow as people.
What’s your least favorite thing about love stories?
Czap: I don’t love it when things are very easy. I don’t trust it when I get exactly what I want in the end – it’s too good to be true!
Harcum: I personally dislike character deaths, though I know they are very important to so many stories. The finality of it removes all possible change that could happen in the couple’s future, and that weighs so heavily on me. The pining for something past that can no longer be reached is so painful. I do love what it can do for the story, but that painful feeling is definitely my least favorite thing to feel after reading.
What misconceptions have you found people have about love stories?
Harcum: That it’s all about the erotica. I love the emotional feelings and passions that can come through writing, it doesn’t have to go into erotic territories to be enjoyable. That being said, I personally still love erotic love stories a lot. I just don’t think it’s a requirement for a good romance story.
Czap: Maybe I am the one with misconceptions, to be honest. But I do like seeing what happens after the happily ever after.
Are there other media about love stories that have inspired your work?
Czap: Speaking of which, Personal Best is one of my favorite movies, and there’s a lot of music that informs my comics. Joanna Newsom’s Ys is about all kinds of love, and the Shangri-La’s “Give Him A Great Big Kiss” is one of the best songs ever.
Harcum: It’s hard to think of one immediate answer to this! I’ve enjoyed and been inspired by so many novels, comics, movies, shows, and fan fictions over the years that all spark new perspectives for me. One of my favorite graphic novels, Blankets by Craig Thompson, is a very lovely romance that has stayed with me for years. I really loved the romantic tension of the TV show Pushing Daisies, which I wish had more seasons! Webcomics have been something I’ve always adored because of the great queer representation. Two of my earliest favorite love stories were She Said by Kris Dresen and Yu+Me Dream by Ro Salarian, I highly recommend them!
If you could recommend one other graphic novel about love stories to people who love your work, what would it be (and why)?
Harcum: I’ve gotta recommend Always Raining Here by Hazel and Bell! Our stories were both originally webcomics around the same era! Both Hazel and Bell are extremely talented and are still making stories together that I love keeping up with.
Czap: Okay, so it’s fourteen volumes but I absolutely love Tamifull’s How Do We Relationship? Not only is it super funny and sweet and romantic, but it really puts your heartstrings through the gauntlet by taking the challenges of relationships – communication issues, different needs – seriously.