House on Thurman Street in the Strumpet
This 7-page comic is from Strumpet 5, international anthology of comics by women that came out in September 2017. The theme of the issue is Origin stories, and answering that theme, I made this compressed story about growing up in NW Portland, my mother's Alzheimer's, and the artists and writer who influenced me.
Ursula LeGuin, acclaimed author of the Earthsea Books and so many more, lived a few houses away from where I grew up. Her words that originated from a place so close to home have inspired me since I first read her books in the 1980s. Her sense of justice and depth of integrity, her exploration of political and social situations through fiction, her vivid descriptions of place have all affected the way I go about my own work. She died last week on Jan 22, 2018.
After I finished this comic in spring 2017, I sent Ursula LeGuin a copy and a fan letter. A few weeks later, she wrote back, one page, sympathizing with my parents' situation, and saying that she'd always envied the sleeping porch on our house. She'd had one in Berkeley, CA where she grew up.