It’s the anti-Valentine’s Day event you won’t want to miss—webcomic artist Liz Prince will be appearing at the Brookline Booksmith, 279 Harvard Street, this Tuesday, February 11, at 7PM. Prince is the woman behind the seriously funny webcomic Alone Forever, which is also the title of her new book. Tim Finn, professor at Lesley University College of Art and Design and owner of Union Square, Somerville’s Hub Comics, will be joining the conversation.
recently emailed with Liz, and among other things I asked her what it’s like to date when you’re the cartoonist behind a webcomic called Alone Forever.
Brookline Hub: I really enjoyed reading Alone Forever, probably because A. It reminds me of my own twenty-something dating experiences (hating on loving couples, awkward blind dates, too many times when I was the third wheel) and B. it gave me the very rare opportunity to appreciate that I’m not in my 20s anymore (assuming from context that you’re in your 20s). Is this a pretty typical reaction to your work?
It is typical for my readers to be glad they are not me, yes. Most of Alone Forever was drawn in my late 20’s, early 30’s actually. The dating experience is pretty much universal, and it’s aggravated by the emergence of online dating. I’ve found that it is a subject ripe with humor.
BH: How did you get started? When did you first realize that your name had become recognized? How did it affect your personal life to be a semi-celebrity comic artist (is that what you call yourself—a comic artist? Feel free to correct me on that.)
I have been drawing comics since I was in Elementary School, but it wasn’t until High School that I started drawing autobio comics, and making a name for myself and a character out of that name. My first book with Top Shelf, Will You Still Love Me If I Wet the Bed? came out when I was in my 2nd year of art school at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts. That was almost 10 years ago, so I’m at little bit used to people recognizing my work, but it is still as gratifying as ever. Being a chronicler of dating, I have been with some people who have expressly asked me NOT to draw comics about them, but that never really works out to their benefit.
BH: In the comics you are very honest about your dating experiences. It made me think of how sex columnists sometimes have trouble dating because either their date is afraid of what the sex columnist is going to write about them afterward, or the date automatically think the sex columnist is going to be promiscuous and wild. Do you find that that’s an apt comparison to your dating life?
I wouldn’t really be able to tell if anyone was holding back in fear of being in a comic, but I have had people request that specific instances not be put into comics. Will You Still Love Me… was drawn about a relationship, while I was still in that relationship, so my partner at the time had a lot of say in the way that he was portrayed. It mostly involved making him wearing clothes when in reality he wasn’t. I’m like Sex and the City for nerds, I suppose.
BH: Kind of along the same lines as my question above: have you ever received any angry reactions from people who you portray in your comics? Are you of the opinion that anything is fair game if it’s in the interest of art?
*knock on wood* So far I haven’t received any angry reactions, and I hope it stays that way. I think that the reality of being portrayed in one of my comics is that unless the reader knows me personally, and knows whom I’m dating at the time, it probably isn’t very obvious who the male counterparts in my comics are. I mean, how many bearded, bespectacled gentleman are there? A MILLION. I try not to draw anything to specifically hurt anyone, and I try to make it obvious that in any awkward situation at least 50% of the blame lies on me. I don’t believe that ANYTHING is fair game, but I believe that a lot of it is, if handled the right way.
BH: There seems to be a trend of hyper authenticity happening among young people, a rebelling against photo-shopped images and only putting your best face forward on social media and in life (think Lena Dunham). Do you think this is true of you and other artists you know or am I making this up?
I can’t speak for other artists, but for me, it is important to me to be as honest as possible, while still protecting the other person’s interests. I am, in my personal relationships, a very honest and up-front person (a guy I was dating once told me I asked too many “real questions”, which baffled me), so I try to reflect that in my work. It gets a good reaction, and people can really connect with you if put your defenses down.
BH: I was really excited to see your tribute to the Peanuts Lucy and Charlie Brown football strip. Is Charles Schulz an influence? What other comics did you like growing up? With newspaper circulations decreasing, what do you think the future of comic strips will be?
I was a fan of Peanuts as well as Garfield and The Far Side and other comics that were in the newspapers in the late 80’s, early 90’s. My favorite was always Calvin and Hobbes; as far as newspaper strips go, that’s the only one that still holds up to me (although the early Peanuts collections that Fantagraphics puts out are far more interesting than the later years Peanuts strips that I read as a kid). As someone who has never really had an interest in being a syndicated cartoonist, I haven’t really thought about the future of comic strips in newspapers, but there is certainly a new life for comic strips online as web comics, for better or for worse (pun intended).
BH: The self-effacing comic strip is very popular (Hyperbole and a Half being one bestselling example.) I must admit that I sometimes cringed at your view of yourself in the comic because it didn’t jibe with the cute girl I saw in the author photo. What do your friends and family say to you when they read your stuff?
Isn’t that the human experience? That we are all cute people who have these insecurities that run rampant at the hands of others? I think that is why these comics are so popular—it’s relatable, because we’ve all had things that didn’t work out, and we’ve all felt unlovable despite what it might look like on the outside. My friends and family generally don’t disagree with my comics, so I don’t know what that says about me…
BH: What should people anticipate going into your Brookline Booksmith event?
To have fun, and laugh at my life along with me, not at me. Also, if they win the Caption Contest (http://brooklinebooksmith.com/lizprince/) they will receive a $20 gift certificate to Booksmith, a $20 gift certificate to Hub Comics in Somerville (who is co-sponsoring the event), a signed copy of Alone Forever, and a special limited edition bookplate that was printed for Orbital Comics in London. That’s like, a $50 street value, right there. But the memories, those will be priceless.
—By Jennifer Campaniolo
