Interview with Em Cartoons creator.

[cdave]

Since 2006 thelondonpaper (sic) has published Em, the semi-autobiographical comic strip of a twenty something woman growing up in London by Maria Smedstad. The paper is shutting down now, and Friday will be the final issue.

I'm not a regular reader of the free evening papers (generally I take a book with me for the evening commute), but occasionally picked it, and always turn to Em first (followed by the columns, stopping before I get to the "news" and celebrities).

When I first saw Em, I must admit I wasn't hugely impressed with the cut'n'paste art, or punchlines. But after running across an early strip in the Cartoon Museum in with the Young Cartoonist of the Year entries IIRC), I decided to look again, and remember that this is more like a blog/column, than a daily humour strip. While I'm not the biggest fan of Em, I have to say that the art has got more expressive, and I was enjoying the ones I saw.

If you're quick you can catch the double page spread on pages 12 and 13 of yesteday's e-edition, which is devoted to an interview with the creator.

Comments

[chiller.livejournal.com]

Yes, I like Em, too.

[cdave]

If you want to keep reading, you'll have to start following her online then.

Bizarrely it looks like her RSS for the comics is only valid for each calendar year, and will need updating next year.

[chiller.livejournal.com]

How odd! I wonder if she'll find a new home, in a paper.

[cdave]

I doubt it, but I hope she manages it. The UK doesn't really have comic strips in the same way as the US.

It'd be nice to see her make her paper readers in webcomic readers, and see her at UK small press events. But it's hard to make that a viable business too.