Published on Saturday, May 15, 2021 by Agitator Co-operative

Comics Are Weird and We Should Take Them Seriously

by Gretchen Hasse, Agitator member and co-founder

I have always explained the world to myself through stories, writing them long before I taught myself to draw. I created characters who conquered the types of problems that I was struggling with myself. Over time I created different characters for new challenges, but honestly, I think they’ve always been the same characters. As I get older they just manifest differently.

Comics intrigue me as an art form because they’re so personal and so potentially all-encompassing. You can make a comic about time travel, pocket lint, or whatever you feel like, and none of it seems out of place. You don’t have to be a particularly incredible artist or writer, although you can be both, or one or the other. You can even be neither. I bet most of us drew comics on our desks or our notebooks in grade school before we started to stress about whether they were any good. It’s a medium for the people.

I think that one strength of comics can be that they aren’t necessarily seen as “serious.” That means that comics creators might feel more free to be weird or creative or exceptionally unorthodox. We might not feel as constrained by convention. Maybe we don’t think that critics will be as harsh.

Still though, that doesn’t mean we can’t take comics seriously. I actually think we should take them very seriously.

I’ve been working on Freaks’ Progress, my own comics magnum opus, since about 1993. Over the years I’ve published it in pieces in various printed and digital forms. The characters grow with me, and sometimes I revise their stories when I realize there is a better way to look at something.

Freaks’ Progress is a multi-character story. For a long time, I was worried about including characters who come from different lived experiences than I do. I knew I didn’t want to only write about people just like me. Freaks’ Progress takes place in a city, and cities are full of all different kinds of people. That’s part of the point of the story.

How do I write about other lives respectfully, even if it’s “just” for a comic? 

For the past few years, I’ve been very proactive about seeking feedback from people who share the lived experience of my characters. This can sometimes feel awkward and difficult. I think that’s actually good; it’s part of the learning process. I recently learned that reviewers like this are called “sensitivity readers,” and it’s a practice that professional writers use. People get paid for it. I have given readers money myself, though sometimes people don’t want payment. It’s good to offer it.

Ultimately, this type of due diligence just makes the work better. Any creator benefits from challenging and expanding their viewpoint. Freaks’ Progress is a fantastical narrative, with bizarre plot points growing out of mundane realities. I still think I need to touch base with real people to make sure I’m not using the fantastic nature of the story to excuse being sloppy about the characters. 

A few of my readers are fans of the comic already, and a few are people who are coming to it fresh. I love sharing work with people who have absolutely no idea what I’m trying to do. Sometimes that’s the most valuable feedback.

In June 2021, Agitator Co-operative Gallery will present the first issue of Agitator Comics!, which I hope will become a regular thing. Over the last weird year, we have been exploring the virtual gallery/printed exhibition combination as a way to reach our audience. Obviously, we really want to see each other in person again soon; but for now I think the personal, all-encompassing nature of comics is exactly what we need. We’ll take them with us into the weird future too.