While Jen Sorensen may not be a household name (yet),
her comic strip, Slowpoke, has gone on to win
Peter Laird's Xeric Grant award, and praise from such
notable individuals as Peter Bagge, who proclaimed
Sorensen a "terrific cartoonist."
Previously, Jen's work has appeared in DC's Big
Book series, as well as in Sarah Dwyer's Action
Girl comic.
With Sorensen's Slowpoke now appearing as a
weekly webcomic on The Slush Factory, we thought it'd
be a good idea to introduce you to her. A word
of advice - buy her book. You'll thank us.
Who is Jen Sorensen?
Jen Sorensen is a twentysomething cartoonist who likes
nothing better than a good beer, a good man, and a
fresh copy of the Washington Post.
How far back can you trace your desire to enter
the big, bad world of sequential art?
For most of my youth, until my final year of college,
I didn't think too much about becoming a
"professional." I had a change of
heart that last year of school. I realized that
drawing cartoons had always been such a positive
aspect of my life, and that embarking on some other
career would probably spell the end of that. One
of the biggest benefits of doing comics is that you
meet a lot of people through your work. I met my
fiancé when he saw me doodling during a class we took
together. Yes, if you're searching for that
special someone, my advice is: doodle.
Your strips stand apart in that they feature
genuinely good art. Did you attend art school?
Hey, thanks. I didn't go to art school; I
majored in anthropology at the University of Virginia.
I suppose I taught myself to draw as a kid, when I
spent a lot of time creating my own comics for
personal amusement. Good art is very important
to me. That doesn't mean something can't be
drawn simply, but it has to be easy on the eyes for me
to want to read it.
Who would you count among your influences?
In no particular order: Basil Wolverton, R. Crumb,
Mike Dowdall and Pat Welch (authors of the illustrated
humor book "Humans"), Jack Davis, Edward
Gorey, Matt Groening, Leslie Sternbergh, Peter Bagge,
B. Kliban, Gahan Wilson, Carl Barks, and Jim Woodring.
Weekly strips I particularly admire are Lloyd Dangle's
"Troubletown" and Ruben Bolling's "Tom
the Dancing Bug."
Your work appeared in Big Book of the 70's,
as well as Action Girl. How did you get
those jobs?
In 1994, Sarah Dyer spotted a piece I'd done for a
college publication, and wanted to run it in the first
issue of Action Girl. Over the next few
years, I continued to contribute short stories to that
anthology. Then I decided to do my own book,
which became Slowpoke Comix #1. I got the
Big Book job when Jim Higgins, then an editor
at Paradox Press whom I had met at the Small Press
Expo, asked me if I would do a two-pager on the sexual
revolution called "Swingin' in the '70s."
I think he chose me because he knew I wouldn't draw
photorealistic anatomy. (Even so, one part of
the orgy scene still managed to get censored in the
final printing.) The fact that I draw Drooly
Julie also might have influenced Jim's decision to
assign me that particular aspect of the '70s.
Just a hunch.
Tell us the story of Slowpoke's birth.
Slowpoke had its origins in a daily strip called
"Lil' Gus" that I drew for a college
newspaper. That's how Gus and Mr. Perkins came
about. Initially, the strip consisted mainly of
Lil' Gus meeting an unfortunate demise every day, but
eventually I broadened the subject matter. Once
I was out of school, I put together Slowpoke Comix #1,
which consisted of short humorous pieces featuring
Gus, Mr. Perkins, and a new character: Drooly Julie.
After reading a good many R. Crumb stories, it
occurred to me that there simply wasn't a female
cartoon character out there who was a goofy hornball.
I thought it would be amusing to turn the tables, and
so Drooly Julie was born. After Slowpoke Comix
#1, I turned Slowpoke into a weekly strip.
Slowpoke is exceedingly topical in its
portrayal (and mocking) of current events. Would
you call yourself a cynic?
"Cynic" might be too strong a word; I'm
more of a skeptic. The Bush people do bring out
extreme bitterness on my part, so I am fairly cynical
when it comes to addressing whatever their latest
idiocies might be. But I'm not a bitter person.
I find culture much too amusing to be truly cynical.
Would labeling your strip as one with a somewhat
liberal political outlook be an inappropriate
characterization?
No, I definitely have a liberal outlook. At the
same time, however, I try to avoid knee-jerk political
reactions. I try to think through issues and
don't always follow the liberal line to a tee.
To date, Slowpoke has spawned a single issue
of a comic and a book entitled CAFÉ POMPOUS that
collects earlier pieces. Will we be seeing Slowpoke
popping up on store shelves again?
I plan to release another collection of Slowpoke
strips in the fall of 2003.
Both of your Slowpoke works were published
by Jeff Mason's Alternative Comics. How did you
become involved with his company?
I went to Dragon Con in 1997 on a whim with a friend
of mine who was an assistant to Charles Vess. My
friend introduced me to Jeff, and we got to talking.
Before I knew it, I was hanging out with Jeff and
Peter Bagge at the post-con party, having a great
time. It was one of those rare instances when
the stars somehow aligned just right. Jeff and I
stayed in touch, and he agreed to do Slowpoke Comix
#1. Technically I have been the publisher for
both of the Slowpoke books, as I financed both
of them myself (Cafe Pompous won a Xeric
Grant). But I really do have to hand it to Jeff.
He has provided an incredible amount of help and
advice over the past few years.
You are listed as a contributor to Alternative
Comics' upcoming 9/11 tribute book. Can you tell
us what your piece consists of?
My piece is about how I flew the day before, from
Seattle back to Charlottesville. During the
flight I encountered a number of minor inconveniences,
like a broken chair. At one point, I found
myself thinking offhandedly, "I hope there are no
hijackers on board." I attribute this to
morbid imagination rather than any foresight on my
part. Anyway, I wound up oversleeping the morning of
September 11, and finding out about the attacks when I
showed up at work. It gave me the creeps to think I
had just been flying while the terrorists were en
route to execute their plan, and made me realize how
trivial the discomforts of my flight really were.
Like most of the stories in the book, it's a
slice-of-life piece, sharing the details of what I
went through that day. I find peoples' stories
about what they were doing to be extremely compelling.
I think it's an excellent theme for the book.
Aside from the 9/11 book, do you have anything else
in the works?
Really, I'm just trying to focus on the strip these
days. I've been redesigning my website, adding
lots of new features. As of this interview, the
new version isn't posted yet, but it should be in a
few weeks. One item of note: several Slowpoke
strips from Cafe Pompous will be appearing in a
book due out this May called Attitude: The New
Subversive Political Cartoonists, compiled by Ted
Rall. It will feature the work of several alternative
newspaper cartoonists, including Ruben Bolling, Lloyd
Dangle, Tom Tomorrow, and a host of others. It
will also include extensive interviews with everyone,
so check it out.
And finally, do you have any words for the readers
who will be experiencing your work for the first time
on Slush?
I would say, try not to read too much into Mr.
Perkins. He's just a guy with a pointy head.
And enjoy!
Read
this week's Slowpoke on The Slush Factory
Alternative
Comics
Jen Sorensen's Webpage
Discuss
this article and talk to Jen on Slush's Slowpoke
Forum!
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