Julia Wertz is a professional cartoonist, amateur historian, urban exploring hobbyist. They have been making comics and graphic novels since 2005 (see: the Fart Party/Museum of Mistakes, Drinking at the Movies, The Infinite Wait & Other Stories, Tenements, Towers, & Trash) but after they finished their last book in early 2017, they got writers block something fierce. Every comic they tried to make felt forced and uninspired and they worried they wouldnt be able to get back to work. They read a bunch of books about writers block, and they didnt do shit. What eventually did help was getting back to how their whole career started- making goofy, badly drawn, stick figure diary comics about their daily life. They realized they missed the immediacy and direct connection of this type of unprofessional, unpolished work. They missed making comics for no other reason than they did something stupid or someone said something funny. They missed making comics because they wanted to, not because they were contractually obligated. That is not to say they don’t love making art and writing about history and abandoned places. They deeply enjoy those things and will continue doing them as a hobby, but not a career focal point. This year they are getting back to how they started, with autobiographical comics about nothing and everything. They’ll be working on a book about their last years in NYC, and doing these diary comics. So now that they are making comics again, they’d like to continue to do so, and your support will help them stay inspired and committed. Also they’ll be doing a lot of traveling and exploring this year, so maybe it will be fun to follow along? They hope so!
Find Julia Wertz online:
