The Boston Comic Arts Foundation (BCAF) hosted its monthly session of “Picture + Panel” this November with Simmons alumna and comic artist Tana Ford and comic writer Colleen AF Venable about cats in comic books. Taking place at the Boston Figurative Arts Center, the panel was moderated by Katie Armour, the Foster Care Coordinator at the MSPCA Adoption Center.
Throughout the panel, Ford spoke about the artwork she did for a recently released sci-fi graphic novel titled “The Space Cat” and Venable talked about her writing on an ongoing graphic novel series titled “Katie the Catsitter.” Armour’s moderation guided the conversation through discussions on how the previous pets of the creators contributed to their worldview, if cats can see ghosts (the verdict is still out!), what “cat personalities” the creators have and the methodology behind their work, as well as opening the floor to questions from attendees.
“I feel like it’s really hard to stay in an utterly bad mood when you have any sort of pet,” said Venable, who currently has one cat and two bunnies.
When talking about their work, both Ford and Venable said that they’ve implemented real-world pets owned by themselves and their friends into their comics. For Venable, this meant including the names of about 200 cats that belong to people she knows.
“I’ve snuck every dog I’ve ever loved in this book and a lot of my friends’ cats,” said Ford.
Further discussion focused on the details of comics as a collaborative art form, with Ford describing the medium’s “co-creation situation” between artist and writer contributing to the “beauty of the art form,”
“The difference between a good work and a great work is someone being able to accept feedback and change,” said Venable.
Ford, who graduated from Simmons in 2002, discussed the important role Simmons played in her career in an interview with The Voice after the panel.
“Academia really agreed with me and I got to meet some of the people that would carry me for the rest of my life,” said Ford.
A member of the softball, hockey and, briefly, lacrosse teams while at Simmons, she still cares for the university’s sports teams. During Ford’s time at Simmons, her sports and artwork were able to unite in the form of a mural she made in the Holmes Sports Center, which has since been painted over.
Since graduating, Ford has kept her Simmons origins in mind as she continues to be nominated for awards and plays an active role in the independent comics community.
“Picture + Panel” is held on the first Monday of every month at the Boston Figurative Art Center, with BCAF Outreach Director Gina Gagliano saying the goal is to bring creators “to the forefront of the conversation” within the comic scene.
