MariNaomi

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MariNaomi
MariNaomi in 2021
MariNaomi in 2021
BornMari Naomi Schaal
1973 (age 50–51)
Texas, U.S.
https://marinaomi.com/

MariNaomi (born as Mari Naomi Schaal; born 1973) is an American graphic artist and cartoonist who often publishes autobiographical comics and is also well known for creating three online databases of underrepresented cartoonists.

Career

MariNaomi's has been drawing comics since 1997, starting out as a zine creator.[1][2] Her comics are usually autobiographical. She talks about the search for her roots, her status as a mixed race queer woman, as well as her feminism. Her article "Writing People of Color" discusses how people of color should approach writing about people from a race that is not their own.[3] MariNaomi stated "I feel like race is such a sensitive issue that I wanted feedback and I wanted to know how better to do it and to share that information.".[2]

MariNaomi wrote an article It Happened to Me: I Was Sexually Harassed Onstage at a Comic Convention Panel for XOJane in 2013 describing her experience of being harassed on stage as a panelist at a comics convention.[4] She did not name her harasser, but Scott Lobdell later came forward and issued a public apology for his actions.[5][6]

MariNaomi founded and maintains three online databases of cartoonists: the Cartoonists of Color Database, the Queer Cartoonists Database and the Disabled Cartoonists Database.[7][8][9] In 2014, she began the Cartoonists of Color Database and created the Queer Cartoonists Database soon after.[10][11] In 2019, she launched the Disabled Cartoonists Database.[12] The opt-in per creator database Queer Cartoonists contains 775 entries as of May 2018 and has been reported to be helpful in the professional careers of upcoming cartoonists.[13] Librarians and archivists specializing in comic book studies have also highlighted the need for open access databases like these.[14]

MariNaomi has written and drawn comics columns for several websites, including The Rumpus and SFBAY.ca.[15][16] In 2016, she was featured at the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center conference on imagined futures.[17]

Since 2017, she and fellow author Myriam Gurba have been hosting an advice podcast called AskBiGrlz Archived 2021-11-26 at the Wayback Machine where they answer listener questions.[18]

In 2021, MariNaomi created a Stop AAPI Hate mural in Garvey Park in Rosemead, California. The comic-strip inspired 60-by10-foot mural covers the side of a recreational park building.[19][20] Connie Chung Joe of Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Los Angeles said the mural is "a wake-up call that Asian-Americans in this country have been scapegoated. Not just by this pandemic, but time and time again in American history.”[21][22]

Personal life

Her mother is Japanese and her father is a Caucasian American. Born as Mari Naomi Schaal in Texas in 1973, she grew up in Mill Valley, California and later moved to San Jose, California.[2] She began using the name MariNaomi in 2003. She worked in illegal hostess bars while she briefly lived in Japan.[23] She wrote about those experiences in her memoir, Turning Japanese.[24]

Publications

  • Kiss & Tell: A Romantic Resume, Ages 0 to 22 (Harper Perennial, 2011) ISBN 0062009230
  • Dragon's Breath and Other True Stories (2dcloud/Uncivilized Books, 2014) ISBN 1941250017
  • Turning Japanese (2dcloud, 2016) ISBN 1937541169
  • I Thought YOU Hated ME (Retrofit Comics, 2016) ISBN 1940398495
  • Losing the Girl (Graphic Universe, 2018) ISBN 1541510445
  • Gravity's Pull (Graphic Universe, 2018) ISBN 1541545265
  • Distant Stars (Graphic Universe, 2020) ISBN 1541587006
  • Dirty Produce (Workman Publishing Company, 2021) ISBN 1523513314

References

  1. ^ "This Cartoonist Perfectly Captures the Highs and Lows of Friendship". Los Angeles Magazine. 2016-09-14. Retrieved 2019-06-25.
  2. ^ a b c "Illustrating the Awesome and the Awkward: MariNaomi's Memoirs". Giant Robot Media. 2017-07-11. Retrieved 2019-06-25.
  3. ^ "Writing People of Color by MariNaomi". Midnight Breakfast. Retrieved 2019-06-25.
  4. ^ "IT HAPPENED TO ME: I Was Sexually Harassed Onstage at a Comic Convent…". archive.fo. 2013-12-21. Archived from the original on 2013-12-21. Retrieved 2019-06-25.
  5. ^ susana-polo (2013-12-20). "Scott Lobdell Outs Self as Comic Con Panel Sexual Harasser". The Mary Sue. Retrieved 2019-06-25.
  6. ^ MacDonald, Heidi (2013-12-19). "Scott Lobdell: I apologize to MariNaomi". The Beat. Retrieved 2019-06-25.
  7. ^ "About MariNaomi". MariNaomi.com. 2019-02-13. Retrieved 2019-06-25.
  8. ^ Aoki, Deb (2019-04-17). "MariNaomi Shines a Light on Diverse Cartoonists". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2019-06-25.
  9. ^ Steyels, Mike (2016-09-24). "A Peek Inside the Essential 'Cartoonists Of Color' Database". Vice. Retrieved 2019-06-25.
  10. ^ Steyels, Mike. "A Peek Inside the Essential 'Cartoonists Of Color' Database". VICE. VICE. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
  11. ^ MariNaomi. "MariNaomi, Cartoonist/Community Organizer - XOXO Festival (2018)". YouTube. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
  12. ^ MariNaomi (October 8, 2019). "I am very pleased to announce that we have just now full-on LAUNCHED the DisabledCartoonists.com database!". Twitter. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  13. ^ Bergdahl, Esther (28 May 2018). "Rainbow Connection: LGBTQ Publishing 2018". Publishers Weekly.
  14. ^ Quamme, Margaret. "Virtual Art+Feminism events at Ohio State highlight databases". The Columbus Dispatch.
  15. ^ "MariNaomi, Author at SFBay". SFBay. Retrieved 2022-03-12.
  16. ^ "MariNaomi". The Rumpus.net. Retrieved 2022-03-12.
  17. ^ Center, Smithsonian Asian Pacific American. "MariNaomi » CTRL+ALT: A Culture Lab on Imagined Futures". CTRL+ALT: A Culture Lab on Imagined Futures. Retrieved 2022-03-12.
  18. ^ Gurba, Myriam; MariNaomi. "AskBiGrlz". AskBiGrlz. Archived from the original on 2021-05-13. Retrieved 2021-03-24.
  19. ^ "Murals pop up in San Gabriel Valley to combat Asian hate". Pasadena Star News. 2021-08-19. Retrieved 2022-03-12.
  20. ^ "'A call to action': New mural in Rosemead takes aim at wave of anti-Asian hate". San Gabriel Valley Tribune. 2021-05-28. Retrieved 2022-03-12.
  21. ^ "Stop AAPI Hate Comic by MariNaomi Installed as a Mural in Rosemead, California". Multiversity Comics. 2021-05-29. Retrieved 2022-03-12.
  22. ^ "Queer Comic Artist's LA Mural Combats Anti-Asian Hate". www.outtraveler.com. 2021-06-23. Retrieved 2022-03-12.
  23. ^ Davies, Rachel (2016-05-24). "Exploring Japanese Identity as a Hostess in Illegal Expat Bars". Vice. Retrieved 2019-06-25.
  24. ^ Dueben, Alex (2016-06-17). "MariNaomi Explores Being Young and "Turning Japanese"". CBR. Retrieved 2019-06-25.

External links

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