‘Being able to do every part of the process is so gratifying’: An interview with Jenn Woodall

The comics industry can be an inhospitable place. On top of the rigors of producing work they can be proud of and cultivating editorial relationships that can secure future work, comic creators now must also become their own brand ambassadors, publicists, and business representatives. Jenn Woodall, a Toronto-based screenprinter and illustrator, is no stranger to the demands of her profession, but she has also reckoned with a more daunting phenomenon where creators must navigate the chancy waters of internet hostility, aggression, and violence. Even in the wake of “movements” like Comicsgate and its implosion at the hands of a self-stoking stupidity, taking a political stance on social issues runs the risk of attracting all kinds of anti-social attention. Woodall’s work has openly explored toxic masculinity, homophobia, and misogynistic entitlement that have come to define the darker side of comics fandom, and following the release of a feminist-themed sticker that went viral, Woodall became the subject of vociferous online scrutiny. The "Catcall Kill Kill" sticker. In her new zine She Must Be Ugly!, Woodall broke down the “Catcall Kill! Kill!” sticker’s effects on her mental compos...