"After coming out, when I was a teenager, I found an inspiring community of queer, trans and gender non-conforming people. Very soon, as I have done all my life, I started making comics about events and jokes in my friends' group," Sophie shared with Bored Panda about her journey as an artist.
Sophie tackles serious topics with humor and irony. We asked her how she sees the role of humor in addressing sensitive issues like gender identity and social injustice in her comics. "If I weren’t laughing, I would be crying," the artist shared. "Which is a valid reaction in itself, of course. However, my goal is to empower queer and trans people, to give them courage. I think humor is very powerful in that sense."
Sophie shared that if she had enough hours in the day, she would create comics about every topic she feels deserves one! "My editing process can be quite long—I will write a dozen versions of a strip until I find the right angle. A lot of these topics get lost in the editing process. Sometimes—often, lately—I’m just too overwhelmed by everything and choose to talk about something completely unrelated."
Sophie’s comics are filled with creative elements—like interviewers and magical pond creatures—that bring her ideas to life in unique ways. We were curious about how she comes up with these imaginative concepts. "As a creator, I like to put characters in a situation and watch what might happen. It’s that electricity that fascinates me—when characters decide for themselves what happens. Curiosity drives me and leads me to do all these weird experiments. It keeps the writing process interesting!"
Creating comics that tackle deep, emotional topics can be both rewarding and exhausting. We asked Sophie how she navigates creative burnout and what keeps her inspired, even when working on such intense material. "This past year has been a lot, personally and politically, and it has certainly negatively impacted my energy. I had to delay and postpone so many engagements! I barely took any time off from work—the joys of being my own boss—but I usually spend a lot of time in the forest, cycling, hiking, camping, or foraging.
I've been working on a children's book since the pandemic, and it should be done soon. After that, don’t try to find me—I’ll be in the forest!
Speaking of cycling, I’m participating in a new queer and trans comic anthology by Stacked Deck Press about sports! It will include a bunch of very awesome artists, and I’ll be telling a story inspired by the time I cycled across Canada. The crowdfunding campaign will be live in a few days!"
