Emil Ferris (; born 1962) is an American writer, cartoonist, and designer.
Ferris debuted in publishing with her 2017 graphic novel ''
My Favorite Thing Is Monsters'', which was praised as a "masterpiece" and one of the best comics by a new author.
Biography
Emil Ferris was born to
Eleanor Spiess-Ferris and Mike Ferris on Chicago's
South Side and grew up in the North Side's
Uptown neighborhood.
Her parents are artists who met at the
School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and she would often visit the
Art Institute of Chicago
The Art Institute of Chicago, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the United States. The museum is based in the Art Institute of Chicago Building in Chicago's Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park. Its collection, stewa ...
with them.
Ferris traces her Hispanic lineage from
Indigenous Mexico to Spain,
German, French,
Irish emigres, and
Sephardic Jewish descent from her mother's side and is also of
Lebanese descent from her father's side.
[ ]
Ferris' mother took
diethylstilbestrol when pregnant, leading Ferris to say she was biologically male but transformed to female in utero, and she therefore identifies with others who have gender dysphoria. Ferris identified early in her life as a lesbian but later on came to see herself as bisexual.
She was
sexually abused as a child, which she says negatively affected her ability to draw in a
cartoon
A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently Animation, animated, in an realism (arts), unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or s ...
style for many years.
Ferris was obsessed with monsters as a child, eagerly looking forward to ''
Creature Features'' on Saturday nights, which had monsters she would weep for.
Ferris had
scoliosis, and to get attention on the playground, she told horror stories. Ferris has discussed how she saw herself as a child: observing the oppressive social role her beautiful mother, as well as other humans, had to play.
As a child, Ferris was part of a theatrical troupe near the
Graceland Cemetery — which she visited, hoping to find monsters or a ghost.
[ Ferris gained an understanding of ]World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
by talking to Holocaust survivors who lived in the neighborhood of Rogers Park, which she had moved to.[
]
Artistic influences
In terms of artistic influences, Ferris was exposed to the works of Francisco Goya
Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (; ; 30 March 1746 – 16 April 1828) was a Spanish Romanticism, romantic painter and Printmaking, printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Hi ...
and Honoré Daumier as a child, as well as '' Collier's'' illustrated Dickens.
Career
Ferris worked as a freelance illustrator and toy designer for clients such as McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...
and Takara Tomy
(trade name, trading as Takara Tomy in Asia and Tomy elsewhere) is a Japanese toy company. It was established in 1924 by Eiichirō Tomiyama as , became known for creating popular toys like the B-29 friction toy and luck-based game Pop-up Pi ...
before becoming an author.2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
.
Personal life
When Ferris contracted West Nile virus at age 40, she was the single mother of a six-year-old daughter named Ruby.
Awards
* 2017 Ignatz Award for Outstanding Graphic Novel for '' My Favorite Thing Is Monsters''
Lynd Ward Prize
for best graphic novel of the year for ''My Favorite Thing Is Monsters''
* 2018 Ringo Award for Best Original Graphic Novel for ''My Favorite Thing Is Monsters''
*2019 Grand prix de la critique ACBD
*2019 Fauve d'or at FIBD 2019
*2019 Premi a la millor obra estrangera (Best Foreign Work) at the 37th Edition of Saló del Còmic de Barcelona for ''My Favorite Thing Is Monsters''.
References
External links
Archive of official author site
Radio interview
with Emil Ferris on '' Fresh Air'' (43 minutes, 2017)
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferris, Emil
American female comics artists
School of the Art Institute of Chicago alumni
American comics writers
American female comics writers
American graphic novelists
Ignatz Award winners for Outstanding Artist
1961 births
Living people
American people of Lebanese descent
Lambda Literary Award winners
Eisner Award winners for Best Writer/Artist
LGBTQ people from Illinois
LGBTQ comics creators
Eisner Award winners for Best Coloring
American bisexual writers