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Julia Gfrörer (born September 12, 1982) is an American
cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comics illustrators/artists in that they produce both the litera ...
,
graphic novel A graphic novel is a self-contained, book-length form of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and Anthology, anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comics sc ...
ist, illustrator, and author. Her work is often transgressive, invoking occult themes within an ambience of subtly observed historicist concerns, in narratives generally characterized by " mumblecore dialogue, persistent overtones of horror and suffering, and unapologetic sexuality."


Background

Gfrörer graduated from Cornish College with a BFA in
printmaking Printmaking is the process of creating work of art, artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand proces ...
. Her thesis show explored depictions of
martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In ...
dom – a subject she has returned to frequently in later works (e.g. ''How Life Became Unbearable', Palm Ash', Martyrdom: A Coloring Book)''. Moving to Portland after graduation, she met Dylan Williams (founder of Sparkplug Comics) in the process of consigning her DIY mini-comic about St. Francis of Assisi at the Pony Club Gallery where he happened to be working. He became Gfrörer's first publisher. Her first full-length comic, ''Flesh & Bone'' (2010), was nominated for an
Ignatz Award The Ignatz Awards recognize outstanding achievements in comics and cartooning by small press creators or creator-owned projects published by larger publishers. They have been awarded each year at the Small Press Expo since 1997, only skipping a ...
for outstanding achievement in the form, and was excerpted in '' The Best American Comics'' (2011) anthology shortly thereafter.


Career

Gfrörer has been twice nominated for the
Ignatz Award The Ignatz Awards recognize outstanding achievements in comics and cartooning by small press creators or creator-owned projects published by larger publishers. They have been awarded each year at the Small Press Expo since 1997, only skipping a ...
and twice featured as a contributor in Best American Comics. After experimenting with self-publishing and working with a number of smaller presses (Sparkplug, Study Group etc.), Gfrörer's second graphic novella, ''Black Is The Color'', was published at
Fantagraphics Fantagraphics (previously Fantagraphics Books) is an American publisher of alternative comics, classic comic strip anthologies, manga, magazines, graphic novels, and (formerly) the Erotic comics, erotic Eros Comix imprint. They have managed sev ...
after being digitally serialized on the Study Group Comics website. Fantagraphics published her book about the
Black Death The Black Death was a bubonic plague pandemic that occurred in Europe from 1346 to 1353. It was one of the list of epidemics, most fatal pandemics in human history; as many as people perished, perhaps 50% of Europe's 14th century population. ...
, ''Laid Waste,'' in 2016 which was released to general critical acclaim. Gfrörer appeared in Fantagraphics' Next Wave panel alongside colleagues Simon Hanselmann, Anya Davidson, Benjamin Marra, and Noah Van Sciver in 2016. She's also presented at PEN America's "Transcendent Obscenity" panel, and at the Parsons School of Art & Design while teaching workshops at SAW and exhibiting work at MoCCA and elsewhere. While Fantagraphics publishes Gfrörer's major works, she continues to publish shorter works and collaborations under her own imprint, Thuban Press. In 2016, Thuban published ''No End Will Be Found'', a harrowing novella set during the Würzburg witch trials by author Gretchen Felker-Martin whose work continues to appear under the imprint. Gfrörer and Sean T. Collins (her partner & frequent collaborator) were selected to curate and edit the second volume of 2D Cloud's annual anthology ''Mirror, Mirror'' in 2017. More recently ''Analog Self-Publishing'' has been released as a starter-kit for aspiring zine and comic book artists, the ''Visions'' trilogy, and ''All-Fucked Up'' (in collaboration with Sean T. Collins & Felker-Martin).


Selected works


Graphic novellas

* ''Flesh and Bone'' (2010): after returning from a black mass, a witch meets a forlorn young man who has come to ask for her aid in reuniting him with his dead lover. Selected by Alison Bechdel for inclusion in Best American Comics 2011. * ''Black is the Color'' (2013): a 17th century sailor abandoned at sea by his shipmates endures, and eventually succumbs to, both his lingering death sentence and the advances of an amorous
mermaid In folklore, a mermaid is an aquatic creature with the head and upper body of a female human and the tail of a fish. Mermaids appear in the folklore of many cultures worldwide, including Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Africa. Mermaids are ...
. * ''Laid Waste'' (2017): as corpses accumulate around her in a plague-ravaged medieval city, a young widow named Agnès must weigh her obligations to the dead and dying against her desire to protect what little remains.


Minicomics

*''Vision (Vol. I-III)'' *''Analog Self-Publishing'' *''Dark Age'': a pair of lovers in a primeval age explore a deep cave. *''Palm Ash'': a doomed love story set during the Diocletianic Persecution. Selected by
Jonathan Lethem Jonathan Allen Lethem (; born February 19, 1964) is an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. His Debut novel, first novel, ''Gun, with Occasional Music'', a genre work that mixed elements of science fiction and detective fiction, ...
for inclusion in Best American Comics, 2015. *''Too Dark to See'': a relationship is slowly broken apart by succubi. *''Black Light'': collects the short stories "River of Tears", "All is Lost", "Unclean", and "Phosphorus". *''Goodnight Seattle'': morbid visions of ''
Frasier ''Frasier'' () is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for 11 seasons from September 16, 1993, to May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey (screenwriter), Peter Casey, and David Lee (scr ...
''. *''Ariadne auf Naxos I, II, and III'' ( Floating World Comics): short comic strips. *''All the Ancient Kings'': imagined interactions between (mostly) dead artists. *''How Life Became Unbearable'': a story involving
Francis of Assisi Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone ( 1181 – 3 October 1226), known as Francis of Assisi, was an Italians, Italian Mysticism, mystic, poet and Friar, Catholic friar who founded the religious order of the Franciscans. Inspired to lead a Chris ...
.


Collaborations

* ''In Pace Requiescat'', ''The Hideous Dropping Away of the Veil'', ''The Deep Ones'', and ''Hiders'' by Sean T. Collins, illustrated by Julia Gfrörer * ''Martyrdom: A Coloring Book'' by Hallie Fryd, illustrated by Julia Gfrörer * ''All Fucked-Up: Tales from the Roadhouse (Expanded Universe)'', featuring Julia Gfrorer, Sean T. Collins, Gretchen Felker-Martin


Other publications

* ''Mirror, Mirror II'' edited by Julia Gfrörer and Sean T. Collins (including "Heroic Devices" by Claude Paradin, translated and illustrated by Julia Gfrörer) * ''No End Will Be Found'' by Gretchen Felker-Martin (published by Thuban) * ''Symbol Reader'' (at ''
The Comics Journal ''The Comics Journal'', often abbreviated ''TCJ'', is an American magazine of news and criticism pertaining to comic books, comic strips and graphic novels. Known for its lengthy interviews with comic creators, pointed editorials and scathing r ...
'') * ''World Within the World - Collected Short Comix 2010-2021'' (2025) (published by Fantagraphics)


Anthology appearances

* ''Best American Comics, 2011'' ed. by Alison Bechdel ("Fear of Fire" excerpted from ''Flesh & Bone'') * ''Best American Comics, 2015'' ed. by
Jonathan Lethem Jonathan Allen Lethem (; born February 19, 1964) is an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. His Debut novel, first novel, ''Gun, with Occasional Music'', a genre work that mixed elements of science fiction and detective fiction, ...
("Palm Ash") * ''Kramer's Ergot #9'' ed. by Sammy Harkham ("Four Thieves") * ''Mammoth Book of Cult Comics'' ("Too Dark To See") * ''Cringe: An Anthology of Embarrassment'' * ''Black Eye #3''


Album Covers

* ''Ire Adrift, 2011'' (debut album by Ire Adrift)


References


External links


Lambiek Comiclopedia article about Julia Gfrörer.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gfrorer, Julia Alternative cartoonists American female comics writers American graphic novelists Comic book letterers Living people American female comics artists Cornish College of the Arts alumni 1982 births People from Concord, New Hampshire Writers from New Hampshire Artists from New Hampshire 21st-century American women