Jennifer Crute-comics & illustration

Photo, text, and augmentation by,
K.K.W

When its comes to comics, as a general rule, its a field dominated by "comic book artists"- a label thats becoming more out-dated every year. And yet now, more then ever, there are so many stories crafted on the edge of the industry, with great care, skill, personal style, and surpasses the label of "comic book artist".

Image courtesy of the artist

"Jennifer's Journal (the life of a Sub-urban girl volume 1)", Crute's graphic novel, is a heartfelt personal tale of the artist/authors adult  years and childhood. Despite its cute, cartoon-like look, which I think is a personal choice of style for a more expedient process and maybe nostalgia about "comic-strips" ("The Squirrel Cage", "Hagar the horrible", etc), its not a book for kids. 

Image courtesy of the artist.

At times brutally honest, funny, clever, with great little insights into the artist, giving the viewer/reader unfiltered info, through a cartoon-like style and approach, similar to Marjane Satrapi's "Persepolis". And like Satrapi's story, Crute's is not only a memoir, in a way, but also a 'Bildungsroman' (a formation novel).


Much like its creator, "Jennifer's Journal (the life of a Sub-urban girl volume 1)" is more then one dimensional in its content and style, a serious mark in medium (and industry), with too few works by African American women. In addition to this Jennifer Crute is also a stunning visual artist, whose skill goes beyond the label "comic book artist". She's certainly one of the most interesting creative individuals on the scene, in New York City. 

Image courtesy of the artist

Image courtesy of the artist

Image courtesy of the artist.

If you would like to know more, go to:http://www.crutecomics.com/?zx=d7b7b08e5f64a60c,

or to purchase a copy:http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/5uburban3

"Art is the reason, art is the way". Article by K.K.W