MariNaomi
MariNaomi in 2021
MariNaomi in 2021
BornMari Naomi Schaal
(1973-08-02) August 2, 1973
Texas, U.S.
https://marinaomi.com/

MariNaomi (born as Mari Naomi Schaal; born August 2, 1973) is an American graphic artist and cartoonist who often publishes autobiographical comics and is also well-known for creating three online databases of underrepresented cartoonists.

Career

MariNaomi's has been drawing comics since 1997, starting out as a zine creator.[1][2] Their comics are usually autobiographical. They talk about the search for their roots, their status as a mixed race queer woman, as well as their feminism. Their article "Writing People of Color" discusses how people of color should approach writing about people from a race that is not their own.[3] MariNaomi stated "I feel like race is such a sensitive issue that I wanted feedback and I wanted to know how better to do it and to share that information.".[2]

MariNaomi wrote an article It Happened to Me: I Was Sexually Harassed Onstage at a Comic Convention Panel for XOJane in 2013 describing their experience of being harassed on stage as a panelist at a comics convention.[4] They did not name their harasser, but Scott Lobdell later came forward and issued a public apology for his actions.[5][6]

MariNaomi founded and maintains three online databases of cartoonists: the Cartoonists of Color Database, the Queer Cartoonists Database and the Disabled Cartoonists Database.[7][8][9] In 2014, they began the Cartoonists of Color Database and created the Queer Cartoonists Database soon after.[10][11] In 2019, they launched the Disabled Cartoonists Database.[12] The opt-in per creator database Queer Cartoonists contains 775 entries as of May 2018 and has been reported to be helpful in the professional careers of upcoming cartoonists.[13] Librarians and archivists specializing in comic book studies have also highlighted the need for open access databases like these.[14]

MariNaomi has written and drawn comics columns for several websites, including The Rumpus and SFBAY.ca.[15][16] In 2016, they were featured at the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center conference on imagined futures.[17] MariNaomi’s column on The Rumpus won an honorable mention in Houghton Mifflin’s Best American Comics 2013 and a SPACE prize.[18] Their art can be found in the Smithsonian, De Young Museum, Cartoon Art Museum, Asian Art Museum, the Japanese American Art Museum, and the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.[19][18] MariNaomi also taught classes for California College of the Arts Comics MFA program.[20]

Since 2017, they and fellow author Myriam Gurba have been hosting an advice podcast called AskBiGrlz Archived 2021-11-26 at the Wayback Machine where they answer listener questions.[21] In 2011 and 2018, MariNaomi toured with Sister Spit and is also a guest editor of PEN Illustrated.[20]

In 2021, MariNaomi created a Stop AAPI Hate mural in Garvey Park in Rosemead, California. The comic-strip inspired 60-by10-foot mural covers the side of a recreational park building.[22][23] Connie Chung Joe of Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Los Angeles said the mural is "a wake-up call that Asian-Americans in this country have been scapegoated. Not just by this pandemic, but time and time again in American history.”[24][25]

In May 2023, MariNaomi released their book, I Thought You Loved Me. In this book, MariNaomi goes on an emotional, reminiscent journey to try and figure out why their friendship with Jodie ended abruptly with a phone call. They used details from old journal entries and told the story through colorful collages made with mixed media such as drawings, email threads, and postcards.[26][27] During the publication process, MariNaomi faced budget issues and even a cancellation, until Fieldmouse Press picked it up.[28]

Personal life

Their mother is Japanese and their father is a Caucasian American. Born as Mari Naomi Schaal in Texas in 1973, they grew up in Mill Valley, California and later moved to San Jose, California.[2] They began using the name MariNaomi in 2003. They worked in illegal hostess bars while they briefly lived in Japan.[29] They wrote about those experiences in their memoir, Turning Japanese.[30]

Publications

  • Kiss & Tell: A Romantic Resume, Ages 0 to 22 (Harper Perennial, 2011) ISBN 0062009230
  • Dragon's Breath and Other True Stories (2dcloud/Uncivilized Books, 2014) ISBN 1941250017
  • Turning Japanese (2dcloud, 2016) ISBN 1937541169
  • I Thought YOU Hated ME (Retrofit Comics, 2016) ISBN 1940398495
  • Losing the Girl (Graphic Universe, 2018) ISBN 1541510445
  • Gravity's Pull (Graphic Universe, 2018) ISBN 1541545265
  • Distant Stars (Graphic Universe, 2020) ISBN 1541587006
  • Dirty Produce (Workman Publishing Company, 2021) ISBN 1523513314
  • I Thought You Loved Me (Fieldmouse Press, 2023) ISBN 1956636161

References

  1. Monnier, Mia Nakaji (14 September 2016). "This Cartoonist Perfectly Captures the Highs and Lows of Friendship". Los Angeles Magazine. Archived from the original on 1 January 2023. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 "Illustrating the Awesome and the Awkward: MariNaomi's Memoirs". Giant Robot Media. 11 July 2017. Archived from the original on 1 January 2023. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
  3. "Writing People of Color by MariNaomi". Midnight Breakfast. Retrieved 2019-06-25.
  4. "IT HAPPENED TO ME: I Was Sexually Harassed Onstage at a Comic Convent…". archive.fo. 2013-12-21. Archived from the original on 2013-12-21. Retrieved 2019-06-25.
  5. Polo, Susana (20 December 2013). "Scott Lobdell Outs Self as Comic Con Panel Sexual Harasser". The Mary Sue. Archived from the original on 18 February 2023. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
  6. MacDonald, Heidi (2013-12-19). "Scott Lobdell: I apologize to MariNaomi". The Beat. Retrieved 2019-06-25.
  7. "About MariNaomi". MariNaomi.com. 2019-02-13. Retrieved 2019-06-25.
  8. Aoki, Deb (2019-04-17). "MariNaomi Shines a Light on Diverse Cartoonists". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2019-06-25.
  9. Steyels, Mike (2016-09-24). "A Peek Inside the Essential 'Cartoonists Of Color' Database". Vice. Retrieved 2019-06-25.
  10. Steyels, Mike (24 September 2016). "A Peek Inside the Essential 'Cartoonists Of Color' Database". VICE. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
  11. MariNaomi. "MariNaomi, Cartoonist/Community Organizer - XOXO Festival (2018)". YouTube. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
  12. MariNaomi (October 8, 2019). "I am very pleased to announce that we have just now full-on LAUNCHED the DisabledCartoonists.com database!". Twitter. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  13. Bergdahl, Esther (28 May 2018). "Rainbow Connection: LGBTQ Publishing 2018". Publishers Weekly.
  14. Quamme, Margaret. "Virtual Art+Feminism events at Ohio State highlight databases". The Columbus Dispatch.
  15. "MariNaomi, Author at SFBay". SFBay. Retrieved 2022-03-12.
  16. "MariNaomi". The Rumpus.net. Retrieved 2022-03-12.
  17. Center, Smithsonian Asian Pacific American. "MariNaomi » CTRL+ALT: A Culture Lab on Imagined Futures". CTRL+ALT: A Culture Lab on Imagined Futures. Retrieved 2022-03-12.
  18. 1 2 "MariNaomi". PEN America. 2015-12-11. Retrieved 2023-05-24.
  19. "MariNaomi". Simon & Schuster. Retrieved 2023-05-24.
  20. 1 2 "MariNaomi | Fuse Literary". Retrieved 2023-05-24.
  21. Gurba, Myriam; MariNaomi. "AskBiGrlz". AskBiGrlz. Archived from the original on 2021-05-13. Retrieved 2021-03-24.
  22. "Murals pop up in San Gabriel Valley to combat Asian hate". Pasadena Star News. 2021-08-19. Retrieved 2022-03-12.
  23. "'A call to action': New mural in Rosemead takes aim at wave of anti-Asian hate". San Gabriel Valley Tribune. 2021-05-28. Retrieved 2022-03-12.
  24. "Stop AAPI Hate Comic by MariNaomi Installed as a Mural in Rosemead, California". Multiversity Comics. 2021-05-29. Retrieved 2022-03-12.
  25. Anderson-Minshall, Jacob (23 June 2021). "Queer Comic Artist's LA Mural Combats Anti-Asian Hate". Out Traveler. Archived from the original on 3 February 2023. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
  26. "Cartoonist MariNaomi Goes Digging for Closure in 'I Thought You Loved Me'". KQED. 2023-02-28. Retrieved 2023-05-24.
  27. Oksman, Tahneer (16 May 2023). "Why friendships end — and why our memories of them fade". The Washington Post (Book review). ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on 17 May 2023. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
  28. Kirby, Rob (18 January 2023). "Never Gonna Give You Up: PW Talks with MariNaomi". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on 24 May 2023. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
  29. Davies, Rachel (2016-05-24). "Exploring Japanese Identity as a Hostess in Illegal Expat Bars". Vice. Retrieved 2019-06-25.
  30. Dueben, Alex (2016-06-17). "MariNaomi Explores Being Young and "Turning Japanese"". CBR. Retrieved 2019-06-25.
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