Posted in: Comics | Tagged: Comics, entertainment, image comics, Self-Obsessed, Sina grace

'The World Took Away My Desire To Live, Love And Make Stories' – Sina Grace On Self-Obsessed

Published Wed, 01 Jul 2015 17:00:00 -0500

Sina Grace is known for many things. I personally know his name from Penny Dora and the Wishing Box, which is a comic that I love very much. So, when I see his name, it obviously catches my attention. Turns out, Sina is returning to his slice-of-life roots with a new graphic novel memoir entitled Self-Obsessed. From Image Comics, the book spawned from the one-shot of the same name. Except this time, there will be over 80 pages of new material, providing readers an intimate peek into the brain of an artist asking himself what depths he'll need to plumb to be anybody's somebody.

After a critically successful run on two Burn the Orphanage miniseries, a return to the cult favorite Li'l Depressed Boy, and the launch of the all-ages series Penny Dora and the Wishing Box, Grace thought 2014 was his year to shine. Unfortunately, a number of personal tribulations—including a death in the family and the end of a longterm relationship—derailed all momentum and sent him spiraling into a depression. After leaving his hometown of Los Angeles and traveling across the American Southwest, Grace found his passion project for 2015: himself.

Grace spoke about his journey by saying:

It felt like the world took away every incentive to live, love, and make stories. After a lot of grieving and introspection, I decided that all I wanted to do was tell stories that were 100% the realest me I could give the reader. #YOLO.

The stories in Self-Obsessed reflect the ups-and-downs of breaking into comics, reconciling relationships past, and discovering what true selfhood looks like. Mixed with long-forgotten strips unearthed from the creator's messy archives, conversations with contemporaries Ryan O'Connell and Colleen Green, as well as essays exploring gender, identity, and pursuing one's dreams, Grace brings a whole new spin to memoir for the Twitter age.

I honestly couldn't be more excited about this. I can't wait to grab my own copy and revel in this genius' work. Self-Obsessed will hit stores on September 30^th. The graphic novel will include an introduction from Jeff Lemire (Descender, Sweet Tooth), as well as a free audiobook download.

Christine Marie is a Staff Writer at Bleeding Cool, and bibliomaniac with a love for all things creative. She hopes to one day be a Superhero/Disney Princess/Novelist. You can find her on Twitter and Instagram @AWritersWay or on her blog writerchristinemarie.wordpress.com.