A Quick, Little Interview with Carrie McNinch!

How did you get interested in comix and drawing?

I was one of those geek ass girls way back in the day, y'know, the preteen years.  I loved horses (back then) and I was all about drawing.  I was into drawing because I was intensely shy and didn't speak to anybody.  Instead of talking to people or being able to make friends, I drew.  And what did I draw?  Yep...horses!  The Black Stallion and My Friend Flicka (a book and a movie, respectively) were my imagination’s best friend. And from that I started drawing horses…which is how and why I started drawing. 

I read Archie comics, too, good, clean fun.  Still one of those questions I like to debate with folks when we're all in a goofy state of mind...who was cuter...Betty or Veronica?  I liked a couple of other comics, too...Little Lulu and Uncle Scrooge.  It wasn't until years later, though, that comics really made any impression on me - when a friend gave me one of the first issues of Love and Rockets to read.

The Assassin and the Whiner started out as a collaborative effort.  How has it evolved over the years?

I often forget about that, but, yes, you are right about that.  The first issue of Asswhine was a collaborative effort between me and my best buddy in this world, Sarah, who is also my ex - we were living together when I discovered Love and Rockets.  To make a long story short, Sarah and I broke up, went our separate ways, and I ended up moving to Seattle with a girlfriend.  The girlfriend cheated on me, and when I found out, I moved back home and Sarah and I were both homesteading together again, both of us looking for love!  That's how that first issue came about.  I had a crush on a grocery clerk girl and she had a crush on a cute neighbor boy from Spain.  I convinced her to do a comic.  Thus spawned Asswhine.
            Of course, it was never really a collaborative effort.  Just me trying to convince her because I wasn't confident enough to do it (the comic/zine thing) on my own.  It's evolved a lot over the years.  Chalk it up to the aging process.  You grow, you make mistakes, you learn a little, you figure out some way of improving, and so on and so on.

One of the things I love about Asswhine is how you draw yourself differently sometimes, and in various degrees of detail.  Could you comment a bit on your drawing style and the steps you take to create an issue of Asswhine?

Well, thank you.  It really is interesting to me to find out what it is about Asswhine that people find interesting.  It is so personal to me, reduced (refined?) to just words and pictures drawn on paper.  I've never thought of myself as having a particular drawing style, I don't even think of myself as that good of an artist.  I'd call myself adequate and capable.

I used to write "diary" type writings every day, thus making it easy for me to plan to do an issue of Asswhine.  Frequently I'd write those directly on Bristol board and start to draw them out right away that night/day (usually the ones that made it into Asswhine), and then I'd refer to the rest of my notes taken during that period to flesh out the issue.  That was how I did it then.  Now I just write tons and tons of notes and day-to-day observations to myself.

Asswhine is quite personal, even in comparison to some other autobiographical comix.  What are some of the inherent difficulties associated with putting so many of your feelings and experiences into comic form?

        Knowing other people will read it and form whatever opinions.  Especially when I talk about alcoholism and mental health issues.  Some people tend to judge really quickly.  Pick out what they perceive as weaknesses or character flaws.  Knowing that what I write and draw will always be perceived as a truth when maybe in fact it is just something I am trying to deal with or get through.  Words stuck in a time frame when I believe in both how change is needed, and remembering what it was that brought or got me there.

By zinester standards, you’ve been publishing for a long time.  What are your impressions of the zine and comix community today as opposed to when you first started?

        Well, when I first started doing zines, most zines out there were about music or music-based.  One didn't come across that many auto-bio zines.  Nor did the zine and comix communities seem that intermingled, whereas comix are definitely part of zine culture today.

You also publish the zine Food Geek.  How did you get started with that and does it draw a different readership than your comix do?

        I've always had a love of food and fascination with old recipes, cookbooks, and advertising.  A big part of my love for food has to do with its sharing aspects, how food itself can bond people from different background and cultures.  Having a good meal and conversation with a group of people is one of my favorite experiences in life.  I started to do Food Geek after I had put together a compilation zine on crushes.  I liked doing the compilation zine thing and was getting more into food writing, thus the idea of a food comp. zine was born. 

        Yes, it draws a different audience than Asswhine, which gets readers that are just into comics.  Food Geek gets people that aren't familiar with comix or auto-bio zines.

So, who is cuter? Betty or Veronica?

        Back in the day Betty was my girl, my cutie.  Betty seemed so nice while Veronica just seemed a...tad hard to please.  So my answer is Betty.  Betty is cuter.  

Carrie is up to issue #14 of The Assassin and the Whiner (all back issues are still available for $1 each).  Food Geek #6 is in the works, so pre-order now (also only $1) and get ready to start cooking (and eating!).  Contact Carrie at PO Box 49403, LA, CA 90049 or email her for more information at foodgeekmmm@hotmail.com.

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