My Interview with Terra Snover

Terra, thanks for taking the time to do this with me. How long have you  been drawing comics?

I have been making comics from the young age of 5, back then they were  nonsensical and impossible to follow, but I made boatloads of them  anyway. In middle school and high school I joined my school paper and started making strips for said papers. Just a gag a day stuff, but it was the first time a lot of people saw my work. It wasn't until I met Colin Ringie, in high school, that I started to take making comics super seriously. He is a wonderful writer and we decided to make a web comic together, we named it "happy but dead" and it was nuts very all over the place, characters died came back to life, lived in parks, ran a porn, liquor and gun shop, like I said nuts. That comic ran for about 5 or 6 years until college became too much for me and I needed to drop it.

Any other works out there that we should check out?

The only one I would like people to see is Screamland I did coloring for that one in college and I'm super proud of that comic. The other comics I did are offline and not to see the light of day again.

Even The Humans Must Die?

Oh yeah, the 24 hour comic. I try and do the 24 hour comic each year and 90% of the time I enjoy doing it.

Is that for a Con?

No: 24 Hour Comics

(checked it out) 24 pages in 24 hours?! Holy crap, when I I did my own web comic, I could barely get a page out in 3 hours to a whole afternoon!

Hard but fun

Do have any particular artistic influences?

Yes a lot of them, but if I had to pick one I would go with my mentor Hector Casanova, he was my illustration teacher in college and he took me under his wing. Showing me that my artistic talent was not limited to just another anime artist.

Other people on my list include but is not limited to:

 Max Fleischer, creator of Betty Boop
 Hayao Miyazaki, of studio Studio Ghibli
 And Craig McCracken of the Power Puff Girls and Foster's Home for Imagery Friends.

I was a big fan of McCracken myself back in the PPG and Foster's days.  It amazes me now to think about how long ago that was! I'm also HUGE fan of Miyazaki's work. We've raised our kids on his films as much as we have with Pixar and Star Wars, so I've got to know: What's your favorite Miyazaki film?

Whisper of the Heart, it's a wonderful slice of life movie, slow, intelligent, and cute.

That is a good one. And not one that quite as many people are familiar with - and very different from his more well-known fare.

Your favorite anime?

Last exile. One of the best anime I have ever seen. The story is a lot of fun, the animation is almost perfect, and the music is well done.

There's a lot I want to ask you about Mock Girl, but first of all, Spunko the Clown... Seriously, girl, what the hell is wrong with you?! OK, Sorry... What's the inspiration here? He seriously creeps me out!

I love that character, he originally was going to be a one-shot character that maybe come back now and then, but writing for him was so much fun I had to keep him around. He is creepy, he's nuts, he that extra bit of chaos that any good webcomic needs.

Yeeeeaaaah...

...no, I'm sorry, that's pretty messed up!

As far as inspiration there wasn't much of one. When I needed a scary character for a comic I just asked myself what are people freaked out by, and clown was the only thing I could think of that I could easily fit into my story.

About the title, "Mock Girl..." Am I mistaken, or does that sound a bit like a transphobic slur?

Yes it is, and I have not heard the end of it. A week doesn't go by where I don’t get an email about it. But there is a reason I chose it.  Because if you can make use of the word in a positive light you take its power away. There a ton of slurs that out there that have been turned on their heads because people use them in a new way, just look at the music industry they do this all the time and it works.

So when you started out did you plan to have a comic about the Russian Mob, a Creepy Clown, a Vengeful B-List Celebrity and TV Camera Induced Vision Quests right from the start, or does this all come about more organically, as the story progressed?

The way I write is very fluid. I make characters put them in situations and let them react. Whenever I think too far ahead I it doesn't work out for me, I have had a lot of comics end because I get lost in the ideas and not the making of the comic.

How much of your own experiences inform the character of Sam or the story in general?

Not at all. I'm just good at imagining that kind of stuff.

A lot of transgender web-comics focus on the importance positive support from family (Validation, Princess, Venus Envy). I think it's safe to say that families don't get much more dysfunctional than Sam's. Any real life parallel or is that more of a dramatic contrast?

I had an okay life, I had my struggles but they weren't nearly as screwed up as the one I gave my main character. I have always given the characters in the comics a horrible life, that way when you see them rise above it all you are that much more invested in them. I also like the idea of you choosing your family, Sam found these crazy people, Brit, Spunko, etc and chose to let them into her life. We all can do that find the people who make you happy and they are your family. Giving the character a harder life when they make these relationships it is so much more rewarding for the reader.

One of the things that strikes me about this strip is that almost none of the drama or conflict, outside of the subconscious world anyway, actually comes from her being transgender. In fact, I'd almost say you  could have written the comic about 99% identically with a cisgender female character. (To be fair, "I DO" would definitely have to change! LOL) Is it your intention to keep Sam's gender as such a minor element to the story, or will there be some future conflicts that are more directly related to it? (Her current romantic interest perhaps/ihopenot?)

"I do."

Life has way more conflict then our genders or sexual preferences. Life is full of hardships, bills, relationships, enemies, etc. I wanted this comic to deal with a lot more than just one thing. Yes Sam is transgender, but other than when she is self-reflecting or in a relationship the transgender issue doesn’t come up. I deal with said transgender content matter when it needs to be dealt with. So far it hasn't come up a lot, but that doesn't mean it won't. Again I make characters first then come the situations, it will come up again I just don't know when.

What do you do when you’re not drawing comics?

A job I hate... if I had my choice I would be doing web comics full time.

As for other fun things I'm a game designer and freelance artist. I also enjoy a good game of Dungeon and Dragons.

That's cool! I ran a 2nd Edition (dating myself) Planescape group for a couple of years back in college. What do you consider a "good game of Dungeons and Dragons?" Any preference of Editions or Settings?

Okay, when I say, "Dungeons and Dragons," I ran role playing in general. I actually HATE D&D.

 Oh... OK... (awkward)... LOL

But I play each week with my friends, right now we are playing in the Firefly universe, before that it was the walking dead, and before that we were doing a space drama. We are all over the place. When it comes to a good game I say was the story engaging? Did people have fun? If so it was a good game.

When you say "game designer," you do mean board games, video games? Anything we'd have heard of, or could go check out?

Both. I make board games, none published as of yet. And I make video games. Way back when I did flash games, man that was a long time ago, I did a few jobs for a mobile game studio that is shut down and I'm working on a game right now that's called "Days of Ash."

You'll have to let us know when it's available!

So, shifting gears a little bit...

When you first started to transition (or when you first came out) how did family and friends react?

 My friends were like, "we know."

 My mom was upset but she has come to terms with it.

 What has been the hardest part for you?

The government red tape. Here in the USA the government is not so transgender friendly. They make everything hard to do, name changes, changing your gender on government ID's, getting medical assistance, etc. Then there is the money. It costs an average of $60,000 to make a male to female transaction, and there is not much help out there, no loans no insurance, nothing. You can get some money from crowd funding but unless you are super lucky not much comes of it.

How young were you when you first aware that there was something different about you, gender-wise?

I was 4, but I quickly found out what I was, was not okay by societal standards. So I hid it from everyone. The one regret I have was not making it known then.

Does religion play a role in your life?

No there is no religion in my life. I believe in science, not myth and faith. I'll tell people I believe in Odin and Norse myths just to push peoples’ buttons but that's about it.

Sounds right up my alley, actually. Where do fall politically?

Socialism, for the win! Not the way a lot of people have done it in the past, but if we were to support each other in every way we could the world would be a better place. "You want to be a doctor? Go for it, help your fellow man! You want to do art and make the world a more insightful and wonderful place to live? Do it! I know that there are some major pitfalls in that, but I think if we think about the world and everyone living there instead of our wallets we could make it work. Passion and innovation could be what we work for, not this other shit.

You mean working at a job you hate to buy shit you don't need with money you don't have to impress people you don't like? Yeah, I could be down with getting rid of that.

And especially with technology going the way it is, soon we won't need people to work at burger king that will be all done automatically via robotics.

True dat.

Pretty much every transgendered person I've spoken (all of them actually) have expressed some rather strong and negative opinions about the HRC (Human Rights Campaign) over the history of throwing trans- people under the bus to achieve progress exclusively for the LGB community. Do you feel the same? Is this a fair assessment?

 Yep. It's a hard truth and it's something we need to overcome.

Have seen any evidence of that happening?

I don't think people are actively doing it to be jerks, I just think it's a numbers game. There are a lot more gay and lesbians out there than transgender people. So the rights groups end up wanting to help the most amount of people so its way more LGB and less of the T.

A couple contentious issues, as they relate to more of the internal trans- politics...

How do you feel about "Gender Dysphoria" remaining in the DSM? Does the legitimacy of it being recognized as an actual condition outweigh the stigma of it (technically) be labelled, rightly or wrongly, a "mental illness?"

I don't care how they classify it just helps the people who are transgender instead of making their lives a living hell.

Do you feel that people who would otherwise pass are under any obligation to be "out?" Are they doing any harm to the rest of the trans- community by living stealth?

No, let them be who they are.

There's been a long of progress made very recently in a fairly short amount of time (not to say that there isn't a LONG way to go...) and yet it seems that the (Conservative) opposition focus mainly on just two things: Boys playing on Girls' Sports Teams, and where everyone's going to pee. If I were to extract the single Planck unit of legitimacy from all of that... With regards to say, restrooms, locker rooms and, perhaps most importantly, Women's Shelters, how does one go about making sure that ALL women, cis and trans, have appropriate access to needed facilities and services, and yet still be protected from potential rapists/perv's/peepers/etc... who might try to gain access as "trans?"

Or is this much ado about nothing?

I hate it when people call transgender people perverts. 99.9% of trans people just want to use the bathroom to pee, there is such a small pocket of people who would do anything “perverted” that it's not worth holding up people who need the help becoming who they are and feeling comfortable in their surroundings.

Ed.Note: Just to be clear, I did not mean to imply that "Trangender people were perverts," but rather that ACTUAL perverts could gain access by falsely claiming to be trans-.

If there was one thing you really wished that cisgender people better understood about transgender people, what would that be?

Nothing.

Nothing as in, "cisgender people already understand well enough," or nothing as in, "stay out of our business and we'll stay out of yours?"

I think they get it.

Interesting. I don't think I've ever gotten an answer like that.  Last question... How do you explain to thick headed conservatives people who don't understand that being trans- (or LBG for that matter) isn't a choice?

Be gay for a month or two, it's a choice right? Oh, you can't do it? Well neither can we.

*sunned silence*

Oh my God... That's a really brilliant answer.

I've asked that question of so many LGBT people, and this is the first remotely satisfactory (meaning the slightest bit helpful) answer I've gotten yet. And it's absolutely PERFECT. Sometimes the best ideas/explanations are the simplest ones. (And it's so obvious, yet sometimes those are the hardest ones to see.) I am bowled over by the elegant simplicity of this. Seriously: I will never have to ask this question again. I'm sure William (don't ask) won't buy it, but I'm certainly satisfied. THANK YOU!

Terra Snover is the creator of Mock Girl. If you are interested in supporting the comic, you can become a Patreon, or you can pick up a set of Sam's Microchip Earrings (shown below). Thanks again for talking with me!

Thank you.

Happy New Year!

*exhale*

Long break. Very long. And it's good to be back.

Before I get into anything substantial, over the holiday I saw four movies and read a book that I'd like to give my opinions on.

The first was Sleuth starring Michale Cain and Jude Law.  This was a remake of the 1972 Film starring Sir Laurence Olivier and (ironically) Michael Caine. I've not seen the original, but after seeing the performances or Cain and Law, I'd really like to. I highly re-commend this based mainly on the witty verbal banter that goes on between the two leads as each tries to put the other in his place. It's dry British humor and polite insults at their best. Really great stuff. And it's also interesting as it takes place entirely within a single setting (a single SET, even) and possibly with the smallest cast ever filmed, outside of a stand-up comedy routine. Very interesting and if you (still) have Netflix, if well worth a spot in your queue.

The Second was The Invention of Lying starring Ricky Gervais, Jennifer Garner, Rob Lowe and Jonah Hill. (Side note: DW went to grade school with Jennifer Garner. For real!)  An interesting high concept film, that imagines a world in which humans (except for ONE MAN) are incapable of lying, and people's words are always taken at face value.  What it lacked in production value and dynamic performances (despite a very talented cast, which also included Louis C.K., Tina Fey, Jefferey Tambor and Christopher Guest) it made up for in what I consider to be a fairly profound philosophical exploration of what we consider knowledge, how dogma forms, and the nature of humanity well beyond the fairly trivial deceits that we use to simply get through the day without killing each other. One thing I found particularly apt and amusing is that before the main character learned how to lie, there was NO RELIGION. And after he "invented" lying, he almost immediately (albeit inadvertently) started Religion and the belief in God and heaven. (And almost immediately the irreverent humans started asking questions and picking it apart. In any case, it was an amusing and had some pretty profound statements about humanity and religion (and it REALLY does a job on MARKETING!) and for that reason believe that it's well worth giving a chance. (Again, one for the Netflix queue.)

Third was The Muppets, starring Jason Segal, Amy Adams and (of course) Kermit the Frog and Company.  OK, so I saw with my kids, but I also saw it as a 38 year old kid who to this day still counts Jim Henson amongst his heroes.  I haven't seen ALL of the Muppet Movies over the years, but I've seem most and aside from the the original Muppet Movie (and apparently the Muppet Christmas Carol, which I haven't seen but I've been told is one of the best renditions ever done) most have been crap.  This one? Well, this one took me back a bit.  I'm only slightly ashamed to say that I shed more than a single tear hearing Brian Henson (sorry, it was Steve Whitmore!) singing "Rainbow Connection" through his Father's old avatar.  Also going for it was Fox's collective freak-out over the fact that it "secretly" (secretly!) tries to "turn your kids into liberals." (I mean... Jim Henson was a hippie? Who knew?!)  But yeah, this one really captured the spirit of what the Muppets had back when Jim was still running the show - arguably the first time Brian Henson (steve Whitmore) has REALLY gotten it right. If you loved them as a kid, you SHOULD see this.  There are just a few things I do have to point out... First off? Nowhere near the level of celebrity cameo's as in teh past. You could making a drinking game out of that in the first movie. This movie? I counted maybe... like three.  The musical numbers... *gag*. Too many,m and they were almost all sung by humans. Somehow...? It just goes down easier when it the Muppets doing the singing. And finally? It's very... dark. And fairly depression. It doesn't even END well, unless you include the throwaway ending during the credits. It had a really dark and depressing and somber tone throughout so many scenes. It's not a bad thing, necessarily, but it's a far cry for the sunshine and rainbows of the first movie.  (Of course this country, and world, is a far cry from the one Jim Henson lived in and made better by his presence, so maybe that's appropriate.)

Finally, we saw The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo with Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara and Christopher Plummer. Holy shit, what a fucking trip! AWESOME movie, MUST SE. In fact, it was so good that I plan to see the original Swedish version.  Mara gives a performance the likes of which you will likely never see again, immersing herself in the character on a level that I would not have imagined was possible. She deserves an Oscar, but (as usual) the Academy will likely fuck her over in favor of a  more bankable starlet.  But seriously: SEE IT. It's brutal, raw, in-your-face and AMAZING.  Shoot... I may even go back and read the book!

Speaking of books...

Over the break I read Killing Lincoln, by (of all people) Bill O'Rielly.  And while it may seem an incredible oddity for me to endorse ANYTHING by that buffoon, I have to admit: It made for one HELL of a read! Yeah, I was aware of a couple of historic inaccuracies, but overall I found it to be very balanced (even objective!) from a political standpoint and, for the most part, present a very conventional, non-revisionist view of the historical events being depicted. (Hey: It was Bill O'Rielly, not Glenn Beck!)  It's reads more like a novel than an historical text, and does an amazing job of really putting you on the ground, in the taverns and saloons, on the battlefields and into the halls of power, where the events of history played out for better and for worse.  I'd never thought I'd say it, but...

Bill O'Rielly did a fantastic job with this, and it is well worth giving it a read.

You will come away with a greater appreciation for the Civil War, and for what Lincoln, Grant, Lee, the Soldiers, the Slaves, the North, the South and Lincoln himself were facing during these times of trial.

Now, having read this, it got me to thinking...

Where the hell does all this HATE all this RAW, VISCERAL, unfiltered and unadulterated HATRED of  President Obama come from? From the Right, I mean. Seriously. What has this man DONE to justify this level of blood-boiling HATE?

While it's been largely lost to myth, one of the things that most people forget is that Abraham Lincoln was HATED, really hated and reviled by many, MANY people in this country during the Civil War, and immediately after and leading up to his assassination.  And really, regardless of how we in our modern and relatively progressive world might look back on the issue of Slavery, if you put yourself in the South at that time, one can see WHY so many felt this way.  Beyond the mere economic upheaval that abolition would bring about, these people's very ways of life were being turned upside down: Blacks as equals. Black VOTING. Blacks marrying white women, even! Holy crap: One day, one might even run for president!  We can laugh now, but when one considers the Country that Lincoln was endeavouring to Govern (and were it not for his untimely death, rebuild) it is easy to understand where those feelings come from.

Fast forward almost exactly one hundred years to Lyndon Johnson and the Civil Rights Act. Again, arguably the most partisan and divided this country had been since the Civil War and through to today. And again, regardless of how you feel about Jim Crow and segregation, it it not difficult to appreciate how profound that legislation was, and the impact it would have on what so many people considered "normal, moral and decent" for so many years.  We may shake our heads now, but in there shoes one can see why Johnson "lost the South for a Generation." (Actually Lyndon, it's been THREE so far, and counting!)

And fine... even when progressives and liberals are on the "winning side" (which is merely to say the RIGHT one, which history has shown us to ALWAYS be on) it's not hard to appreciate where the bitterness comes from when looking at someone like Lincoln, Kennedy or Lyndon Johnson.  What I DON'T understand is how these same people (generationally speaking, the Right / Conservatives) can find the same (or even a greater) level of hatred for a guy who HASN'T DONE ANYTHING.

(And not doing anything, in this case, is a reason for LIBERALS to dislike him, rather than Conservatives!)

Example: We're watching TV and the Kennedy Center Honors are up next.  And my Mother says to my Father, "Well, we don't need to watch that, unless you want to see Obama jigabooing it up on stage."

OK. Now I KNOW that my parents are Conservative Republicans, but really?  "Jigabooing?" Jigaboo isn't even a VERB!  It a NOUN. And it's second to "Nigger" as arguably the most racist and hateful noun in the dictionary! Look... You can support whichever candidate you want, but I doubt my mother could even articulate WHY she hates Obama so much. I mean... she's not racist. *cough, cough* And, as I and a thousand other bloggers have already pointed out: OBAMA HASN'T DONE ANYTHING!

He hasn't freed the slaves! He hasn't reversed a hundred years of lynching and segregation!

Shit: He hasn't even brought about low-cost health care!

(Or stopped the previous administration's policies of torture, rendition and murdering American Citizens without trial!  Again: A reason for LIBERALS to hate him, but Conservatives are he ones who STARTED that shit! They should LOVE this guy!)

And I've asked this question before: Absent racism, what explanation IS THERE to justify this level of hatred form the Right? What has Obama ACTUALLY DONE that is so offensive to them? Seriously. And they wonder why all we're left is:

1) He's black.
2) He's a Democrat.
3) He's the President.

And that's two out of three things he has in common with Eighteen other presidents, few of which (three or four) were anywhere near as reviled as much as this man.  But to be fair... this country ISN'T going to tar itself apart and fall into civil war over Obama's policies.  So... I just don;'t get it.

THANK YOU , Bill O'Rielly (of all people) for driving home that perspective.