“I would say one of the main things that I’m interested in is community. That was something that was really important to me when I started [making comics].”
Anya Davidson is a cartoonist who has been making work in both graphic journalism and the horror realm since she was an undergraduate student at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She’s now a Lecturer at SAIC, teaching courses like “Comics of the Fantastic” and “Graphic Journalism.”
Davidson is originally from “all over” but went to high school in Nashville, Tennessee before coming to Chicago to attend SAIC.
Some of her works include “School Spirits,” her first graphic novel, about a high schooler and her connection to the supernatural; “Band For Life,” a graphic novel about a noise rock band, set in a bizarro-world version of version of Chicago; “Lovers in the Garden,” about a colliding cast of characters in 1970s New York; and “Night and Dana,” a coming of age story about two gore-loving-high schoolers and their rocky friendship.
Davidson recalled finding a need for a community in her early days as a cartoonist. She emphasized the importance of community in her practice of making comics.
“Long before I was ever published in any kind of formal capacity, it gave me a framework — speaking to my peers and people whose work I admired and adored and learned from.” She added, “There are so many things that I love about [the comics community]. When I first started, it gave me some accountability. I learned to cartoon from the cartoonists I loved who were my peers and people in my community.”
Davidson has been teaching at SAIC since 2019.“I just get to have really great conversations. I think I love teaching because it’s so hard,” she said.
Davidson said that while she loves teaching people of all ages, she finds it especially rewarding to work with artists “of such high caliber at SAIC, and people who are really serious about making art.”
Aside from teaching, Davidson’s been continuing her practice as a cartoonist in her own right.
“I love it, because it feels impossible. Writing is such a challenge. Drawing is such a challenge. Every time I feel like I’m getting better at one aspect of cartooning, I feel like it’s time to beef up another aspect. And so, I tell my students, it’s like a puzzle with infinite solutions,” said Davidson.
She initially found an audience in her existing community, and later found larger audiences as her work became more successful.
Davidson cited a number of influences for her work, but in particular, she draws on vintage works, including “Archie” comics and Dan DeCarlo’s style.
“I feel that every person around me feels influential, and then there’s all of the different people you’re reading, especially with cartooning because you’re pulling visual and also writing influences, and then comics as a whole, and also things that aren’t comic. There’s so many pies to have your fingers in, but it feels like too much sometimes,” said Davidson.
Currently, Davidson is working on a graphic novel about Pamela Colman Smith, who was a painter, illustrator, set designer, and the creator of the Rider–Waite Tarot deck. Davidson has been working on this project in various forms for over a decade now. What draws Davidson to Smith’s life and work is, in part, the way Smith is both remembered and forgotten.
“Basically, [the tarot cards were] an illustration job. It was work-for-hire, the way you would be commissioned to draw Pokémon cards or something like that today. I think what’s part of what’s so fascinating to me about her is that she had this whole other career, this whole other life. She’s largely forgotten. She’s remembered solely for this work-for-hire job, which she did an amazing job. It’s had a really lasting impact, but there was so much more to her life,” said Davidson.
Remembrance of past artists like Smith also speaks to the way Davidson prioritizes community in the present.
Music is another major influence. She’s in a band, and has found inspiration from music in her work.
“I didn’t have an agenda when I started making comics or playing in bands. I just knew that I wanted to do both of those things. I think goal setting is important, but I also think following your obsessions is more important, especially when you’re starting out and allowing yourself to be obsessed with things and do the things you’re obsessed with and not try to fit yourself in a box for consumption,” said Davidson.
