An Interview with Cara Gormally

Comics gave me a voice to process that experience. Comics made the process less lonely.

We are very excited to feature an interview with Cara Gormally! Autobiographix had followed Cara’s work, which integrates research and the personal in fascinating, engaging ways, for a while when they reached out about collaborating on a series about indie comics substacks. It was amazing to see how many comics substacks are out there—and this discovery made possible by Cara’s community-building efforts. Now, we are delighted to turn the spotlight on them, their thoughts on comic-making, and their inviting work.

1. Describe your comics journey--how did you get into making comics?

I started making comics while I was in grad school in my 20s. I made them just for myself. As a kid, I liked art. So, it felt like a tiny gift, these moments making comics. I made them on paper, with pencil and colored pencils.

When my partner and I started to try to have a baby as a queer couple, comics took on new meaning for me. Comics became this way for me to integrate the esoteric science I was reading about artificial reproductive techniques like IVF with the reality of that experience in my life as a queer person. Comics gave me a voice to process that experience. Comics made the process less lonely. From this work, I learned that integrating deep dives into research with comic-making helped me make meaning.

2. How did you develop your voice/unique comics style? How would you describe your work and how do other mediums (or disciplines) inform your approach?

My comics style has evolved as I moved from working on paper with colored pencils to ink to primarily working in Procreate. I still make comics for myself on paper. The toothiness of paper brings me joy. And there’s something so sensorily satisfying about making marks with color on paper, whether that’s colored pencils or crayons.

My comics are deeply informed by science. I delve into human biology, neuroscience, evolutionary biology, ecology, and climate change science, as well as psychology, to create researched non-fiction comic narratives or integrate this research with memoir.

I’m intrigued by puppets, paper machete, and collage—but I’m not sure those mediums have found their way into my comics yet. Maybe that’s my next frontier as my work evolves.

3. What are the joys and challenges of working in comics?

For me, the biggest challenge of working in comics is time. Finding enough time. There’s never enough. I dream of open unstructured days that unfold ahead of me without responsibilities. That’s just not my reality, balancing a multi-faceted career and family with a young kid. But I’ve learned to use tiny bits of time effectively.

Another big challenge—I think it’s probably a forever-challenge—is trusting the process. I’m continually supporting myself to relax into the moment, to allow the hard parts of the process, reminding myself it’s okay that I don’t know what happens next. I think so many of us struggle with this. What helps me is lots of self-compassion. And crying. I love crying. Somehow, I equate crying with snails, that to move forward, to take the next step, I have to release something. I spent some time at my friend’s house in Maine and enjoyed seeing snails every day.

Comics community brings me so much joy. Someone once said “comics people are the best people.” I cosign that. Comics community is what made my book possible. I deeply appreciated the constructive feedback and questions from other cartoonists. Their insights helped to propel my work forward. Making comics can be so lonely. Joining others in the process gives me so much joy. I’m so grateful for comics people, for their determined dedication to telling their stories, for their creativity, and for their generosity.

4. Are you working on something now? Anything you want readers to know about?

My first book comes out April 15. Everything is Fine, I’ll Just Work Harder is a graphic memoir about a transformative journey in therapy that I never planned to take. It’s a story about how my life as a constantly-busy science professor exploded after an unexpected trigger of a past trauma—and how I found my way back home to myself. It’s also the story of the mundane ordinary moments of life and how those moments shape the larger structure of our lives. I’m so grateful to Street Noise Books for the opportunity to share my story out in the world.

One of the deepest pleasures of my life is what I like to call “deep dives into research.” Reading research and making comics about what I learn is so satisfying. Last year, I delved into learning about shame. Shame had shaped so much of my life—before therapy, I didn’t fully recognize it. After deconstructing my shame, I started to notice it everywhere and I got fascinated and made lots of comics about it, including about the evolutionary origins of shame—if you’re curious, too, I hope you’ll check out my Substack, Soft Things. I’m also fascinated about process—some of my favorites about that are about comics-making as a rollercoaster, the emotions involved in making comics, and the challenge of trusting the process.

I’ve been quiet on Substack as I finished my book and started some new projects. But I’m looking forward to sharing some new work soon.

I’m deep into a second graphic memoir—a series of braided essays about emotional inheritance, climate change, and puffins. I’m deeply enjoying the research deep dives for these essays. They take me to all kinds of unexpected places and I find so much joy there.