A graphic novelist, a political cartoonist, and an illustrator join a collective part of an entirely new form of journalism. Though they are defined differently by the outside world, these three artists are part of a new style of journalism that could change the way we see the news. Each is a member of Graphic Journos, a collective dedicated to promoting new narrative forms in a world with “new technology and economic constraints.” (graphicjournos.com) Dan Archer is the graphic novelist, Jen Sorenson the political cartoonist, and Wendy MacNaughton the illustrating documentarian. They are artists with a knack for storytelling, though each of them talks about their artistic inclinations first. Each started drawing at an early age, then developed a desire to document the world around them. Though they’ve all become experts in some niche of illustrating, they are doing the work that goes beyond today’s definitions of journalism. Thus they become Dan Archer, Jen Sorenson, and Wendy MacNaughton: pioneers of nonfiction graphic communication.
Dan Archer has been drawing since he was a child, especially during his middle school years. He says he was always editorializing as well, but it wasn’t until he saw Joe Sacco’s work during his gap year in Spain that he realized the potential for the graphic format. Joe Sacco is a famed comics artist and journalist who has pioneered nonfictional graphic expression. His book Palestine played a part in convincing Dan Archer to pursue his drawing more seriously. He soon enrolled at the Center for Cartoon Studies to learn the form of comics journalism. Unsatisfied with freelance illustration work, Archer seeks to tell compelling, true stories through his graphic works. Both Jen Sorenson and Wendy MacNaughton share the same desire- to showcase people and issues to the world so that people must pay attention. They’ve all simply combined their artistic qualities with their journalistic impulses.
Jen Sorenson spent her childhood drawing comics, then spent college submitting graphics to the school newspaper, then promptly resisted comics artistry as a career. Like any finicky college student, Sorenson contemplated many different majors at the University of Virginia before deciding on anthropology. She then
Wendy MacNaughton’s childhood obsession with drawing led her to the Center College of Design in Pasadena. “Art school kicks the drawing out of you,” she says of her years there, where the curriculum was focused more on conceptual art than illustration. Immediately after graduating from art school, MacNaughton became a copywriter for an advertising firm. Though she reflects on the stint as a ‘dream job’ to land right out of school, she hated it. Soon she was presented with the opportunity to illustrate promotions for democratic elections in Rwanda. Her reaction at the dream job: “I’m outta here.” Such is the impulse of all three of these storytellers- to illustrate and inform the stories that might otherwise go untold.
Maybe you could talk about their work before diving into their bios. Since you have a lot of individual biographical information about each of them, it might be nice to tell us what they actually do as members of this collective, as the collective is the unifying force. Basically--why should I care about where they come from? What did they do so that I would care? Don't know if that helps...
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