MattBrady
10-10-2006, 11:13 AM
<img src="http://www.newsarama.com/general/CancerVixen/Cancer_Vixen_cover1.jpg" align="right"><i>by Daniel Robert Epstein</i>
Cate Blanchett is the one of the most talented and luminous women I have ever met. After years of amazing roles in films like <i>Elizabeth</i> and <i>The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou</i>, she was finally rewarded with an Oscar statuette for <i>The Aviator</i>. She’s got a trifecta of films for release this year and at the junket for one of them, <i>Notes from a Scandal</i>, I got a chance to toss some questions at her about her upcoming film adaptation of the autobiographical graphic novel, <i>Cancer Vixen</i>.
<b>Newsarama</b>: I interviewed Marisa Marchetto a couple of months ago about <b>Cancer Vixen</b>.
<b>Cate Blanchett</b>: I just saw her last night!
<b>NRAMA</b>: What made you want to star in the <b>Cancer Vixen</b> film adaptation?
<b>CB</b>: It’s an astonishing way to tell that story. When you hear the title you go “Cancer Vixen? What’s this?” Then you see the account is in cartoon and it is an exhilarating read. It’s finding the right director who has the visual inventiveness and is able to tap into the panic and the anxiety that’s underpinning the black humor. It is still very much a work in progress and I think the first job is to find the form. You’re not just optioning someone’s experience with cancer but it is also the way that it is expressed that makes it unique.
<b>NRAMA</b>: Marisa told me she hopes you will shoot it in New York and at [her husband’s restaurant] Da Silvano [which is featured prominently in the book].
<b>CB</b>: [laughs] Anything I can do to help would be an absolute pleasure.
<i>original article follows</i>
Marisa Acocella Marchetto is a New Jersey born cartoonist best known for her cartoons printed in <i>The New Yorker, Glamour</i> and <i>The New York Times</i>. Actually, that was what she <i>was</i> best known for, right up until September 26th when her new book <b>Cancer Vixen</b> was released by Knopf books. With Academy Award winning actor Cate Blanchett signing on to star in the movie adaptation of the book, this is another milestone in this new era for original graphic novels.
<b>Cancer Vixen</b> is the true story of Marchetto’s battle with cancer. At age 43, Marchetto was so obsessed with doing everything that a fashionista does to stay in the game that she forgot to keep up with her insurance. Marchetto was at a great period in her life when breast cancer struck - her romance with restaurateur Silvano Marchetto was leading towards marriage and she had finally broken through the “ceiling” at <i>The New Yorker</i>. But Marchetto fought a tough battle with cancer and an even tougher one finding the right shoes to wear to chemotherapy.
<b>Newsarama</b>: Just to clarify was the book finished in 2005 or is that when the final treatments were?
<b>Marisa Acocella Marchetto</b>: I had the final treatments in 2005 and I completed the book this past June.
<B>NRAMA</B>: How are you doing now?
<b>MAM</b>: I’m doing great. I’m cancer free and everything’s wonderful.
<B>NRAMA</B>: How is the new marriage going?
<img src="http://www.newsarama.com/general/CancerVixen/Cancer_Vixen_page_pic1.jpg" align="left"><b>MAM</b>: Silvano and I have been married about a year and he’s happy that I’m finished with the book because it was a lot of work and I didn’t really see anybody for while I was working on it. Now that I’m not working 20 hours a day I get to spend more time with him. He’s actually coming with me to Chicago while I go on book tour. Breast cancer is in some ways is harder on your spouse or significant because even though you’re going through it, they have all sorts of emotions like, “Are you going to survive?” “What are you going to be like?” There’s nothing they can do except be there. There’s a feeling of lack of control that is very difficult to deal with. First of all he’s happy that I’m healthy. Secondly he’s really happy with the book and he’s happy to celebrate the release.
<B>NRAMA</B>: So the book started as a piece in <i>Glamour</i>?
<b>MAM</b>: Yeah, it was in <i>Glamour</I>. It ran in May 2005 and it was six pages. <i>The New York Times</i> had written about it and the book went to auction and it was published through a great publisher. It’s been like a dream thing for the whole way through. As horrible as cancer was, is how wonderful the experience of writing the book was.
<B>NRAMA</B>: Had you done a book before?
<b>MAM</b>: I had a previous book and it was called <b>Just Who the Hell is She Anyway</b>? It was a graphic novel that came out in 1994. Back then it was a very different climate then for graphic novel. They were not as accepted in the mainstream as they are now. Nobody knew what to do with it or how to sell it. It is a great thing that people have discovered graphic novels not just as novelty comic books but as a legitimate source of literature.
<B>NRAMA</B>: How was the process of turning the <i>Glamour</i> piece into an entire book?
<b>MAM</b>: I had taken notes all along the way so it was just a matter of me getting organized. That was the most difficult part because, as you can tell, I was a little bit all over the place.
<B>NRAMA</B>: While you were going through all the chemo treatments were you already visualizing how it would look on the pages?
<b>MAM</b>: A lot of it yeah, I was. But for a lot of it I just took notes because I didn’t know how I would process it in book form.
<B>NRAMA</B>: Were any scenes more difficult to visualize than others?
<b>MAM</b>: The thing that was the hardest for me was drawing the unborn children. That was the most traumatic thing I went through. That moment when I found out that I wouldn’t have kids. Going through that was horrible and I was crying as I was drawing.
<B>NRAMA</B>: What did taking all the photos and taping all the conversations with the doctors do for you?
<img src="http://www.newsarama.com/general/CancerVixen/Cancer_Vixen_page_pic2.jpg" align="right"><b>MAM</b>: There were two good things about it. First of all when you talk to your doctor and they give you all this information they’re speaking very clearly but I didn’t hear it that way because I was in trauma mode. I couldn’t process the information and then when I went back and listened to the tapes I was like, “Oh, ok, that’s what he meant. He was speaking clearly. Now I understand.” So I think it’s actually a good thing if a doctor will allow you to tape them because a lot of them don’t. Sometimes it is the rules of the hospital or it may just depend on the specific doctor. But if you’re able to tape the conversation it’s better for the patient.
<B>NRAMA</B>: How close is the book to what really happened?
<b>MAM</b>: There are some people who were changed but all of my friends are exactly as they appear. Except my mother who is really upset because she lost 35 pounds. There were some characters I had to sort of alter. One example of that would be the holistic oncologist.
<B>NRAMA</B>: Because he gets ripped into.
<b>MAM</b>: Yeah, as he should have.
<B>NRAMA</B>: [laughs] What did your mother actually think of the book beyond her appearance?
<b>MAM</b>: Oh my God she’s so happy.
<B>NRAMA</B>: Does she know that you call her the (S)mother?
<b>MAM</b>: Oh yeah, I’ve been calling her that for years.
<B>NRAMA</B>: Does she feel it was a true portrayal of her?
<b>MAM</b>: She does. She’s a larger than life character. But even though she comes across as loud, she’s really soft-spoken.
<B>NRAMA</B>: What did Silvano think of the book?
<b>MAM</b>: Well if you could see the restaurant [Da Silvano], he’s got a huge poster of the book cover there. He has a display for the book. I think he’s pretty happy.
<B>NRAMA</B>: How much of the book was done on the computer?
<b>MAM</b>: Just the color. I did everything by hand actually. With the photos in the book, I would Xerox it in position but then it was done by, I guess, scanning.
<B>NRAMA</B>: I love the colors in the book.
<b>MAM</b>: Thank you. I did cartoons in <i>Glamour</i> every month in color. I draw it by hand first and then I do the colors in Photoshop.
<B>NRAMA</B>: Was there ever an idea that it wouldn’t be in color?
<b>MAM</b>: No, I always had wanted to do it in color because I wanted to present it as like a very serious topic and I felt like the color was part of the communication.
<B>NRAMA</B>: Was it just impossible for you to avoid putting humor into the book?
<b>MAM</b>: Yeah because that’s the kind of person I am. I will always try to find humor or something positive in a bad situation. I’ve gotten to that place now because I certainly wasn’t always like that.
<B>NRAMA</B>: Do you feel like you’ve changed a lot from the way you describe yourself as a shoe-crazy, lipstick-obsessed woman?
<b>MAM</b>: Yeah, well I still am shoe crazy but I’m not going to almost die over a pair of shoes again, well you know what I mean. Part of the reason I didn’t have insurance was because while I was a struggling cartoonist, I was investing in shoes instead of investing in health insurance. I also was lazy and let it lapse because I was on deadline but I wouldn’t make that mistake again.
<B>NRAMA</B>: At first you were really concerned with what caused your cancer, but now...?
<img src="http://www.newsarama.com/general/CancerVixen/Cancer_Vixen_page_pic3.jpg" align="left"><b>MAM</b>: Well, now I think it’s a product of Benzene in the air and hormones in your food. I think it’s caused by birth control pills and cigarette smoke and a lot of other things we don’t even know about. I think it’s a manmade thing. All the stuff we put in the food and what’s in the air and in our water. I don’t think cancer was around when the dinosaurs were on the planet.
<B>NRAMA</B>: How important was it to have a portion of the book’s profits going to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation?
<b>MAM</b>: That was extremely important to me. They are extremely important because they will be the ones to find a cure for cancer. I had so much support and love for what I was going through and I felt it was so important for me to give back in gratitude.
<B>NRAMA</B>: Do you go to any cancer support groups?
<b>MAM</b>: I never really did go to any support groups. I just had my friends and my family and my husband and they’ve all been great.
<B>NRAMA</B>: What do you think about all this great press you’ve been getting?
<b>MAM</b>: I’m happy and if it helps people then that’s great. The best thing was to be able to draw cancer cells and laugh at them and therefore making them less threatening, which made it easier for me to overcome the illness. If that can help somebody else who’s going through it or even somebody who has a bad hair day or is a little bit fat, you find that is not what’s important in life. So if all this press helps reach those people, then that’s what really matters to me.
<B>NRAMA</B>: Were you blown away when Cate Blanchett agreed to be in the film version of <b>Cancer Vixen</b>?
<b>MAM</b>: I think Cate Blanchett is the greatest actress in the world. So to have that happen just blew me away. I haven’t met her yet. I’m really looking forward to it. I don’t know how she’ll be handling it but everything she does is amazing and I can’t wait to see how she approaches the material.
<B>NRAMA</B>: Do you know if they have a screenwriter or anything like that?
<b>MAM</b>: I have no idea. I’m just hearing bits and pieces but I don’t know what the status is at this point other than they just bought it and they’re looking at directors and producers. I think her husband is going to produce it.
<B>NRAMA</B>: I hope they shoot the film in New York City.
<b>MAM</b>: I hope they shoot it at Da Silvano. I think they should. I hope they keep it as authentic as possible but she has so much integrity I don’t think that’s going to be an issue at all.
<B>NRAMA</B>: Have you always drawn?
<b>MAM</b>: Yes since I was like three or four. I started art lessons when I was four. I think it’s kind of a nervous habit.
<B>NRAMA</B>: What got you started?
<b>MAM</b>: It was my mother. She was a shoe designer and she would do these reports of who would wear her shoes so she would draw these great looking women with great looking shoes and I think I was just imitating her.
<B>NRAMA</B>: Were you always doing strips or were you just drawing?
<img src="http://www.newsarama.com/general/CancerVixen/Marisa_pic1.jpg" align="right"><b>MAM</b>: Well when I was eight my father had decided, “Ok we’re going to have a real vacation and go to Bermuda” instead of us going to the Jersey Shore. We went to this resort, which was really quite nice but my mother didn’t like the room and wanted something a little bit bigger. So she asked the owner of the resort if we could have something that would make her happy. He said “Well there’s really nothing in the resort but there’s this big pink elephant of a house on the fringe of the resort that nobody seems to want. You’re welcome to stay there.” We did and on the walls were all these drawings with captions and it turned out to be [legendary <i>New Yorker</I> magazine cartoonist] James Thurber’s house. That night I just stayed up and I read everything. All the old <i>New Yorkers</i>, all the drawings, everything I possibly could. I stayed up until four o’clock in the morning and then woke up at seven o’clock with like 400 red ants crawling all over me. It was then that I say I was bitten by the cartoonist bug.
<B>NRAMA</B>: [laughs] Did you develop your style when you were in college?
<b>MAM</b>: I think I had the style all along actually.
<B>NRAMA</B>: Most of the people I talk to are straight up comic book creators. You’re in a much different world than them. How did you start your career on doing comic strips for magazines?
<b>MAM</b>: <i>Glamour</i> was looking for a cartoonist and I have friends over there. But I still had to make a pitch and fight for that. I started out my career with doing page long stories. I had a cartoon character called SHE in <i>Glamour</i>. Somebody asked me to start doing single panels so I did. I really wanted to get into <i>The New Yorker</i>, so I made that my mission.
<B>NRAMA</B>: What is the next thing you’re working on?
<b>MAM</b>: I’m going to be writing a book. I have an idea that I’m going to be working on. I believe that you should keep all the balls going and keep moving.
<i><b>Cancer Vixen</b> is a 224 page hardcover and is priced at $22.00
http://www.cancervixen.com </i>
Cate Blanchett is the one of the most talented and luminous women I have ever met. After years of amazing roles in films like <i>Elizabeth</i> and <i>The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou</i>, she was finally rewarded with an Oscar statuette for <i>The Aviator</i>. She’s got a trifecta of films for release this year and at the junket for one of them, <i>Notes from a Scandal</i>, I got a chance to toss some questions at her about her upcoming film adaptation of the autobiographical graphic novel, <i>Cancer Vixen</i>.
<b>Newsarama</b>: I interviewed Marisa Marchetto a couple of months ago about <b>Cancer Vixen</b>.
<b>Cate Blanchett</b>: I just saw her last night!
<b>NRAMA</b>: What made you want to star in the <b>Cancer Vixen</b> film adaptation?
<b>CB</b>: It’s an astonishing way to tell that story. When you hear the title you go “Cancer Vixen? What’s this?” Then you see the account is in cartoon and it is an exhilarating read. It’s finding the right director who has the visual inventiveness and is able to tap into the panic and the anxiety that’s underpinning the black humor. It is still very much a work in progress and I think the first job is to find the form. You’re not just optioning someone’s experience with cancer but it is also the way that it is expressed that makes it unique.
<b>NRAMA</b>: Marisa told me she hopes you will shoot it in New York and at [her husband’s restaurant] Da Silvano [which is featured prominently in the book].
<b>CB</b>: [laughs] Anything I can do to help would be an absolute pleasure.
<i>original article follows</i>
Marisa Acocella Marchetto is a New Jersey born cartoonist best known for her cartoons printed in <i>The New Yorker, Glamour</i> and <i>The New York Times</i>. Actually, that was what she <i>was</i> best known for, right up until September 26th when her new book <b>Cancer Vixen</b> was released by Knopf books. With Academy Award winning actor Cate Blanchett signing on to star in the movie adaptation of the book, this is another milestone in this new era for original graphic novels.
<b>Cancer Vixen</b> is the true story of Marchetto’s battle with cancer. At age 43, Marchetto was so obsessed with doing everything that a fashionista does to stay in the game that she forgot to keep up with her insurance. Marchetto was at a great period in her life when breast cancer struck - her romance with restaurateur Silvano Marchetto was leading towards marriage and she had finally broken through the “ceiling” at <i>The New Yorker</i>. But Marchetto fought a tough battle with cancer and an even tougher one finding the right shoes to wear to chemotherapy.
<b>Newsarama</b>: Just to clarify was the book finished in 2005 or is that when the final treatments were?
<b>Marisa Acocella Marchetto</b>: I had the final treatments in 2005 and I completed the book this past June.
<B>NRAMA</B>: How are you doing now?
<b>MAM</b>: I’m doing great. I’m cancer free and everything’s wonderful.
<B>NRAMA</B>: How is the new marriage going?
<img src="http://www.newsarama.com/general/CancerVixen/Cancer_Vixen_page_pic1.jpg" align="left"><b>MAM</b>: Silvano and I have been married about a year and he’s happy that I’m finished with the book because it was a lot of work and I didn’t really see anybody for while I was working on it. Now that I’m not working 20 hours a day I get to spend more time with him. He’s actually coming with me to Chicago while I go on book tour. Breast cancer is in some ways is harder on your spouse or significant because even though you’re going through it, they have all sorts of emotions like, “Are you going to survive?” “What are you going to be like?” There’s nothing they can do except be there. There’s a feeling of lack of control that is very difficult to deal with. First of all he’s happy that I’m healthy. Secondly he’s really happy with the book and he’s happy to celebrate the release.
<B>NRAMA</B>: So the book started as a piece in <i>Glamour</i>?
<b>MAM</b>: Yeah, it was in <i>Glamour</I>. It ran in May 2005 and it was six pages. <i>The New York Times</i> had written about it and the book went to auction and it was published through a great publisher. It’s been like a dream thing for the whole way through. As horrible as cancer was, is how wonderful the experience of writing the book was.
<B>NRAMA</B>: Had you done a book before?
<b>MAM</b>: I had a previous book and it was called <b>Just Who the Hell is She Anyway</b>? It was a graphic novel that came out in 1994. Back then it was a very different climate then for graphic novel. They were not as accepted in the mainstream as they are now. Nobody knew what to do with it or how to sell it. It is a great thing that people have discovered graphic novels not just as novelty comic books but as a legitimate source of literature.
<B>NRAMA</B>: How was the process of turning the <i>Glamour</i> piece into an entire book?
<b>MAM</b>: I had taken notes all along the way so it was just a matter of me getting organized. That was the most difficult part because, as you can tell, I was a little bit all over the place.
<B>NRAMA</B>: While you were going through all the chemo treatments were you already visualizing how it would look on the pages?
<b>MAM</b>: A lot of it yeah, I was. But for a lot of it I just took notes because I didn’t know how I would process it in book form.
<B>NRAMA</B>: Were any scenes more difficult to visualize than others?
<b>MAM</b>: The thing that was the hardest for me was drawing the unborn children. That was the most traumatic thing I went through. That moment when I found out that I wouldn’t have kids. Going through that was horrible and I was crying as I was drawing.
<B>NRAMA</B>: What did taking all the photos and taping all the conversations with the doctors do for you?
<img src="http://www.newsarama.com/general/CancerVixen/Cancer_Vixen_page_pic2.jpg" align="right"><b>MAM</b>: There were two good things about it. First of all when you talk to your doctor and they give you all this information they’re speaking very clearly but I didn’t hear it that way because I was in trauma mode. I couldn’t process the information and then when I went back and listened to the tapes I was like, “Oh, ok, that’s what he meant. He was speaking clearly. Now I understand.” So I think it’s actually a good thing if a doctor will allow you to tape them because a lot of them don’t. Sometimes it is the rules of the hospital or it may just depend on the specific doctor. But if you’re able to tape the conversation it’s better for the patient.
<B>NRAMA</B>: How close is the book to what really happened?
<b>MAM</b>: There are some people who were changed but all of my friends are exactly as they appear. Except my mother who is really upset because she lost 35 pounds. There were some characters I had to sort of alter. One example of that would be the holistic oncologist.
<B>NRAMA</B>: Because he gets ripped into.
<b>MAM</b>: Yeah, as he should have.
<B>NRAMA</B>: [laughs] What did your mother actually think of the book beyond her appearance?
<b>MAM</b>: Oh my God she’s so happy.
<B>NRAMA</B>: Does she know that you call her the (S)mother?
<b>MAM</b>: Oh yeah, I’ve been calling her that for years.
<B>NRAMA</B>: Does she feel it was a true portrayal of her?
<b>MAM</b>: She does. She’s a larger than life character. But even though she comes across as loud, she’s really soft-spoken.
<B>NRAMA</B>: What did Silvano think of the book?
<b>MAM</b>: Well if you could see the restaurant [Da Silvano], he’s got a huge poster of the book cover there. He has a display for the book. I think he’s pretty happy.
<B>NRAMA</B>: How much of the book was done on the computer?
<b>MAM</b>: Just the color. I did everything by hand actually. With the photos in the book, I would Xerox it in position but then it was done by, I guess, scanning.
<B>NRAMA</B>: I love the colors in the book.
<b>MAM</b>: Thank you. I did cartoons in <i>Glamour</i> every month in color. I draw it by hand first and then I do the colors in Photoshop.
<B>NRAMA</B>: Was there ever an idea that it wouldn’t be in color?
<b>MAM</b>: No, I always had wanted to do it in color because I wanted to present it as like a very serious topic and I felt like the color was part of the communication.
<B>NRAMA</B>: Was it just impossible for you to avoid putting humor into the book?
<b>MAM</b>: Yeah because that’s the kind of person I am. I will always try to find humor or something positive in a bad situation. I’ve gotten to that place now because I certainly wasn’t always like that.
<B>NRAMA</B>: Do you feel like you’ve changed a lot from the way you describe yourself as a shoe-crazy, lipstick-obsessed woman?
<b>MAM</b>: Yeah, well I still am shoe crazy but I’m not going to almost die over a pair of shoes again, well you know what I mean. Part of the reason I didn’t have insurance was because while I was a struggling cartoonist, I was investing in shoes instead of investing in health insurance. I also was lazy and let it lapse because I was on deadline but I wouldn’t make that mistake again.
<B>NRAMA</B>: At first you were really concerned with what caused your cancer, but now...?
<img src="http://www.newsarama.com/general/CancerVixen/Cancer_Vixen_page_pic3.jpg" align="left"><b>MAM</b>: Well, now I think it’s a product of Benzene in the air and hormones in your food. I think it’s caused by birth control pills and cigarette smoke and a lot of other things we don’t even know about. I think it’s a manmade thing. All the stuff we put in the food and what’s in the air and in our water. I don’t think cancer was around when the dinosaurs were on the planet.
<B>NRAMA</B>: How important was it to have a portion of the book’s profits going to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation?
<b>MAM</b>: That was extremely important to me. They are extremely important because they will be the ones to find a cure for cancer. I had so much support and love for what I was going through and I felt it was so important for me to give back in gratitude.
<B>NRAMA</B>: Do you go to any cancer support groups?
<b>MAM</b>: I never really did go to any support groups. I just had my friends and my family and my husband and they’ve all been great.
<B>NRAMA</B>: What do you think about all this great press you’ve been getting?
<b>MAM</b>: I’m happy and if it helps people then that’s great. The best thing was to be able to draw cancer cells and laugh at them and therefore making them less threatening, which made it easier for me to overcome the illness. If that can help somebody else who’s going through it or even somebody who has a bad hair day or is a little bit fat, you find that is not what’s important in life. So if all this press helps reach those people, then that’s what really matters to me.
<B>NRAMA</B>: Were you blown away when Cate Blanchett agreed to be in the film version of <b>Cancer Vixen</b>?
<b>MAM</b>: I think Cate Blanchett is the greatest actress in the world. So to have that happen just blew me away. I haven’t met her yet. I’m really looking forward to it. I don’t know how she’ll be handling it but everything she does is amazing and I can’t wait to see how she approaches the material.
<B>NRAMA</B>: Do you know if they have a screenwriter or anything like that?
<b>MAM</b>: I have no idea. I’m just hearing bits and pieces but I don’t know what the status is at this point other than they just bought it and they’re looking at directors and producers. I think her husband is going to produce it.
<B>NRAMA</B>: I hope they shoot the film in New York City.
<b>MAM</b>: I hope they shoot it at Da Silvano. I think they should. I hope they keep it as authentic as possible but she has so much integrity I don’t think that’s going to be an issue at all.
<B>NRAMA</B>: Have you always drawn?
<b>MAM</b>: Yes since I was like three or four. I started art lessons when I was four. I think it’s kind of a nervous habit.
<B>NRAMA</B>: What got you started?
<b>MAM</b>: It was my mother. She was a shoe designer and she would do these reports of who would wear her shoes so she would draw these great looking women with great looking shoes and I think I was just imitating her.
<B>NRAMA</B>: Were you always doing strips or were you just drawing?
<img src="http://www.newsarama.com/general/CancerVixen/Marisa_pic1.jpg" align="right"><b>MAM</b>: Well when I was eight my father had decided, “Ok we’re going to have a real vacation and go to Bermuda” instead of us going to the Jersey Shore. We went to this resort, which was really quite nice but my mother didn’t like the room and wanted something a little bit bigger. So she asked the owner of the resort if we could have something that would make her happy. He said “Well there’s really nothing in the resort but there’s this big pink elephant of a house on the fringe of the resort that nobody seems to want. You’re welcome to stay there.” We did and on the walls were all these drawings with captions and it turned out to be [legendary <i>New Yorker</I> magazine cartoonist] James Thurber’s house. That night I just stayed up and I read everything. All the old <i>New Yorkers</i>, all the drawings, everything I possibly could. I stayed up until four o’clock in the morning and then woke up at seven o’clock with like 400 red ants crawling all over me. It was then that I say I was bitten by the cartoonist bug.
<B>NRAMA</B>: [laughs] Did you develop your style when you were in college?
<b>MAM</b>: I think I had the style all along actually.
<B>NRAMA</B>: Most of the people I talk to are straight up comic book creators. You’re in a much different world than them. How did you start your career on doing comic strips for magazines?
<b>MAM</b>: <i>Glamour</i> was looking for a cartoonist and I have friends over there. But I still had to make a pitch and fight for that. I started out my career with doing page long stories. I had a cartoon character called SHE in <i>Glamour</i>. Somebody asked me to start doing single panels so I did. I really wanted to get into <i>The New Yorker</i>, so I made that my mission.
<B>NRAMA</B>: What is the next thing you’re working on?
<b>MAM</b>: I’m going to be writing a book. I have an idea that I’m going to be working on. I believe that you should keep all the balls going and keep moving.
<i><b>Cancer Vixen</b> is a 224 page hardcover and is priced at $22.00
http://www.cancervixen.com </i>