After a four-year hiatus, acclaimed comic artist Steve MacIsaac is back with the final installment of Unpacking, a three-part graphic novel which makes up part of his Shirtlifter anthology. Unpacking tells the story of a gay man living in Vancouver who falls in love with a straight, married Australian.
Comics have been a part of MacIsaac's life from an early age. "I learned to read from Peanuts," he said. "I drew on my parents wallpaper when I was four, so I've been cartooning for a very long time." His work, which features a mix of autobiography and fiction, focuses on the experiences of gay men and women living in the early 21st century. "I'm very aware of history," he said, "but I'm interested in where we're going and what it means to be alive now."
His latest project was crowd-funded on Kickstarter and reached its goal within the first 30 hours. "Traditional distribution methods have shut down, particularly in the comics industry," MacIsaac said. "There are comic books stores willing to carry this material, but they need something printed. For young artists in particular, the capital to do that is sometimes definitely a challenge." Sites like Kickstarter, which allows people to donate to specific projects, and Patreon, which facilitates continued financial support for artists and journalists, are alleviating some of the overhead costs for writers like himself, he added.
MacIsaac spoke to an intimate crowd Aug. 7 at Unabridged Bookstore in Boystown, an event that included readings from Unpacking and other works. His stories feature "characters I can relate to," said Ethan Hutchinson, who is both a fan and online friend of MacIsaac. "Someone broke up with me a few years ago and I just happened to get one of the newer issues and it helped me get through this, and it was therapeutic."
Also in the audience were MacIsaac's in-laws, who live in Evanston and were hearing him read for the first time. "[I'm] more nervous now than when I'm in front of 30 or 40 complete strangers," he said.
The event also featured a lecture on MacIsaac's creative process as well as a Q&A, in which he listed the writers Kurt Vonnegut and Flannery O'Connor among his inspirations.
While Unpacking is finished, MacIsaac hopes to produce a collected edition within the next year. In the meantime, he is busy working on other projects, including contributing a graphic essay on Scott Thompson of Kids in the Hall to an anthology of queer Canadian icons.
To order Unpacking as an e-book or find it at a retailer, visit www.stevemacisaac.com .
