This Urban Life: The Comics Queen
Sarah Morean's love for comics sprouted in the Eden Prairie public library, where she picked up a copy of Craig Thompson’s graphic novel 'Good-bye Chunky Rice.'
Image credit: Photo by Marshall Franklin Long
It’s late October, and Sarah Morean doesn’t know what’s going to happen after the Minneapolis Indie Xpo wraps. “I’ll knit a little,” she offers. Morean owns a letterpress—one that she rented an SUV, drove to Wisconsin and returned the car all in one day for—that she wants to experiment with more. She also jokes about stringing together all of the sappy, girl-with-guitar songs she’s written since high school into one awful (her word) social experiment. This is all in addition to her full-time job at the University of Minnesota’s Plant Pathology Library. If anything, she’s not worried about becoming bored.
The Minneapolis Indie Xpo (MIX, for short), which Morean directs and co-founded with Andy Krueger, gathered comic aficionados, casual fans, publishers and artists alike at the Soap Factory during the first weekend in November. With Morean’s efforts, the annual comic convention focuses on a couple easily said, but less easily executed concepts: the story, the art, the people and the community of self-publishing. At just 28, Morean has gained a reputation, at least among the local comics community, as being the “comics queen” or “momma comics.”
“I’ve totally been accused of treating it like it’s a baby, my surrogate child, the one I will never have,” she says of MIX. But comics weren’t always her love child, so to speak. “I loved them as a kid and then totally fell off of them after Garfield lost its mystery.”
After growing up in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Morean eventually traveled slightly east to study English at the U. Post-graduation, she took a lighter approach to her reading, putting away those heavy lit books. One day, while shelving books at an Eden Prairie public library, Morean picked up a copy of Craig Thompson’s graphic novel Good-bye Chunky Rice. She was blown away by the panel structure, the human-interest story told through animals, all of it.
Her obsession with comics and self-publishing had officially begun. It’s manifested itself in different ways over the years: she produces her own work, and used to offer a subscription-based service during which she’d mail at least one comic a month to her readers. She ran Twin Cities Zinefest for three years. She acted as the mini-comics editor and wrote online reviews for alt-comics blog The Daily Cross Hatch, which sent countless comics to her P.O. box. And don’t forget her ’zine Man Up, an ode of sorts to moustaches.
Considering her career, there’s probably some cringe-worthy pun I could write about Morean being an open book—in the most charming, you-just-want-to-knit with-her-on-a-Sunday-afternoon way. After an hour over coffee at Northeast’s Tarraccino Coffee, we’ve discussed bad breakups, childhood dreams and nerded out over letterpress. But clearly the MIX wheels are still spinning in her head.
When we meet, with just a week before the big fest, she’s already looking forward to sneaking out back behind the Soap Factory. “I’ll just be free to spastically chain smoke like a nervous wreck outside. At least people know where to find me then.”
Where and What Sarah Morean Loves
1. Nice Ride Minnesota Since she doesn’t own a car, Morean is particularly grateful for Minneapolis’s bike sharing system. niceridemn.org
2. Seward Café Shout-out to the Seward Café’s Super Green Earth dish (hashbrowns, eggs and onions scrambled together, topped with steamed broccoli and white cheddar cheese), Morean’s favorite breakfast. Seward Café, 2129 E. Franklin Ave. Mpls.; 612.332.1011 , sewardcafempls.net
3. Big Brain Comics Whether you’re a junkie or just a casual reader, Big Brain boasts shelves upon shelves of comics, graphic novels, anime and more. 1027 Washington Ave. S., Mpls.; 612.338.4390 , bigbraincomics.com
4. MPLS.TV Scroll through the amusing site to find Morean’s illustrated interpretation of a Craigslist-like “Missed Connections” from the Zombie Pub Crawl. mpls.tv
5. Psycho Suzi’s Motor Lounge What do you get when a bunch of cartoonists throw back a couple at Psycho Suzi’s? Morean knows. 1900 Marshall St. N.E. Mpls.; 612.788.9069, psychosuzis.com
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