Rhea Ewing on Fine: A Comic About Gender: Nonfiction

Rhea Ewing is a comic illustrator and fine artist who graduated from University of Wisconsin-Madison with a BFA in drawing and printmaking. When Ewing neared college graduation in 2012, they became consumed by the question: “What is gender?” This obsession sparked a quest in which they eagerly approached friends and strangers in their quiet Midwest town for interviews to turn into comics. A decade later, the project became a sweeping portrait of the intricacies of gender expression with interviewees from all over the country. Questions such as “How do you Identify?” produced fiercely honest stories about adolescence, taking hormones, and changing pronouns. The answers also underscored how these experiences can differ, often drastically, depending on culture, race, and religion. In Fine: A Comic About Gender (Liveright), Ewing tells their own story of growing up in rural Kentucky, grappling with their identity as a teenager, and ultimately finding themself through art and by creating something like this. Inclusive and inviting, it’s a valuable account for anyone eager to define gender on their own terms.