Artist Inspo #10
Rebecca Sugar (& My Newest New Yorker Cartoon!)
Hello hello! Have I got joyous news! My newest cartoon and first single-panel collaboration (with
) is in the March 18th issue of The New Yorker!
If you spot this week’s issue in stores, check it out!
You don’t even have to buy it, just flip to page 44 and maybe quietly mutter to yourself, “good for her.”
Or maybe yell loudly, “I KNOW HER, WE’RE FRIENDS ON SUBSTACK!!!”
The world is your oyster.
…And Now Back To Our Regularly Scheduled “Artist Inspo”
As Spring lingers around the corner, mocking us and parading it’s potential like a just-out-of-reach donut, I bring you:
✨Artist Inspo #10✨
Omg we’re onto double digits, people!
Call the president!
Alert the press!
Do other things that sound important!
And who shalt our artist of inspiration be for this beautifully round number?
None other than…
Rebecca Sugar
I first learned about Rebecca Sugar during their time as a storyboard artist at Adventure Time.
For those of us crotch-deep in the world of animation both Rebecca and Adventure Time are must-knows.
They are both creative powerhouses fostered under the guidance of the mystical, modern patriarch of animation, and creator of ‘Adventure Time’: Pendleton Ward.
*Animation nerds within a 20-mile radius perk-up like meerkats sensing someone may have mentioned, “Pen Ward”*
“How ‘Adventure Time’ Became a Talent Factory For a Generation of Animators”
So if you didn’t gather from my hyperbolic language above:
Adventure Time completely changed television animation— spawning endless new series inspired by its artist-driven approach to story writing.
The sensitive, silly artists were finally allowed to express themselves openly and the fandom, young and old, exploded in response to the authenticity of the show.
When Adventure Time first released I was only distantly aware of it, maybe stumbling upon an episode or two by chance.
But the episode that really turned me into a fan was an episode called, “It Came from the Nightosphere”, which was written and storyboarded by Sugar and Adam Muto.
This was the first episode that really focused on the character Marceline The Vampire Queen, who was an angsty teenage girl who played bass guitar and was inspired by Rebecca Sugar themself.
Pendleton had asked Rebecca to imbue the character of Marceline with their own experiences— to make her real by putting themself into the character, and this is likely why I fell in love with Marceline.
I felt seen and represented in her angst and multi-dimensionality.
Rebecca also wrote many catchy songs for Adventure Time, which are some of my favorite ear worms that I continue to spontaneously sing to myself to this day, including:
“The Fry Song” (below) where Marceline sings about her relationship with her estranged father:
^they duplicate a verse in this video for some reason, but it’s sweet how the song/story resolves if you want to watch to the end (2:36).
In Sugar’s college years they wrote and animated this very strange and enjoyable short called “Singles” for her senior thesis.
…So this kind of just blew my mind, because I’m over here doing research for this post, when I rediscover this video, which I remember watching when it first released, back in 2009, on Cartoon Brew.
I had NO IDEA who Rebecca Sugar was at the time!
Well that was a fun and unexpected little moment for me.
After working on Adventure Time for several years Rebecca went on to create their very own animated series for Cartoon Network called, “Steven Universe”.
Steven Universe is about a boy who discovers a fantasy world of “Gems”— fantastical crystal-empowered women from another planet— who adopt Steven and team up to protect earth from the evil Gems that Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl originally escaped from.
Prior to Sugar coming out as non-binary, this was considered the first series ever created by a woman on Cartoon Network (both an accomplishment and also a little depressing, given this was in 2013).
“The Radical Kindness of ‘Steven Universe’”
There are many elements that make Steven Universe a barrier-breaking one-of-a-kind children’s animated series, but one of my favorites is that the show revolves around fostering healthy inter-personal relationships and portrayals of love through a humanistic, inclusive lens.
The song above, “Here Comes a Thought” (written and composed by Rebecca) really highlights what makes Steven Universe a special show in my eyes.
My sensitive nerd boy™ husband Mat originally introduced me to this episode/song— sharing that the lyrics really impacted him.
Even now it makes me cry happy tears at how beautiful it is.
The song shares a lesson in how to handle negative emotions— highlighting the importance of allowing yourself the space to feel pain, anger, and sadness.
Rebecca sings us a lullaby about giving ourselves the space to process our pain, so that you may then eventually let go and move forward— a fuller person for it.
Steven Universe is also lauded as the most openly queer children’s television show to ever air on broadcast television.
"I think a lot about fairy tales and Disney movies and the way that love is something that's always discussed with children. You're told that you should dream about love, about this fulfilling love that you're going to have. [...] Why shouldn't everyone have that?"
-Rebecca Sugar
As queer and feminine as the show’s themes are— Steven Universe is a show for everyone.
From my 40 year-old cis-het husband, to a little kid unsure of their own future— this show is a beacon of light to anyone who wishes to love openly and joyfully.
It is for those of us who’ve been falsely told that our sensitivities are weaknesses.
Steven Universe is a truly empowering show and I am forever grateful that Rebecca Sugar created it for all of us to enjoy.
Comments (Let’s Chat!):
Do you continue to enjoy animation as an adult?
Were you familiar with any of this Cartoon Network nerdom before this?
Did you like any of these songs by Rebecca Sugar?
They are SO SWEET!!! *sob*
Listening to:
I definitely took a screenshot of the New Yorker cartoon and shouted via text to my husband “I read her Substack! Her cats are in the New Yorker!!!😻” (also my cat may be a little jealous)
ok so admittedly i'm slow when concentrating too much and under pressure say on Jeopardy i couldn't even answer "a country to the north of Duluth" within the same time frame it took me just now to decipher your cartoon from the moment it hit in-box (and i was watching trailer for newest Steve Martin doc. if thats any excuse) until NOW but then,,,, i got it (i hope) and chuckled hard and am i right?: cats do NOT require anything but lasers to distract them, no hero's or any other damn thing they are existential, fickle and totally immune to our values hahah im probably wrong at least i got "what is Canada" !!!