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Emil Ferris
Emil Ferris
Emil Ferris
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Emil Ferris (listenⓘ; born 1962) is an American writer, cartoonist, and designer.[1] Ferris debuted in publishing with her 2017 graphic novel My Favorite Thing Is Monsters, which was praised as a "masterpiece" and one of the best comics by a new author.[2][3]

Key Information

Biography

[edit]

Emil Ferris was born to Eleanor Spiess-Ferris and Mike Ferris[4] on Chicago's South Side and grew up in the North Side's Uptown neighborhood.[1] Her parents are artists who met at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago,[5] and she would often visit the Art Institute of Chicago with them.[6]

Ferris traces her Hispanic lineage from Indigenous Mexico to Spain, German, French, Irish emigres, and Sephardic Jewish descent from her mother's side and is also of Lebanese descent from her father's side.[7][8][9]

Ferris' mother took diethylstilbestrol when pregnant, leading Ferris to say she was biologically male but transformed to female in utero, and she therefore identifies with others who have gender dysphoria.[10] Ferris identified early in her life as a lesbian but later on came to see herself as bisexual.[11]

She was sexually abused as a child, which she says negatively affected her ability to draw in a cartoon style for many years.[12]

This was the '60s. I watched protests being broken up by the police. I saw bigotry. It made me think about our own inner monstrousness.[1]

– Emil Ferris

Ferris was obsessed with monsters as a child, eagerly looking forward to Creature Features on Saturday nights, which had monsters she would weep for.[8] Ferris had scoliosis, and to get attention on the playground, she told horror stories. Ferris has discussed how she saw herself as a child: observing the oppressive social role her beautiful mother, as well as other humans, had to play.[6]

As a child, Ferris was part of a theatrical troupe near the Graceland Cemetery — which she visited, hoping to find monsters or a ghost.[8] Ferris gained an understanding of World War II by talking to Holocaust survivors who lived in the neighborhood of Rogers Park, which she had moved to.[7] She would visit the owner of a gallery who had an identification number tattoo, as well as elderly survivors, forming a connection between their experiences and monsters.[13]

In 2001, when she was 40, Ferris contracted West Nile fever from a mosquito bite. Three weeks after going to the hospital, she was paralyzed from the waist down and lost movement in her right hand. She eventually regained motor functionality and returned to working and drawing, receiving a MFA in creative writing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.[1]

Artistic influences

[edit]
A person sleeps at a table, as imagined winged creatures swarm around him
Francisco Goya was a childhood influence on Ferris.[7] Pictured is his etching, The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters.

In terms of artistic influences, Ferris was exposed to the works of Francisco Goya and Honoré Daumier as a child, as well as Collier's illustrated Dickens.[6] Cartoonists who were inspirations for her include Robert Crumb, Alison Bechdel, and Art Spiegelman. She has also cited horror film posters and stories from EC Comics as ideas for the mock covers she drew in My Favorite Thing is Monsters.[1]

Career

[edit]
Ferris discussing My Favorite Thing Is Monsters with Michael Cavna at Small Press Expo 2017

Ferris worked as a freelance illustrator and toy designer for clients such as McDonald's and Takara Tomy before becoming an author.[14]

While recovering from the paralysis caused by West Nile fever, Ferris worked on her graphic novel. My Favorite Thing Is Monsters tells the story of Karen Reyes, a 10-year-old girl and fan of monster movies (like Ferris herself) who, growing up amidst the social tensions of 1960s Chicago, investigates the death of her upstairs neighbor. The book is written and drawn in the form of Reyes' diary notebook, with crosshatched artwork drawn with a ballpoint pen.[3]

The 400-page My Favorite Thing is Monsters (volume one) was released in 2017 by Fantagraphics, receiving praise from authors like Art Spiegelman, Alison Bechdel, and Chris Ware; it was regarded as one of the best comics of 2017.[15] My Favorite Thing is Monsters volume two was released on May 24, 2024.[16]

In April 2022, Ferris was reported among the more than three dozen comics creators who contributed to Operation USA's benefit anthology book, Comics for Ukraine: Sunflower Seeds, a project spearheaded by editor Scott Dunbier, whose profits would be donated to relief efforts for Ukrainian refugees resulting from the February 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[17][18]

Personal life

[edit]

When Ferris contracted West Nile virus at age 40, she was the single mother of a six-year-old daughter named Ruby.[14]

Awards

[edit]

References

[edit]
[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Emil Ferris

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Emil Ferris (born 1962) is an American cartoonist, , and writer based in , acclaimed for her My Favorite Thing Is Monsters, a debut work drawn in on notebook paper that explores themes of horror, identity, and 1960s through the perspective of a young girl investigating a neighbor's death.
After contracting in 2001, which caused , , and partial , Ferris relearned to draw using her left hand and inexpensive BIC pens, transforming her technique into a distinctive stippled style reminiscent of vintage and fine art shading.
A graduate of the School of the with a BFA in 2008 and an MFA in in 2010, she previously worked as a freelance and designer before dedicating herself to post-illness.
(2017) garnered critical acclaim, securing for Best and Best Artist, the Ignatz Award for Outstanding , the Prize, and a Lambda Literary Award, with its sequel released in 2024.
In 2025, Ferris received the Whiting Award for her contributions to literature, underscoring her influence in elevating personal adversity into innovative narrative art.

Early Life and Background

Childhood and Family

Emil Ferris was born in 1962 on Chicago's South Side near Stony Island Avenue to parents Eleanor Spiess-Ferris and Mike Ferris. Her mother, a surrealist painter, traced her ancestry to Indigenous Mexican people, Sephardic Crypto-Jews, and European emigrants from , while her father, a toy designer known for creating the rotary phone, descended from Lebanese immigrants; his own father had been a tailor, dressmaker, and furrier who served wealthy clients and paid protection money to . The couple met as art students at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where Ferris's mother offered to clean brushes in exchange for canvas stretching. When Ferris was about one year old, her family moved to New Mexico, residing in Albuquerque and Santa Fe, before returning to Chicago at age five to a low-income building in the Uptown neighborhood; they relocated again a few years later to Rogers Park. Raised in a creative household amid the cultural turbulence of 1960s Chicago, she was exposed to art from infancy, with her parents encouraging drawing through comic strips and visits to the Art Institute, which she described as akin to religious pilgrimages. Ferris has referenced having a brother born during her early childhood, though further details on siblings remain sparse in available accounts. Her father's background included "stealth drawing" techniques practiced on public transit, which he passed on to her.

Contraction of Polio and Its Effects

Emil Ferris was born with severe scoliosis, a congenital spinal curvature that caused significant asymmetry in her body, including a pronounced hunchback and legs of differing lengths, rather than contracting poliomyelitis. This condition delayed her ability to walk until approximately 2.5 years of age and rendered her immobile for much of her early childhood, preventing participation in typical playground activities like running. At age 10, Ferris underwent corrective surgery for her , followed by an 11-month recovery period confined to an upper-body cast, further limiting her physical activity and fostering a sense of isolation. These mobility challenges contributed to partial on one side of her body and a self-perception as an outsider, which she later described as making her feel "wolf-like" and drawn to monstrous figures in literature and media as empathetic companions. The effects extended into her psychological development and artistic inclinations, with Ferris attributing her affinity for horror genres and identification with "monsters" to these early experiences of physical difference and exclusion, themes that permeate her My Favorite Thing Is Monsters. No primary sources document a diagnosis or contraction in her ; her documented disabilities align with structural spinal issues rather than viral poliomyelitis.

Education and Early Interests

Ferris earned a from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) in 2008, focusing on and during her undergraduate studies. She spent her freshman year in a at the institution and later obtained a in from SAIC in 2010. Raised in during the , Ferris exhibited early fascinations with monsters, , and the , themes that permeated her childhood imagination. Her school notebooks contained numerous doodles and self-created stories, evidencing a precocious engagement with visual art and . As a young girl, Ferris aspired to become a professor, though she envisioned herself as a monstrous figure imparting knowledge, blending academic curiosity with fantastical elements. This affinity for the horrific was partly shaped by early childhood experiences in , where environmental and cultural stimuli primed her interest in otherworldly creatures. Her parents, who met as art students at SAIC in the , surrounded her with an artistic milieu that encouraged creative expression from an early age, though Ferris pursued formal training decades later following a career in .

Pre-Debut Career

Work as a

Prior to her debut as a graphic novelist, Ferris sustained her career as a freelance commercial illustrator and toy designer. She created illustrations and figurines for prominent clients, including and the Japanese toy manufacturer Takara Tomy. This work involved designing collectible toys and promotional materials, leveraging her skills in detailed, character-driven visuals honed since her early artistic training. As a single mother in her forties, Ferris relied on these commercial gigs for financial stability until a 2002 infection severely impaired her mobility, prompting a shift toward personal artistic projects.

Initial Artistic Experiments

Prior to her debut , Ferris relearned drawing after contracting in 2001, which caused partial in her right drawing hand. She initially taped a to her weakened hand to regain control, adapting to work with her left hand on yellow legal pads, a technique that became central to her cross-hatched style. This period marked her shift from commercial design to personal artistic exploration, driven by physical necessity and a desire to process trauma through visual narrative. In the mid-2000s, Ferris experimented with embedding emotional states into her drawings, creating pieces while intentionally sad, angry, or fearful to infuse subtextual layers into the lines themselves. These efforts preceded her intentional foray into around 2010–2012, though retrospective review revealed earlier works often incorporated text alongside images, sequential . A 2004 short story she wrote served as the narrative seed for , evolving through sketches that tested horror-inspired motifs drawn from B-movies and influences. Ferris's pre-debut output included a self-produced graphic of horror screenwriter , rendered in miniature format for promotional purposes, honing her ability to blend biography with monstrous imagery. These experiments emphasized economical line work, echoing childhood copies of strips but adapted for adult themes of vulnerability and monstrosity, ultimately refining the ballpoint-pen technique that defined her later precision. Enrollment at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2008 further structured these trials, culminating in MFA completion by 2010.

Artistic Influences

Horror Comics and Genre Fiction

Emil Ferris draws heavily from mid-20th-century horror comics, particularly the EC Comics titles of the 1950s, which featured gruesome tales illustrated with meticulous detail and moral ambiguity, shaping her affinity for monstrous archetypes as vehicles for exploring human deviance and empathy. These publications, alongside crime comics, inform the pulp aesthetics and narrative tension in her work, evident in the crosshatched shading and shadowy figures reminiscent of EC's signature style. Ferris explicitly cites 1960s horror magazine covers, such as those from Famous Monsters of Filmland, as inspirations for the sensational, lurid visuals she recreates in fictional periodicals like Ghastly, Terror Tales, and Dread within My Favorite Thing Is Monsters, where characters invent covers blending gore with eccentric color palettes to homage the era's exploitative allure. In broader , Ferris's influences extend to horror cinema and , where supernatural elements serve as allegories for psychological and social monstrosity. She references films like , Hammer Horror productions, , , , and Val Lewton's shadowy productions, which emphasize atmospheric dread and the over explicit violence, mirroring her own use of monsters to symbolize isolation and resilience. Literary sources include H.P. Lovecraft's cosmic insignificance, Edgar Allan Poe's gothic introspection, and Ray Bradbury's speculative lyricism, which reinforce her view of horror icons—such as mummies or werewolves—as metaphors for innate human regrets and "true human (monster) challenges." These elements converge in her graphic novels to humanize outcasts, transforming genre tropes into critiques of and trauma without diluting their visceral appeal.

Personal Experiences and Broader Cultural References

Ferris's childhood , which rendered her immobile for much of her early years and delayed her ability to walk until nearly age three, cultivated a deep for monstrous figures as embodiments of otherness and endurance. Living in Chicago's Uptown neighborhood near and participating in the Marble Cake Kids troupe at exposed her to themes of death and the , inspiring early drawings that copied Li’l Abner from age two and evolved into a distinctive thin-line style by age eight. These experiences, compounded by her artistic parents' background and diverse heritage including indigenous Mexican and Sephardic Jewish roots, infused her work with motifs of transformation and outsider status. The 2001 contraction of at age 39 resulted in from the waist down and loss of function in her right hand, forcing a radical adaptation where her daughter taped a to it, enabling the 800-page creation of on notebook paper between 2002 and 2010. This physical trauma not only dictated her pen-based technique but also thematically mirrored the novel's exploration of monstrosity as a response to vulnerability, with Ferris stating that relearning to amid recovery channeled personal resilience into the narrative. Broader cultural references draw from 1940s horror cinema, including The Wolf Man (1941) and Val Lewton's productions like I Walked with a Zombie (1943), which emphasized psychological horror and metamorphosis over gore, paralleling Ferris's use of werewolves to symbolize identity fluidity and rejection of gender norms—she has remarked that "being a monster was the better option" than conforming to womanhood's constraints. Influences extend to Francisco Goya's The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters (1799), evoking how unchecked fears yield hybrid beings, and New Mexican Penitente folk art depicting death carts, reflecting her brief early residence there and interest in macabre iconography. Literary and comics touchstones such as , , Mad magazine's satire, and Art Spiegelman's inform her blend of historical trauma—like Holocaust survivor anecdotes from her upbringing—with fictional horror, positioning monsters as empathetic outcasts amid cultural turbulence.

Major Works and Career Milestones

Debut: My Favorite Thing Is Monsters (2017)

My Favorite Thing Is Monsters is Emil Ferris's debut , published by Books on February 14, 2017, comprising 416 pages in full color with ISBN 978-1-60699-959-2. The work takes the form of a fictional narrated by , a ten-year-old in late Chicago's Uptown neighborhood, who identifies as a and investigates the suspicious death of her neighbor, a Holocaust survivor. The narrative draws heavily on B-movie horror tropes, pulp monster magazine aesthetics, and themes of identity, sexuality, race, and urban turmoil amid the era's social upheavals, including references to the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy. Ferris created the using ballpoint pens on 3,000 sheets of typing paper, a technique necessitated by her physical limitations from childhood , resulting in a densely cross-hatched, stippled style reminiscent of vintage while incorporating autobiographical elements and historical allusions. Originally exceeding 700 pages, the manuscript was edited down and split into volumes; the first faced production delays, including shipping issues, before release. At age 55, Ferris's first foray into graphic marked a shift from her prior design work, blending personal mythology with to explore monstrosity as a for marginalization. Commercially, the book achieved unexpected success for an independent debut, debuting at number five on the NPD BookScan graphic novels bestseller list and prompting Fantagraphics to order a second printing of 30,000 copies—the largest in the publisher's 40-year history. It garnered media attention from outlets including The New York Times, The New Yorker, NPR, and the Chicago Tribune, highlighting its innovative artwork and narrative depth. Critically acclaimed, topped the 2017 Publishers Weekly Critics Poll and won the Ignatz Award for Outstanding that year. In 2018, it received three for Best Writer/Artist, Best New Graphic Album, and Best Coloring, alongside the Prize and the Lambda Literary Award for LGBTQ . It was also nominated for a for Best Graphic Story in 2018. These honors underscored the novel's technical mastery and thematic resonance, establishing Ferris as a significant voice in contemporary .

Delays and Release of Volume Two (2024)

The sequel to , anticipated after the 2017 debut's acclaim and awards including three Eisner nominations, faced significant delays spanning seven years due to the artist's iterative creative process and external complications. Ferris, constrained by physical limitations from contracted in childhood and subsequent West Nile virus-induced paralysis, hand-drew the volume using ballpoint pens on paper, a method requiring extensive revisions; she discarded roughly 50 pages deemed inconsistent with character-driven narrative developments, emphasizing that "the thing takes the time it takes" and creators must heed their characters' directions. Compounding these challenges, filed a suit against Ferris in June 2021, citing missed deadlines attributed to her health issues, equipment failures, and external work obligations, while disputing sequel rights and royalties; Ferris countersued alleging publisher misconduct including underpayment and intimidation. The dispute settled provisionally in September 2022, with Ferris delivering the full 412-page manuscript in March 2023, after which the case was dismissed. My Favorite Thing Is Monsters Book Two was released on May 28, 2024, by , concluding the story of protagonist amid 1960s Chicago's social upheavals, with an initial print run reflecting sustained demand from the first volume's success. The extended timeline, while frustrating for fans, preserved Ferris's commitment to authenticity over expediency, as she navigated personal hardships including single parenthood and financial strains mitigated by supporter contributions.

Other Publications and Projects

In April 2023, acquired Records of the Damned, a to My Favorite Thing Is Monsters set in mid-1960s , exploring themes of damnation and historical undercurrents through Ferris's signature style. The deal also encompasses a standalone two-volume noir murder mystery series, distinct from the Monsters universe, emphasizing intricate plotting and visual storytelling. Ferris has described ongoing work on five new books in total, signaling an expansion beyond her debut series amid resolved publishing disputes. Ferris's original artwork has featured in exhibitions highlighting her ballpoint pen technique and thematic depth. "Beautiful Monsters: The Art of Emil Ferris," curated by Kim Munson, ran at the Society of Illustrators in New York from August 3 to October 19, 2024, showcasing drawings that blend horror iconography with personal narrative elements. Additional displays include works at Steven Kasher Gallery and Galerie Martel, with the latter presenting approximately 30 originals from My Favorite Thing Is Monsters Book Two in early 2025. These projects underscore her transition from commercial illustration to fine art and gallery representation.

Artistic Style and Technique

Adaptation to Physical Limitations

![Emil Ferris at the 2016 Miami Book Fair][float-right] In 2001, Emil Ferris contracted from a bite, resulting in from the waist down and temporary loss of function in her dominant right hand, severely impairing her ability to draw as a freelance commercial . To relearn drawing, Ferris enrolled at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she initially duct-taped a pen to her paralyzed hand to create her first self-portrait post-illness, gradually regaining dexterity through persistent practice. She adapted her technique by employing ballpoint pens on wide-ruled notebook paper, a method that accommodated her physical limitations, including hand tremors and chronic pain, while enabling the intricate cross-hatching and fluid lines characteristic of her work in My Favorite Thing Is Monsters. Despite ongoing mobility challenges requiring assistive devices and extended recovery periods, Ferris maintained a demanding schedule, often drawing for up to 16 hours daily, transforming her constraints into a core element of her raw, expressive aesthetic.

Unique Drawing Methods and Aesthetic Choices

Ferris employs ballpoint pens as her primary drawing instrument, specifically Bic brand pens for illustrations, applied to inexpensive lined notebook paper to evoke the intimacy of a personal diary from the 1960s. This choice stemmed from partial paralysis in her right hand following a West Nile virus infection in 2003, which rendered traditional brushes too cumbersome; her daughter taped a pen to her hand to facilitate relearning the skill, enabling the creation of over 800 pages for My Favorite Thing Is Monsters. She supplements with Paper Mate Flair felt-tip pens for lettering, maintaining a hand-drawn aesthetic throughout. Her technique relies on dense cross-hatching—layered, intersecting lines—to build shading, texture, and sculptural depth, a labor-intensive process likened to devotional practice that mimics the glazing effects of for evocative contours and hidden details. This method forgoes conventional panels in favor of free-form, flowing layouts that span full pages, fostering a dreamlike, unrestrained flow reflective of the protagonist's imaginative worldview. The notebook paper's grid subtly underlies compositions, symbolizing structured childhood rebellion while grounding the work's sprawling, organic energy. Aesthetically, Ferris' style channels horror comics through scribbly, emotive line work that captures psychological tension, with arching strokes defining spatial form akin to sculptural carving. Influences from Francisco Goya's etchings, such as the surreal interplay of reason and monstrosity in The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters, inform her depiction of shadowy, hybrid figures that blend whimsy with visceral dread.![A person sleeps at a table, as imagined winged creatures swarm around him](./assets/Francisco_Jos%C3%A9_de_Goya_y_Lucientes_-The_sleep_of_reason_produces_monstersNo.43No._43 These choices prioritize raw, unpolished immediacy over digital refinement, embedding emotional states—drawn in moods of fear or anger—directly into the lines for subliminal impact.

Thematic Elements in Illustration

Ferris's illustrations recurrently employ monstrous imagery to probe themes of amid adversity, with the young protagonist adopting a guise as a shield against personal and societal alienation. This motif underscores monstrosity not as inherent but as a reframing of vulnerability into empowerment, reflecting Ferris's view that "everyone is a monster" in their hidden facets. In her crosshatched, ballpoint-drawn panels, hybrid creature-human forms blur boundaries between the and the sympathetic, evoking for outcasts while critiquing normative judgments of deviance. Central to these visuals is the interplay of horror aesthetics with autobiographical undertones, where monsters symbolize trauma's lingering scars—such as Ferris's contraction of at age five, which impaired her dexterity, and the sudden death of her mother from cancer. Karen's notebook-style entries, rendered in meticulous , transform personal grief into investigative noir, positing monsters as metaphors for unspoken familial secrets and urban underbelly threats in 1960s . This technique draws from classic , yet Ferris subverts their tropes by humanizing the "monstrous," suggesting that true horror resides in human indifference or predation rather than fantastical beings. Artistic nods to infuse Ferris's work with symbolism of rationality's fragility, as seen in echoes of The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters, where dormant imagination spawns chimeric threats. Ferris has cited Goya's etchings as formative, praising their uncommissioned truth-telling against power structures, which parallels her depictions of institutional failures—like hints of survivor narratives among characters—exposing systemic monstrosities. Illustrations of swarming, winged entities or hulking werewolves thus represent unleashed subconscious forces, blending gothic dread with redemptive fantasy to affirm resilience in difference. Queer undertones emerge through Karen's affinity for monstrous archetypes, interpreted by some as allegories for non-normative self-discovery, though Ferris emphasizes broader human universality in aberration. Panels juxtapose pulp horror iconography with tender domestic scenes, highlighting transformation's dual edge: alienation yielding creative liberation. Overall, Ferris's thematic layering in illustration rejects simplistic moral binaries, privileging nuanced portrayals of monstrosity as intrinsic to the human condition.

Publishing Disputes and Industry Challenges

In June 2021, Fantagraphics Books, Inc. filed a complaint for declaratory judgment against Emil Ferris in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington (Case No. C21-00802-LK), asserting rights to publish the second volume of My Favorite Thing Is Monsters under a 2016 publishing agreement that encompassed the planned trilogy. The agreement, signed prior to the release of the first volume, entitled Fantagraphics to first refusal on subsequent books in the series, with Ferris receiving a $12,000 advance and 50% royalties on net receipts after recoupment. By that point, Fantagraphics had already paid Ferris over $450,000 in royalties from the first volume's sales, which exceeded 100,000 copies. Ferris contested the publisher's claim, alleging that had "stalled and stonewalled" progress on the second volume and seeking to terminate the agreement to pursue publication elsewhere, reportedly with . On September 9, 2022, the court granted in favor of , ruling that the 2016 contract unambiguously granted the publisher the right to publish Book Two upon delivery of a satisfactory , and that Ferris had not validly terminated the agreement. The decision emphasized the contract's language requiring Ferris to deliver manuscripts meeting professional standards, without evidence of breaching obligations that would forfeit their rights. The parties reached a settlement following the ruling, though specific terms were not publicly disclosed. This resolution enabled to proceed with of My Favorite Thing Is Monsters Book Two, released on May 28, 2024, after years of delays attributed in part to the litigation and Ferris's ongoing health challenges from . The dispute marked a rare instance of suing an author in its nearly five-decade history, highlighting tensions over creative control and contractual obligations in independent .

Impact on Career Trajectory

The legal dispute with , filed in June 2021 as a complaint for , centered on the publisher's contractual rights to My Favorite Thing Is Monsters Book Two under the 2016 agreement, which stipulated delivery of the sequel and granted publication authority. This conflict halted progress on the volume, as Ferris had not delivered the manuscript by that point, exacerbating prior delays from creative revisions and the . Settlement of the lawsuit in late 2023 enabled to publish Book Two on May 21, 2024, after a seven-year interval from the 2017 debut, preserving the original publishing partnership despite the acrimony. The prolonged timeline risked diluting the acclaim from Book One, which had earned three in 2018 and bestseller status, but the sequel's release reinstated Ferris's visibility in the industry. Subsequent collaborations, including Ferris's appearance at in July 2025 alongside representatives, signal no lasting rupture in her primary publishing outlet and underscore resilience amid adversarial negotiations. The episode highlighted vulnerabilities in artist-publisher dynamics for debut creators like Ferris, who transitioned from without prior experience, yet it did not impede her completion of the Monsters duology or broader recognition as a graphic novelist.

Reception and Critical Analysis

Positive Reviews and Acclaim

My Favorite Thing Is Monsters, Ferris's debut released on February 14, 2017, garnered significant praise for its ambitious blend of horror, mystery, and coming-of-age elements, executed through meticulous ballpoint-pen illustrations on notebook paper. lauded it as an "assured, superhumanly ambitious two-part debut," asserting that "no one has ever made a comic like" it, emphasizing Ferris's daring stylistic shifts and media experiments across pages. , in 's 2017 graphic novels roundup, awarded it her "Most Extraordinary Debut" distinction, describing the work as "crazily weird" in its inventive narrative and visual flair. characterized the novel as a "dazzling, graphic novel tour de force," highlighting its immersive setting in amid political and racial tensions. The New York Times featured the book in its June 8, 2017, "12 New Books We Recommend This Week" selection, noting its distinctive 386-page format drawn entirely on blue-lined paper, which contributed to its magnum opus status. recognized Ferris's debut as impressive, setting a high bar for her subsequent work with its detailed cross-hatching and thematic richness. The 2024 release of extended this acclaim, with praising its "heartfelt horror and spectacular cartooning" in a coming-of-age noir framework. The called the sequel a "wildly inventive fantasy noir of lush and surprising child-like wonder," appreciating its continuation of Karen Reyes's investigative journey. The included Book Two among its 100 Notable Books of 2024, describing the original volume as "beguiling" and unforgettable in its exploratory depth.

Criticisms and Limitations Noted by Reviewers

Reviewers have occasionally noted that the dense, cross-hatched artwork and fluid, sketchbook-like layouts in (2017), while artistically ambitious, can overwhelm readers with visual complexity, requiring prolonged attention to parse individual pages. This intricacy, achieved through drawings scanned and enlarged, contributes to a sense of immersion but also slows , with some spreads demanding physical repositioning of the book for readability. Narrative pacing has drawn specific critique, as the 386-page volume's journal-entry format and expansive digressions occasionally dilute momentum, leading one reviewer to observe that "the novelty wore off a little towards the middle" and the "slowed down the book and brought me out of the story." The story's meandering structure, prioritizing thematic depth over linear progression, has been seen as secondary to the visual spectacle, potentially frustrating readers seeking tighter plotting. In My Favorite Thing Is Monsters, Book Two (2024), similar issues persist but intensify for some, with the 412-page continuation criticized for stretching its central mystery thinly across repetitive motifs and unresolved threads, resulting in a perceived lack of narrative propulsion despite the heightened precision in coloring and rendering. challenges, including convoluted handwritten text integration, have been flagged as more disruptive here than in the debut, exacerbating amid the sequel's ambitious scope. These elements underscore a trade-off in Ferris's approach: profound expressive power at the expense of for casual engagement.

Cultural and Thematic Interpretations

In , Emil Ferris employs the to interrogate themes of otherness and self-empowerment, portraying protagonist —a 10-year-old aspiring who imagines herself as a —as a figure navigating marginalization in . This self-identification with monstrosity serves as a coping mechanism for , , and emerging identity, allowing Karen to reclaim agency in a world that deems her deviant. The narrative draws on ' tradition of monsters symbolizing societal fears, transforming them into vehicles for personal resilience rather than mere terror. Culturally, the graphic novel situates these personal struggles against historical backdrops like , Weimar-era , echoes, and Uptown Chicago's racial and class divides, blending pulp horror with real atrocities to critique how societies monstrousize the vulnerable. Interpretations emphasize Ferris's homage to and Universal monster films, using crosshatched ballpoint sketches on notebook paper to evoke amateurish, confessional diaries that mirror Karen's inner chaos and artistic escapism. This stylistic choice underscores themes of creativity as defiance, where drawing monsters becomes an act of world-altering imagination amid political turmoil. Thematic analyses often link monstrosity to disability and non-normative bodies, echoing etymological roots of "monster" as a portent of difference, with Karen's lupine form paralleling Ferris's own post-viral paralysis in redefining impairment as strength. Gender and sexuality emerge through Anka Silverberg’s backstory—a Holocaust survivor entangled in exploitation—juxtaposed with Karen's crushes and fluid self-perception, challenging heteronormative constraints without didacticism. Critics note the work's avoidance of reductive victimhood, instead positing monsters as emblems of tolerance and compassion amid hatred, though some interpret the dense layering as prioritizing aesthetic ambition over narrative clarity. Overall, Ferris's monsters resist cultural sanitization, insisting on confronting the "beast within" to foster empathy across divides.

Awards and Honors

Key Literary and Comics Awards

Emil Ferris's debut My Favorite Thing Is Monsters garnered significant recognition in the comics industry shortly after its 2017 publication. In 2017, it won two at the Small Press Expo: Outstanding Graphic Novel and Outstanding Artist. The following year, Ferris received three at International for the same work: Best Writer/Artist, Best Graphic Album—New, and Best Coloring. These accolades highlighted the novel's innovative cross-hatching technique and narrative depth, drawn entirely with a Bic ballpoint pen despite Ferris's physical challenges from . In literary circles, won the 2018 Graphic Novel Prize, awarded by Penn State University for the year's best , recognizing its literary merit in blending horror, mystery, and . It also secured the Lambda Literary Award in the LGBTQ Graphic Novel category, affirming its exploration of themes and outsider identities. The French edition of the novel further earned international honors, including the 2019 Fauve d'Or at the and the Prix de la Critique from the Association des Critiques et journalistes de . A related short comic by Ferris for won the 2020 Eisner Award for Best Single Issue/One-Shot.

Fellowships and Teaching Roles

In 2010, Ferris was awarded the Toby Devan Lewis Fellowship in , recognizing her emerging contributions to the field during her time as a graduate student at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC). Ferris received a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship in Fine Arts in 2021, one of 184 awards granted that year to support exceptional creative work across disciplines; the fellowship provided her with resources to advance her projects amid ongoing health challenges. Ferris has served as an instructor, including teaching classes at the in , where she shared her expertise in illustration and with international audiences. No formal long-term academic faculty positions are documented in her career trajectory, which has primarily focused on independent artistic production and occasional guest lectures, such as her 2020 Distinguished Alumni Lecture at SAIC.

Personal Life and Later Years

West Nile Virus Diagnosis

In 2001, Emil Ferris, then aged 40 and working as a freelance illustrator in , was bitten by an infected while , leading to her contraction of , a flavivirus primarily transmitted by species mosquitoes. The infection progressed to severe neuroinvasive disease, manifesting as and , which are complications occurring in less than 1% of cases but capable of causing significant neurological damage. Initial symptoms likely included fever, headache, and body aches, though Ferris has described a rapid deterioration requiring hospitalization. Upon admission to the hospital, Ferris lapsed into a coma-like state, awakening approximately three weeks later to discover from the waist down and partial impairment in her dominant drawing hand, effects attributable to the virus's affinity for attacking the , including motor neurons. Diagnosis was established through clinical evaluation, serological testing for IgM antibodies specific to in and serum, and exclusion of differentials such as other encephalitides; at the time, had only recently emerged in the United States, with its first documented cases in New York in 1999, heightening diagnostic challenges in non-endemic areas like the Midwest. As a single mother to a six-year-old daughter, Ferris faced immediate life-altering consequences, with the persisting asymmetrically and necessitating extensive rehabilitation to regain partial functionality. The rarity of Ferris's severe outcome underscores the virus's variable presentation: while most infections (about 80%) remain and severe cases affect fewer than 200 individuals annually in the U.S. during peak transmission seasons (–), her case aligned with risk factors including middle age and possible immunocompromise from freelance stressors. No vaccine or specific antiviral treatment existed in 2001, limiting interventions to supportive care such as intravenous fluids, , and , which Ferris credited with her survival despite initial grim prognoses. Long-term sequelae, including chronic fatigue and neuropathy, have been reported by Ferris in subsequent accounts, reflecting the virus's potential for permanent neurological sequelae in survivors of neuroinvasive .

Ongoing Health Management and Resilience

Following her infection in 2001, which caused from the waist down and partial impairment in her right hand, Ferris achieved substantial recovery through self-directed rehabilitation, though residual neurological damage persists, requiring ongoing adaptations for mobility and fine motor tasks. She relies on canes for walking and has not publicly detailed specific medical interventions like pharmacological treatments or formal in recent accounts, emphasizing instead practical adjustments such as relearning to draw with her non-dominant left hand using a and . Ferris's resilience manifests in her sustained artistic output despite these challenges; she transformed the painstaking process of recreating —initially drawn over three years post-paralysis—into a form of therapeutic practice, completing the work after its original manuscript was lost during shipping. This adaptability extended to the seven-year delay in publishing the sequel in 2024, during which she navigated legal disputes and personal hardships while continuing to produce intricate, hand-drawn graphic novels that explore themes of monstrosity and survival, mirroring her own experiences. Her approach underscores a commitment to creative persistence over physical limitations, as evidenced by public appearances and interviews where she discusses drawing as a means of reclaiming agency, even amid lifelong comorbidities like childhood that compounded her vulnerabilities. By 2024, Ferris remained actively engaged in her career, demonstrating that her health management prioritizes functional independence and artistic expression rather than full restoration of pre-illness capabilities.

Current Residence and Activities

Emil Ferris resides in , a northern suburb of , as of 2024. This location aligns with her longstanding ties to the area, where she grew up and has maintained her artistic career. Ferris remains active in creation and exhibitions. In June 2024, she released My Favorite Thing Is Monsters Book Two, the long-anticipated sequel to her 2017 debut, which continues the story's exploration of horror, identity, and 1960s through intricate ballpoint-pen illustrations. Her work has been featured in exhibitions, including "Beautiful Monsters: The Art of Emil Ferris" at the in New York from August to October 2024, and original pieces from Book Two displayed at Galerie Martel in early 2025. She has participated in public events, such as a discussion at the University of Michigan's Stamps School of Art & Design on October 31, 2024, blending visual storytelling with audience engagement. Ferris maintains an active online presence, sharing artwork and updates via into 2025.

References

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