Jennifer Camper

Jennifer Camper is a cartoonist and graphic artist whose work is inspired by her own experiences as a Lebanese-American lesbian. Her work has been published in newspapers, magazines, online, and in anthologies since the 1980s, Camper is also the creator and founding director of the biennial Queers and Comics conference.

Early life When she was younger, Jennifer Camper did not have the dream of becoming a cartoonist and contributing to the world of queer comics. In an interview with Rob Kirby on The Comics Journal, Camper stated that she "sort of fell into it and just continued. From early childhood I played with all kinds of art forms, including comics and illustrated stories. In school, I made comics and illustrated stories as class assignments, or for the school paper, and sometimes just to entertain my friends and myself. My family encouraged this."

Career

Camper has been producing comics since the 1980s. Her work has appeared in many publications and is notable for tackling many issues found throughout the LGBTQA+ community. Jennifer Camper is also the editor of the comic book Juicy Mother. Of the title, Camper stated that it "just floated in on the wind. I like the word 'mother' because it can mean both 'Mother' — creator and nurturer — and 'Mutha.' I like the word 'juicy' because, well, who doesn't?" The first conference was held under the auspices of the Center for LGBT Studies at the CUNY Graduate Center in New York City, with keynote speakers Howard Cruse and Alison Bechdel.

Camper's work has oft been praised for the way it tackles political and social issues throughout the world, but for also how it personally affects others. MK Czerwiec mentions that Camper's Bearing Angry Witness was an important influence on her work.

Influences Jennifer Camper explained in an interview with Rob Kirby that she discovered underground comix when she was a teenager and then went on to read comics written about the LGBTQA+ community, such as Wimmen's Comix, Tits & Clits, Pudge, Girl Blimp, and Gay Comix. Once she got into reading these comics she says that "I never doubted that there was room for my own voice in comics." Following her teenage years she began to draw comics for the Gay Community News in Boston. She then submitted her work to Gay Comix, where she developed an audience that lead to further assignments.

Camper also described how Howard Cruse's work and extraordinary talent paved the way and influenced her own path into the world of queer comics in another interview. "After getting out of school, I began publishing cartoons and illustrations in Gay News Community and in Gay Comix, edited by Howard Cruse. Howard is the Godfather of queer comics and has mentored so many of us. He is unfailingly generous in sharing his knowledge and techniques." Juicy Mother: How They Met, edited by Jennifer Camper, Manic D Press, 2007

Books Rude Girls and Dangerous Women, published by Laugh Lines Press in 1994 SubGURLZ, published by Cleis Press in 1999.

Contributions A Century of Women Cartoonists, edited by Trina Robbins, Kitchen Sink Press, 1993, The Great Women Cartoonists, edited by Trina Robbins, Kitchen Sink Press, 1997, "A Day In The Life...Reference Librarian", Cathy and Jennifer Camper, Revolting Librarians Redux: Radical Librarians Speak Out, edited by Katia Roberts and Jessamyn West, McFarland and Company, Inc., 2003, Boy Trouble, edited by Robert Kirby and David Kelly, Boy Trouble Books, 2004 Dead High Yearbook, edited by Ivan Velez Jr., Dutton Books, (a division of Penguin Group (USA) 2007 The Book of Boy Trouble 2: Born to Trouble, edited by Robert Kirby and David Kelly, Green Candy Press, 2008

Nominations Lambda Literary Award for Humor Lambda Literary Award for LGBT Anthologies