Seattlest Interview: Ellen Forney, author/illustrator of Lust

The biggest difference is that in Lustlab Ad of the Week, I edit and shape the text. I decide which ad I want to use, pluck something from the text, and rework it to make it catchy and vivid. I rarely use the ad’s wording as is. I put together maybe two sentences or a series of short clauses or alliteration, and make up a title. It's been a really good exercise in editing and word choice -- there’s not much room. Writing, editing, and making the text work with the visuals, those are major differences between the cartoons -- and comics in general -- and illustrations.

Though too, some of the Lustlab graphics are direct illustrations off the text -- like in the foot fetish one, I drew a lot of people's toes. But some of them I mess with -- I make fake products, I grew up with Wacky Packages. I try to combine the words and pictures in a way where you can’t separate them. Once I did the inside of a bathroom stall and I made the text look like graffiti.

That’s another important point about the difference with illustrations: I love playing with lettering and fonts, making those expressive. I used '60s psychedelic rock poster lettering for “Bondage Hippie,” graffiti lettering for the hip-hop rapper, stuff like that. Almost all of them have some sort of script or lettering treatment that goes with the cartoon.

One of the frustrating things about Lustlab Ad of the Week is there's no good category for it. It's not a comic, because it's not a story. But it's not really a cartoon. I started calling them cartoons because it's one panel, but it's really almost a little story or a little portrait made out of a combination of words and graphics. But how do you say that? “Cartoon,” that’s good enough.

Sometimes it's described as an illustrated personal ad, but I feel like the edited text is a major part of what I do in Lustlab. It's not strictly illustration, by any means.

You almost fit in the company of Gary Larson and Bil Keane. You're not doing the punchline at the bottom, but...

And that's the thing. You say cartoon, one-panel cartoon, and the understood definition is a drawing, maybe with word balloons in it, but then with a punchline or explanation underneath. Lustlab isn't structured like that.

The editing you do becomes really clear in Lust on the pages where you put the original ad on the page opposite your illustrated version. Have you had anyone complain about how you represented them? Do you get much feedback?

It surprised me at first but I haven't gotten that much feedback from people whose ads I do. But those who've written to me, it's been wholly positive.

One of the ads I did, the now-girlfriend of a guy whose ad became one of my cartoons, emailed me to ask for a nice print of it to give to him. She hooked up with him because of that ad. It's such an honor to have been part of that.

How do you decide what to cut and what to keep?

Well, it’s hard to explain how I even choose an ad. The real answer, which makes me sound like a smartass, is that I choose something I know I can pull a cartoon from. Something very vivid, or an unusual kink, or an unusual way of wording something, or just something I think is interesting. Then it becomes a puzzle for me: what am I going to do? For example, there was a couple who wanted to get together with a third. A well-hung, Latina, pre-op transgender switch and a white, bottom bi-male couple are seeking … basically, someone, anyone. They were such an interesting, odd combination of characteristics. How could I represent them?

I had a really hard time deciding what to do, but I was determined to puzzle it out. I'd drawn thumbnail after thumbnail, and finally I gave up and went for a walk. I was looking at people’s lawns, it was spring, and it occurred to me that the answer was to draw a plant. So I went to the conservatory at Volunteer Park and they had exactly what I wanted to draw: that really androgynous plant with heart-shaped leaves and the phallic...stamen? Is it a stamen? It's one I'm really happy with because it was difficult and I was satisfied with the solution. [editor's note: p. 154 in Lust]

Some of them are easier. There was a couple who said they were superheroes and they want to show you their "fucking powers," so I was like "All right, I'll draw superheroes and that's what they'll be saying in a word balloon." No problem.

What are your criteria for judging whether or not a particular ad is successful, or a really good one? Is there a constant theme or are there rules you try to follow?

For sure there are some I think are unsuccessful -- how could I like all of my work, really? Especially when I have to do a new one every week. When I put together the book I took out one or two dozen that I thought were weak -- the graphic didn't add anything to the text, or the wording was awkward, or they just didn't come out that interesting or dynamic.

One thing I love about Lustlab is that I can pour a lot of effort into one cartoon and then leave it and not have to be consistent with it next week. I don't have to draw a character the same way, I don't have to use the same style. Sometimes I can be very spare and use lots of black. Sometimes I use lots of crosshatching and detail. Sometimes it's full of references, like recently I drew a lot of elements from Joel-Peter Witkin, the photographer. The woman said she was really into dark art, and she listed a few different artists including Witkin, whose work I adore. It's really creepy and dark. So I used that - his kind of imagery, his way of scratching up the paper.

The ones I get most excited about are the ones where I can experiment with some sort of style that was new for me, or a new way of putting things together. It's such a great place for me to expand my repertoire -- my editing, my rendering, my design.

How have these influenced the other work you do? Is it a clear-cut influence, or the typical "everything you do influences everything else" kind of situation?

I'd say the latter. I don't get to experiment anywhere else like I do here. Lustlab Ad of the Week is a creative outlet for me. Challenging yourself artistically is an important part of keeping stimulated as a creative person. Even if I'm not actually using those specific rendering techniques, it keeps me feeling inspired. It's a place to play.

Are there any kinks or fetishes that you've shied away from, or haven't covered yet, or that you feel like you haven't captured as successfully as you'd want to?

It's not easy to come across new fetishes. Everyone wants to be tied up or to tie someone else up. So generally I'm happy to come across things I haven't heard of before. I don't think there are many I'd skip. I don't do any "must be discreet because I don't want my partner to know." I don't think that's ethical.

I guess there are some that don't seem...healthy. Like, "be my daddy" fantasies are really common, and sometimes it sounds healthy, and sometimes it sounds like somebody is dealing with a history of abuse in a way that isn't healthy. For one thing, that'd make a creepy cartoon, and that's not what I'm doing in this forum. I’m not going to try to get that ad pulled, or try to pull that person aside and tell them, "I don't think you're doing the right thing." They're adults making their own decisions. But, I mean, it's my cartoon, so I get to play god, I guess.

What I ended up doing with Lustlab Ad of the Week was making it a celebration of kinky sex. Here's this community of people who are putting their sexual desires out there -- they're being honest with themselves and with other people about what they want. Ideally, they're getting it, too! Honestly, I think they are.

A lot of people have unhealthy attitudes about sex, about what they desire, they hold a lot back, there’s a lot of shame, and repression can come out in ugly ways. I would love to inspire people to be more comfortable with who they are, to come out in whatever way that would make their lives more fulfilling. That's one of the reasons I try to keep Lustlab Ad of the Week playful and positive. And raunchy, but not in a judgmental way.

Have you used Lustlab yourself?

Well, yes -- but well before I started doing the cartoon. Some things are hard to find in your regular life, or things get complicated with friends, you know? That's one of the reasons I was so excited to get the opportunity to do this cartoon about Lustlab, because I know it works.

In your dedication, you specifically call out the voyeurs. Do you feel like you cater to the voyeuristic instinct in the people who read these ads?

Did you think that was funny?

Yeah! Very funny!

I think that's the truth, you know. I love watching people page through Lust going, "Wow! I never knew there were so many kinks!" Or, "Wow, isn't it funny that I turned right to this page!" People who don't actively have a kink still find personal ads really titillating. A lot of people don't admit that, they just point and go, "Look at that weird thing!" But what's their motivation for looking? I'm not saying they secretly have fetishes, but one reason I called it out that way is to say, "Ask yourself: what are you doing here? There's something you like about it, admit it!"

Finally, want to plug your opening on the 9th?

Why yes, thanks! There's going to be a book launch party and art exhibit for Lust on Saturday, February 9th at the Fantagraphics store in Georgetown, 6–9pm. I mean it, it’ll be a party. There's going to be a DJ, David James, spinning sexy love songs, cigarette girls carrying chocolate bars with custom Lust wrappers, a kissing booth, and a couple dozen Lustlab Ad of the Week originals for sale. It's going to be really, really, fun!