The Chicago scene is rapidly emerging as one of the hippest - and happiest - places for women’s indie comics. Boasting such talents as Lucy Knisley (Stop Paying Attention) and Corinne Mucha (Maiden Housefly Comics), Chicago is livening up printed comics and the web with witty, idiosyncratic, and beautifully-illustrated comics by women (and some men, too).

One of the most engaging and delightful of the Chicago artists is Sarah Becan. Her award-winning mini-comic Ouija Interviews features twee little ghostly characters telling painfully fascinating stories and spouting some rather obvious truths. These life lessons from beyond the grave are somehow made less pedantic by the ghosts’ incredulity. We sense them looking at back at us from the page, as if saying, “I mean, duh! You needed me to tell you that life is short?” Becan transfers that same talent to her web comic about food and body image. You can get your daily menus, recipes, and irony at I Think You’re Sauceome.

Meanwhile, Becan’s highly ambitious and genuinely interesting comic Shuteye eschews the often whimsical sweetness of the Chicago style in favor of a provocative, and sometimes quite dark exploration of the true nature of the dream state. Becan is expert at exploring violence without leaving her reader feeling violated. This is a rare skill, all too rare in contemporary comics.

Sarah Becan is an artist worth watching, and her Shortpants Press is a great place to do it. Not only will you find copies of Becan’s own work, but you’ll be introduced to the artists that she is watching. She is fast emerging as a leader: as artist, publisher, and promoter. We had a chance to interview her late last year, and hope you enjoy her sparkling personality as much as we do!

ITCH: What was your first comic strip/cartoon/comic?

Sarah Becan: Ok, you will laugh, but when I was about 9 years old I submitted a 4-panel comic strip to Cricket Magazine, a literary magazine for kids.

It was for a contest, and it won a prize, and got reprinted very, very small in the magazine. I can’t even remember it completely, but there was a boy, and he was fighting Captain Hook on the plank of a pirate ship, and then in the last panel it was revealed he was arguing with his swimming instructor and stubbornly refusing to dive off the diving board. It was very Calvin-and-Hobbes inspired. That was officially my first printed comic. I did some editorial and political cartooning in high school and college that I’m not very proud of, and I contributed to a few anthology projects here and there, but the first comic project that I really attacked in earnest is probably the first Ouija Interview.

ITCH: What are you reading right now?

SB: Vanessa Davis’s Make Me a Woman is my latest treasure. It’s a gorgeous book full of gorgeous drawings, very real and raw and honest. I absolutely recommend it!

ITCH: What is your guilty pleasure? At least, the one that really answers an ITCH!

SB: Oh, video games. I play Katamari and Okami and a few others, but I’m especially addicted to Persona 3 and Persona 4 from the Shin Megami Tensei series, they’re an interesting blend of high school dating simulator and monster fighting. Whenever I’m in the middle of a huge stressful project, I will find time to play, because in the game, while I may have to fight monsters, manage friendships, save the world and still take my final exams, at least I don’t have to work on that huge stressful project.

ITCH: Who was the first cartoonist/animator you met?

SB: Art Spiegelman. I saw him speak at UW Madison maybe 12 or 13 years ago. I was really impressed with how he kept lighting new cigarettes off of old ones while he was giving his talk. Afterwards I waited in line to have him sign my copy of Maus, and shyly chatted with him about wanting to draw comics too, I’m sure I was the 1000th person that night to tell him that.

ITCH: Which dead cartoonist/animator would you most like to meet?

SB: Walt Kelly, hands down. He’s why I got into comics in the first place. My grandparents collected Pogo Possum, and when I was visiting them as a child I’d hide in the closet and read them cover to cover. Obviously the subtle philosophy and politics of them were lost on me then, but Pogo can be enjoyed on so many levels.

ITCH: What would you say?

SB: I think I’d mostly just thank him profusely, and then yell at him for setting the bar so high.

ITCH: What has been the highlight of your career to date?

SB: This last SPX I was on a panel with Vanessa Davis and Gabrielle Bell, and I was a little lightheaded with excitement to be at the same table as the two of them, I admire their work so much.

ITCH: Please tell us a little about your latest project.

SB: I’ve got two main things going on right now. I’m trying to finish up my Shuteye series - I have one more story planned for it, which will loop back around to the first story, I’m writing it right now. I’m also doing an almost-daily webcomic called I Think You’re Sauceome which is part food diary, part in-depth examination of my issues with body and self-image. I’m also working on a Sauceome comics cookbook to go with it.

ITCH: Which old-time cartoon character do you most identify with?

SB: Is it bad that my first instinct is to say Churchy Lafemme from the Pogo books? He seems to vacillate wildly between boundless optimistic confidence and over-dramatic misery and insecurity, which sounds about right.

ITCH: If you could have any superpower, what would it be?

SB: Once, I told my boyfriend that I wished my superpower was being able to give cars flat tires whenever they cut me off on my bike, and he told me that my superpower could be accomplished with a nail gun.

We love hearing the news that Becan is working on the conclusion to her fascinating dream series Shuteye. We’re dancing around with excitement! Becan shows every sign of emerging as a major talent, and her work is well worth following. If you enjoy the witty travails of today’s hip and urban middle-class women, then we recommend signing up for the I Think You’re Sauceome RSS feed. If you enjoy something a little less easily-defined, yet even more engaging, check in frequently at Shortpants Press. If you’ve missed collecting Shuteye or The Ouija Interviews, now would be a good time to start tracking down the out of print stuff, and collecting the new stuff. Pay careful attention to the subtleties of Becan’s art and storytelling. In these subtleties lie the seeds of immortality. We’re sure of it!

And as always, thank you Sarah!