30 Darkly Hilarious Comics By A Comedic Genius, Madeline Horwath

Bored Panda reached out to Madeline, who shared a bit about herself.

"I am an American-born cartoonist, currently living in London as a graduate student at The Royal College of Art. My hobbies include nonfiction books, nature walks, and visiting historical sites,” wrote Madeline.

We were curious about Madeline’s creative process and how she generates ideas for new comics. The artist shared: “The best way I think about it is making connections between seemingly unrelated topics. Every topic has a metaphorical clasp and if you can create some sort of link in the clasps, you have a joke. So that’s a great lesson to humor, and making connections.”

Madeline’s story of becoming a successful cartoonist involved various odd jobs. The artist explained how all of those experiences influenced the content of her comics.

“Those many odd jobs involved meeting and working with a lot of various people with different experiences. I know comedy seems like it’s about being misanthropic but I have found the opposite to be true. In the two years I lived in Tucson working at a movie theater, I made no art but the art I make is because of that experience.”

We also asked Madeline to tell us what was the most challenging aspect of breaking into the industry of comics. She replied: “The social aspect. You can work your way up by being that trope of the isolated artist, but that’s an obstacle. I had to put myself out there to get my work noticed by The New Yorker.”

Madeline’s comics might make it seem that the artist is truly a character, but as she wrote herself: “I promise, I’m nice. My work seems weird, but I’m a sweetie!”

And lastly, Madeline added: “Have a life outside your art, embrace the non-art hobbies. It all seeps through. The experiences and interests you have outside of art will affect what you make.”