2014 in Review: Karen Beilharz

Toward the Waves - Words by Karen Beilharz. Art by Daniel Gilmore.

What have been your personal cartooning/comics highlights of 2014?
That I actually produced things with my collaborators this year was something of a triumph--especially given that earlier in the year, I gave birth to my second child and have been grappling with sleep deprivation and limited free time ever since. Paul Wong-Pan and I finally put out Part 1 of our ongoing graphic novel, Eternal Life in time for Supanova Sydney in June: http://hivemindedness.com/eternallife. In addition, René Pfitzner and I collaborated on a six-page comic about cons and cosplayers called Coarse Play.

What are some of the comics you've enjoyed in 2014?
Unfortunately I haven't been able to read that much this year, but I have enjoyed

    Three (Kieron Gillen, Ryan Kelly, Jordie Bellaire)
    The Wicked and the Divine (Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie, Matt Wilson, Clayton Cowles)
    Young Avengers Vol 2 (Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie, Matt Wilson, Clayton Cowles) (You can see a pattern here!)
    Demeter, Wolves and The Mire (Becky Cloonan)
    Ellerbisms and Chloe Noonan: Monster Hunter (Marc Ellerby)
    Hildafolk, Hilda and the Midnight Giant, Hilda and the Bird Parade (Luke Pearson) (Still need to read the fourth Hilda book!)
    Sex Criminals Volume 1: One Weird Trick (Matt Fraction, Chip Zdarsky)

What is something non-comics that you have enjoyed in 2014?
Is it too much of a cliché to say I've really enjoyed my baby? People say that when you have your first child, you're so taken up with getting used to being a parent, learning how to do new things, and understanding babies and how they develop, that it can be hard to take a step back and appreciate babydom. But when you have your second child, you're more experienced and therefore (usually) less stressed about all that stuff because you've done it all before. People are totally right: I've found 0-12 months way more interesting and enjoyable than my first time around. It certainly helps that she's ridiculously cute and very laidback!

What are you looking forward to in 2015?
Getting back some of my writing time while my kids are in preschool/childcare and being able to work on new projects! I'm also looking forward to collaborating with new artists too.

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Feeling - Words by Karen Beilharz. Art by Mike Barry.