The Sci-Fi Strangeness (And Canadian Sensuality) Of Cartoonist Michael DeForge

Michael DeForge isn't satisfied with his work unless he's in over his head — and the 29-year-old Canadian cartoonist has become one of the comic-book industry's most exciting, unpredictable talents because of this eagerness to push himself outside of his comfort zone. "I need to feel challenged by what I'm working on," DeForge told me in an e-mail conversation. "Or that I'm grasping for something just a little out of my reach. That feeling is very important for me, and if that energy isn't there, I usually take it as a sign that the comic isn't worth drawing."

I first discovered DeForge's work with, his sprawling 2014 graphic novel about the collapse of an insect society. Blending comedy and tragedy with a vibrant, psychedelic art style, took me completely by surprise, and every new DeForge project since then has challenged my expectations of both his artistic point of view and the comic-book medium. I'll never forget that (warning — that link is not safe for work) of the colony's queen, a neon-hued image spotlighting a bulbous, slightly humanoid figure with drooping yellow breasts, transparent black flesh, and a bridge leading directly into her genitalia.