A Marian “Maxine” Henley TwoFer
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« From October 1981 until December 2002, Maxine appeared in a head-scratching combination of publications such as San Francisco Chronicle, Heavy Metal, MS, Glamour, Austin Chronicle, LA Weekly, Utne Reader, Asbury Park Press, MAD, Funny Times, and even a newsletter for Hawaiian polygamists. »
Maxine is a recent visitor to my brainscape – co-admin RG dragged out stacks of Comic Relief from the 90s to look for something else, and that’s where the lovely choppiness of Henley’s art was pointed out to me.
Redscraper at Who’s Out There? favors us with a gallery of Maxine comic strips by Marian Henley.
That in turn inspired John Freeman at downthetubes to check into whatever happened to Marian Henley, turns out nothing happened she is still out and about and active.
Marian Henley, who lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband Rick, son William, and numerous cats and dogs, is still busy today as a cartoonist, artist, and author. In addition to US publication, her work has been translated for foreign publication into Russian, Swedish, Italian, and Spanish.
Marian is more a graphic novelist these days than a comic strip cartoonist. From Freeman:
Her work includes The Shiniest Jewel, published in 2008, a moving graphic memoir that poignantly recounts Marian Henley’s trials and tribulations in her late 40s: adopting a baby from Russia, deciding whether to marry her younger boyfriend, and coping with her elderly father’s illness.
She’s also the author of Pucker Up!, a cheeky, irreverent, funny, and occasionally poignant guide for women on aging well.
Freeman present a little background on Henley’s beginnings as a child artist and previews her newest book:
Marian’s most recent work includes Finding the Light, published last year, a poignant graphic memoir that describes the most difficult conversation between a mother and her son — the one about the two rapes she experienced as a young woman. It’s something she always knew she would share with her son, but the process of doing so is harder — and more freeing — than she could have imagined.
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