Bowen (Bones) McCurdy is a 28-year-old queer cartoonist. She’s been creating comics since she was 13, and very happily made it her career. Her favorite genres to work with are horror and romance, so most of her work is a combination of the two. She has worked with Marvel, Boom!Box, IDW, and First Second. Her first graphic novel, Specter Inspectors, co-written with Kaitlyn Musto and drawn by Bowen, was published by Boom! Studios in November 2021 and won the YALSA award for Great Graphic Novels for Teens. She has Illustrated Youth Group, written by Jordan Morris, and published by First Second for 2024. She has a solo graphic novel, Cover Your Tracks, in the works with First Second as well. 

I had the opportunity to interview Bowen (Bones), which you can read below.

First of all, welcome to Geeks OUT! Could you tell us a little about yourself? 

Sure! Thanks for having me. My name is Bowen (Bones) McCurdy. I was born and raised in NYC, and have spent the past 27 years here being spoiled rotten by the accessibility of art, culture, and people. I graduated from the School of Visual Arts with a degree in comics, and pretty much immediately hopped into working on my first graphic novel, Specter Inspectors. 

What can you tell us about your latest project, Youth Group? What was it like working on that book with writer, Jordan Morris?

Youth Group is an affectionately written book about being a teenager, organized religion, and demon fighting. When I first read Jordan’s script, I immediately knew I was in good hands. He has a way of writing people that highlights his love for them in a way I find to be unique, especially the way he writes their flaws, which are front and center, and make them human. 

I’m happy to say I was very lucky to get to work with Jordan. Not only is he funny, smart, and good at his job, but he’s also very kind and respectful of the work that goes into the illustration side of things- half of what makes comics what they are. I didn’t know until after the book had been published, but there were a few scenes I’d drawn where I’d interpreted certain interactions in my own way, against his original intent. Jordan didn’t correct me (which to be clear, would have been completely fine and normal). Instead, he chose to let the scene play as I’d naturally read it, and become its own thing. He encouraged me to add my own voice to the telling of this story. This allows for a much more collaborative experience, and the result is a better, happier marriage between art and text, which is generally what you want out of comics! 

What can you tell us about your debut graphic novel, Specter Inspectors? What inspired that story?

Specter Inspectors was a labor of love. It was loosely based off of a five-page mini-comic I’d made during my early college years; a simple story about two girls who get stuck in a haunted hotel. The full graphic novel is much different; a paranormal investigation team that finds themself elbows-deep in a town mystery when one of their members gets possessed by a demon, but the essence of the original story is still there. It won the YALSA Great Graphic Novels for Teens award in 2022!

I say it’s a labor of love because I started working on the art the very week that New York (and the rest of the world) went into lockdown due to the pandemic. Working on a project like this during the uncertainty of the time could have felt burdensome, but instead, it was a great reprieve. In a lot of ways I think it helped me get through it.   

Specter Inspectors also wound up changing a lot over the course of its production. I’m going to attempt to explain without going into spoilers. Originally, as mysteries go, it was fairly standard. The characters followed the clues until it eventually paid off and x-marked-the-spot. This never fully sat right with me. One night, I realized what needed to change and how to go about it. I contacted my team (my cowriter, agent, and editors). We scrapped the original ending entirely and reworked it. It became a totally different book because of that, one that I believe is much stronger. There’s a lot to be said about restarting (or renaming) something that isn’t working and finding a new path forward. 

As a creative, what drew you to the art of storytelling, especially graphic novels/comics? 

I’ve always loved art as well as writing since I was young, especially character interaction and expression. It just made so much sense to pursue the meeting of those two worlds- comics. Comics are, to me, the perfect medium for a solo creator- you can create worlds that you can hold, characters that feel real, environments you can get lost in, endless possibilities for style and format, a story that can be consumed at whatever pace the reader would like. It’s extremely versatile and forgiving for all stories at all scales. 

How would you describe your creative process?

I’m someone who needs a lot of structure and planning- staying organized is the only way I’ll get things done! So I almost always start with a detailed plan of the story, characters, and designs mapped out, with sample pages so that I know aesthetically what to expect the book to look like when completed, to know what I’m working towards. Each book tends to look pretty different- I try to mix things up and give each individual project its own ‘identity’, especially with the palette. 

So, we start with that plan, and moving on from there, I’ll script, thumbnail with pencil and paper, and then take a photo of those thumbnails.  I’ll expand each thumbnail to scale in my digital canvas. After that, it’s a matter of formatting text, borders, and simply drawing over them and refining them until the comic is polished and complete. 

What are some of your favorite elements of writing/illustrating? What do you consider some of the most frustrating and/or difficult? 

The best thing about what I do, and the part I look forward to the most, is my character articulations. Whether in writing or drawing expressions/body language, I have the most fun when I’m bringing someone to life who didn’t exist before. Every panel counts for building a character and allowing the audience to get to know and love them, so puzzling out the best way to do so is a fulfilling challenge. The best payoff is when audiences connect to these characters. 

In terms of difficulty, I have a fairly poor memory- it can be challenging to see the ‘big picture’ plots as other writers may be able to do. Because of this, sometimes the minis are easier for me to conceptualize. But sometimes the story demands a larger winding plot, so I have to work around my memory and make sure all elements come together cohesively. This is largely smoothed over by my friends,  editor, and agent, who will kindly catch any details I missed or plotholes in need of filling.

As a creative, who or what would you say are some of your greatest artistic and creative influences and/or sources of inspiration in general?

One of my favorite cartoonists growing up was undoubtedly Becky Cloonan- her work in horror definitely influenced my trajectory. It was because of her that I realized I could pursue comics too! I also found myself very inspired by French and European comics as I was developing my voice as a comics illustrator;  there’s a freedom of style there that wasn’t really prevalent here in the US when I was growing up. But in general, I try to draw inspiration from as many areas as I can, regardless of genre or medium. Nearly every Impressionist color palette, Goya’s haunting imagery, my friend’s wardrobe, playlists of music that capture a character or story’s ‘vibe’ to get me into the headspace, etc. Everything I can absorb and regurgitate is fair game.

Aside from your work, what are some things you would want others to know about you?

I’m a big fan of chocolate milk!

What’s a question you haven’t been asked yet but that you wish you were asked (as well as the answer to that question)?

What are your feelings on chocolate milk?

Very positive.

What advice might you have to give for aspiring comic creators/graphic novelists?

I’ve gotten this question a lot and my answer is always the same. Make mini-comics!!!!

A good storyteller needs to be able to, most importantly, connect a beginning, middle, and end together. To me, it doesn’t matter how many pages it takes between them to tell the story, what makes a good story is the way it’s told. You can always go back and add more, expand the small stories you make into grander ones. Use them as points to jump off of, or let them be as they are. It’s very tempting as an aspiring author to jump into a large-scale magnum opus, but that can be paralyzing. You’ll gain more confidence with every mini-comic you complete.

Self-contained minis are a fantastic way to get your audience (and future publishers) to get to know your voice in full, but more importantly, for you to get to do so as well. Once you know you’re able to complete a mini-comic, you know you’ll be able to make a graphic novel. Get to know your voice, and your work style, experiment with medium and method, explore, and be selfish with it. Indulge yourself completely. You’ll get to hold the small world you made in your hands after!

Are there any other projects you are working on and at liberty to speak about?

I’m currently beginning a series I’m publishing through First Second, written and drawn by me! It’s called the Westgrave Files; a middle-grade horror trilogy where we’ll explore identity, friendship, monsters, and math homework. Each book will reveal the horrors found in the many different Westgrave school clubs and extracurriculars, such as the art club, swim team, and yearbook committee. 

I’m particularly excited to share more about this series and get it out there- I think it’s going to be a lot of fun, and most importantly, something I desperately would have wanted to read when I was that age. 

Finally, LGBTQ+ books/authors would you recommend to the readers of Geeks OUT? 

Extremely tough question, because the list is so long we’d be here for days!! I’ll start with; Jes and Cin Wibowo (check out Lunar Boy), Adeline (Prince) Kon, Ellis (Elle) Pierre, Kimberly Wang, Mika Khaytin, E.M. Carroll, Knack Whittle, Xanthe Bouma. There are so many wonderful queer authors already out there and so many who are finding their way, it’s incredibly inspiring to be creating at this time alongside so much talent. Hats off to everyone!!!