Let's talk about Crystal. One of her unique traits is that she's a writer who can also draw, and that's no small feat, as these skills sometimes run opposite to each other. The Los Angeles-based artist works at BuzzFeed as a senior editor, and makes her comics between her work and her day-to-day life. But her comic passion project is picking up slowly but surely, and she enjoys a solid 20k followers on her Instagram. Who knows, maybe she'll pursue her hobby full-time someday? In any case, let's hope that Crystal does whatever she wants to.
In the last decade, there has been a great wave of a new type of comic, one that primarily focuses on all things woman, and many have received it like a gust of fresh air. Over many years, the people have grown tired of the same old male-dominated perspective in a male-dominated field, and little by little, the new generation of comic artists rose. While the old guard moaned that the times are a-changin', many agreed that there's many upsides to this: it normalized and legitimized the female perspective in things as well as encouraged other women to pursue a comic or any other career, as many of the comics started showing the fickle work-life balance of many women.
Perhaps there's no point stating the obvious, but Crystal's comics openly and frequently address a somewhat taboo subject, menstruation. A keen eye may notice that there are many hacks that Crystal uses to help her period symptoms. For example, she often depicts herself with a heating pad, which is known to effectively alleviate pain. Massaging the lower abdomen also helps relax the muscles. Others recommend taking a warm bath, or doing a light exercise to help increase blood flow. As for the bloating, many suggest eating healthy and drinking water. But don't feel bad if you feel lazy, weak, and want to snack all the time—it's not you, it's your hormones.
If you love comics that see the world from a female perspective, just like this one, then you'll be glad to hear that we have many more. They all talk about similar things, but they all have their own unique flavor to them. Bella Sriwantana often compares her female struggles with others, Sasha Tsoy knows a lot about unmet expectations, Hanna reminds us that every girl's body is different. And of course, there are others that are just comfortable talking about their everyday life, mental health, and other things: Erin loves sharing absurd stuff inspired by daily life, Estela speaks about her inner demons, and Akshara just shares how she feels.
