Next, the artist told us about the inspiration behind the series: “I’ve always been a huge fan of comics since I was a kid. I grew up reading comic strips, like Calvin and Hobbes, Peanuts; comic book series, like Teen Titans, The Powerpuff Girls, [and] Sonic the Hedgehog; graphic novels, like The Baby-Sitter’s Club [and] Amelia Rules!, and manga, too. I’ve always loved stories and always loved to draw; comics are the best of both worlds! Using art to tell a story just feels like the perfect medium for me, and as a kid, I loved working on my own comic projects or creating my own characters across genres like magical girl fantasy, superheroes, and middle school life…”
Somewhere near the start of my university years, I thought it would be fun to try making my own silly little slice-of-life comics. I felt like there were a lot of comedic situations in my everyday life to draw from, and I had a lot of encouraging friends as well, which gave me the push to start. Thus, A Cookie A Day was born!”
When asked how she comes up with ideas for new cartoons, Ngo shared with us that most of her ideas stem from her daily life. She continued: “The small joys, worries, annoyances…. There’s a lot of ‘struggles of growing up’ humor in there, too; my comics pretty much reflect the things going on in my life at the moment. I keep a note on my phone with a running list of comic ideas – sometimes, something funny happens, and I’m like, ‘Gotta write this down!’ Other times, I might sit and brainstorm comic ideas – and the question that leads me there is usually, ‘What’s an everyday situation that happened in my life recently that could be framed in a humorous way?’
Even things that don’t seem funny in the moment can be funny later on or if you look at them in a different way!”
Lastly, the creator of A Cookie a Day told us more about her influences in the world of comics and humor: “My biggest influence is Sarah Andersen, the author of Sarah’s Scribbles! I came across one of her strips one day and instantly fell in love with the humor and art style – so I sought out more of her work, and now, I have her comic collections in print. I’ve always been into comics, but it was her relatable humor that sparked the serious thought in me of making webcomics, too! I’m also a big fan of Shen Comix, as well as The Pigeon Gazette, because they’re hilarious.”
"These days, I’m reading a lot of webtoons – my favorite genres are romance and horror. The Kiss Bet by Ingrid Ochoa and School Bus Graveyard by Red are some personal favorites.”Although A Cookie A Day is a slice-of-life 4-panel comic strip, in the future, I’d really love to expand to working on longer narratives and experiment with other genres as well as art styles.”
Finally, Elise added: “For those interested, I do have one short story horror/thriller comic I’ve worked on with my friend and writer Shivani Krishnan – called Dolls and Flowers, available on Webtoon!”
