Bored Panda reached out to the artist, who kindly agreed to answer our questions about her work. First, Suits discussed her creative process, explaining that the ideas she comes up with are a mix of both spontaneity and careful thought: “Sometimes an idea just appears with no apparent prompt—like while I'm washing dishes or driving. Other times a caption comes when I stare at an image long enough. Hearing or reading a word or phrase will prompt an idea or caption. Thus there is no one method I use to come up with an idea.”
We were also curious if the cartoonist had ever come up with an idea she loved but found too obscure or niche to publish. Julia told us: “I'm sure I've drawn cartoons I think are my best, but they are extremely misanthropic, dystopian, immature, or use horrible puns. A few of my crude sex cartoons appear in Liza Donnelly's collection of sex cartoons by women cartoonists. Matt Diffee, brilliant New Yorker cartoonist, published two Rejection Collection books featuring cartoonists' rejected cartoons that were too inappropriate for The New Yorker. I have a few in those."
When asked how her approach to cartooning has changed over the years, Suits responded: “My conceptual approach hasn't changed too much. My subject matter has always had (unconsciously) a gender-neutral, non-binary, multiracial point of view. In 2012, my body of cartoon work was noted in a sociology research paper as representing more people of color than any other New Yorker cartoonist. That hasn't changed. One change in my work is that since Emma Allen took over the cartoon desk, and I learned she likes cats, I submit more cat cartoons than before. Since 2016, she has brought in a wave of new cartoonists, mostly women, thereby enlarging the range of humor styles to attract more readers: from big, heavy conceptual stuff, to chatty commentary and relatable, little, quirky observations of everyday life.”
The cartoonist also shared her thoughts on shifting trends she has noticed: “Social media, contemporary memes, societal shifts and trends have changed drastically in just the last few years, and cartoonists must keep up.”
Lastly, we were curious which of her own cartoons Julia considers her personal favorite. She revealed: “I have several absolute favorites that are all 10/10. So for this question, I'll answer with ‘Anyhoo, it's malignant.’ It was a cartoon that I thought the editors would reject because it was dark (about cancer). After it was published, I received a letter from a dying cancer patient who said this cartoon made her laugh out loud and she was so grateful for the dark and honest humor."
