Meet Katrina Kaj” Kunstmann | Non-Binary Queer Comic Creator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Katrina “Kaj” Kunstmann and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Katrina “Kaj”, why did you pursue a creative career?

I’ve been drawing and writing since I was very young, encouraged by artistic parents (artist/hair stylist, and chef, respectively) and I’d also been exposed to aspects of nerd culture such as video games, anime, and manga when I was young. These influences left a significant impact on me and I decided at an early age I was either going to do something artistic or become a veterinarian. The connective ability of storytelling to convey emotion to an audience has always interested me. It is something I want to create in my own work.

I went to university in London for screenwriting, but when the UK Parliament changed the laws such that my university no longer qualified for a post-study work Visa, I had to move back to California. Without the connections I had made during my time in Uni, I was at a loss for how to go about breaking into the film world in Los Angeles- which is immense compared to London. Being that I could draw, I figured that instead of trying to scrape together the money to hire a crew to shoot a movie, I could employ the visual narrative skills I picked up during my time in film school and embrace a childhood aspiration to be a mangaka, and strike out to create comics instead.

I feel that comics and manga, like film, are a marriage of visual media and written media and are a uniquely evocative art form that allows creators to deeply connect with an audience. I personally feel comics are particularly suited to dealing with emotional topics such as identity and mental health, as hand-drawing the way emotions and identities feel is both cathartic for the creator and impactful for the reader. Drawings can seamlessly convey the surreal aspects of living, which I love employing in my own work. Taking the time to build up emotional context in a story, and allow scenes and moments to breath is a dying art in storytelling that I try to keep alive in my own work. It’s incredibly validating when readers of my work reach back to me to say how they related with their own struggles in mental health and emotional regulation. It keeps me going.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?

My work tends to be an amalgam of my experiences and skills that play off of each other to make a cumulative whole. The style and pacing of my work is heavily influenced from film and animation, to the point where I often received comments at conventions asking me if I was a storyboard artist. I figured if enough people are asking me that, perhaps I should do storyboards as well. Then I worked toward building storyboard abilities, and the experience I have in both those disciplines work together to further develop my style.

Similarly, I was cooking at a young age as one of my parents is a chef, so cooking and culinary arts are also a big part of my life. Eventually I became confident enough to make “Trash Dragon’s Tasteful Noods, Foods, and Treats” a 292 page fully illustrated step-by-step vegetarian comic book cook book that shares recipes near and dear to my heart. The whole book is something I’m very proud of, it was a lot of work both in the kitchen and at the drawing desk. I never thought I’d have to draw so many pots and pans for my job! It’s really rewarding to see people make the recipes and share them online- particularly folx who may have attention deficit issues or folx who are very new to cooking.

The project that means the most to me is Warhead, a three volume graphic novel that is both a love letter to London, as well as a surreal recounting of what it feels like to struggle with depression, anxiety, and borderline personality disorder- all of which are conditions I have myself. I started the project in 2013 after drafting a very loose outline the year before. I’ve been posting a page or two a week online the past ten years, minus a hiatus last year when I took time to finish the second volume. It’s a unique project for sure- the art style changes as my own style changed and developed over the years. Warhead is very personal project to me since there’s so much of me in it. It’s failure and success, for better or worse, definitely impacts how I feel about myself and whether or not I’m successful. I’m working ardently towards having the third and final volume out next year in time for San Diego Comic Con- which will also mark my tenth year of exhibiting at comic conventions!

Warhead was also the key to getting client work when I was fresh on the scene. It allowed me to demonstrate my dedication and staying power which helped clients feel confident in my ability to not flake or drop the ball. That client work helped open up doors to anthologies and bigger projects. I’m focusing on my own work now and promoting those projects, eventually working towards pitching to publishers. Up till now I’ve mostly stayed with self publishing my own work, which I enjoy immensely. But I’m definitely working toward feeling more confident in pitching and promoting myself. I’m shy by nature, particularly about my work, and I’m trying to feel more at ease with talking about it and how my creative path might not be what people are accustomed to.

At the heart of everything I do I hope my work will help people feel less alone, or help make the world a little better. Be it readers relating to the experiences or characters in the stories I tell, or in the case of the cookbook, that you’re not drowning in a sea of text as you’re trying to learn how to make schnitzel. Many of the cat stickers I make also have a portion of their proceeds donated to Kitten Rescue Los Angeles, which is a cat and kitten rescue I foster with. This year I was able to raise over $1,000 which I’m really proud of. They’re a great organization and I’m so happy I get to help them.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?

Oh man- I haven’t lived in Los Angeles very long (though I am a born and raised Californian) and two of my four years here in LA were during lock-down!

Unsurprisingly I feel like most of the places I know are restaurants and bookstores.
I love getting up early and going to Venice or Santa Monica to walk the beach when it’s nice and empty and you don’t have to fight for parking. I especially love it when it’s gloomy and foggy- it’s so quiet and peaceful. Then I’d recommend heading to either Urth Cafe in Santa Monica or Great White in Venice for breakfast. Both are fantastic any time of the day and their food is outstanding in freshness, quality, and flavor.
Other restaurants I’d recommend for excellent food are Nic’s on Beverly and Crossroads Kitchen- they rival Great White for some of the most phenomenal food I’ve ever had. For dessert and pastries I cannot skip dragging friends to Artelice. Truly some of the finest patisserie I’ve had.

I also love Mochinut Ktown (for the mochinuts of course), Mumu Cafe (the Taiyaki Croissants) and Iki Ramen (anything and everything- exquisite). Occasionally Candlelight Concerts will have an evening of classical music at the Immanuel Presbyterian Church (also in Koreatown) and those are always lovely. I loved attending the Vivaldi evening Candlelight hosted there.

Huntington Garden isn’t technically in Los Angeles, but I love what they do and I really enjoyed their 100 Great British Drawings Exhibit. Antiques are another interest of mine and seeing drawings from the 1700’s was wonderful. Walking the gardens and greenhouse there is also fantastic. When you’re in Pasadena you must also visit Tail Town cat cafe! All the cats there are adoptable and are cats from Kitten Rescue Los Angeles. I teach drawing classes there when I have time, with all proceeds going back to Tail Town to help the cats. A little hop over into Burbank is Catnip Coalition which is a vintage goods and art market on Magnolia where a portion of their proceeds are donated to cat rescues! There are amazing vintage finds there- everything from Wedgewood china to pokemon cards, and you can find some of my holographic disco cat paintings.
Hive Gallery is also great for art lovers, as is QPop and Giant Robot in Sawtelle Japan Town.

For books I’d head to either Small World Books in Venice or Kinokuniya to browse books and stationary (I still send old fashioned letters), and probably leave with more than I intended to buy. I’d also recommend Pop-Hop in Eagle Rock for great indie buys from local and small artists creators- they sell a lot of Zines too! They are independently owned as well, and offer their space for workshops and events. Village Well in Culver City is also great and independently owned and they will also take books from indie creators. Golden Apple Comics is also great and as well as Comic Bug and Secret Hideout.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?

It’s cliche, but I’m definitely grateful for my readers. I’ve been making Warhead for 10 years now and I’m incredibly thankful for each person that reads my work. Particularly folx who have been reading since the first year or two. Sincerest thanks to Paolo Encarnacion for the nomination. Humblest thanks go to my friends Amanda Linhardt, Robert and Ashley Ochoa, Angela Oddling, VT Animations, and Moonsquidink.

Extremely grateful to my reader turned friend turned line editor turned editor Mori Waylett; and my friend turned formatter and cover designer Ray Friesen. I illustrate the cover but he makes it actually look like a professional book that you’d want to buy.

I’m also very grateful to the fellow comic collaborators who took a chance on me and invited me to contribute to their anthologies- Josh Trujillo, Frank Forte, Russell Nohelty, Caleb Palmquist, Extra Pages Press. I’m incredibly grateful to Negative Space Comics for graciously voting me the Runner Up Finalist for their Short Comic Competition in 2022. It was so encouraging to be seen in that capacity.

I’m especially grateful to my reader turned spouse, John Grillo, who is also an artist. He has been unwaveringly supportive of my creative work and goals, and I’ve supported his work in kind. He fully embraced my non-binary identity without hesitation which was immensely validating for me and helped encourage me to speak more about my queer identity in my work. Together this year we founded our business Biolumen Press, though we had been operating under that name since 2021. It’s been wonderful to work together on this and know we support each other. Conventional business wisdom advises against working with your spouse but in our case, it’s the ideal.

Website: https://www.biolumenpress.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/k_sanzo/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ksanzo

Other: Art Portfolio: https://www.krop.com/katrinakunstmann/ Warhead on Webtoons: https://www.webtoons.com/en/canvas/warhead/list?title_no=268674

Image Credits
All illustrations made by Katrina “Kaj” E Kunstmann. All photos by Katrina “Kaj” E Kunstmann or John Grillo.