When you go to Christine Mari Inzer's Instagram account, all you'll see are carefully drawn black-and-white panels depicting a young woman navigating her life, mostly in Japan. When Inzer, then a university student in the United States, began posting her hand-drawn comics, her followers were limited to close friends and family. Now, a year or so later, she has more than 110,000 people following her account.
Based on comments from those followers, Inzer's appeal might come from the fact that her comics are deeply personal. At times, Inzer touches on her mental and emotional health, baring her anxieties and fears with the kind of honesty you'd get in an intimate conversation with a close friend. Most often, however, the illustrator focuses on her experiences as a half-Japanese, half-American woman. Through her artwork, Inzer delves into understanding her identity, a pursuit that appears to be resonating with a wide audience.
