Passport is an unforgettable graphic memoir by debut talent Sophia Glock reveals her discovery as a teenager that her parents are agents working for the CIA.
We had the pleasure of speaking with Sophia all about Passport, her passion for writing and illustrating, inspiration, and more!
Hi, Sophia! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
I’m a cartoonist who writes longform graphic novels, but I also draw short, funny cartoons. I live in Austin, Texas and when I am not desperately trying to refine some aspect of my artistic process I am chasing my short, funny kids around.
When did you first discover your love for writing and illustrating?
I cannot remember a time I was not drawing and telling stories through pictures, but when I was five years old it really crystalized for me, not as the thing I was best at so much as the thing that satisfied me more than other activities. I’ve been a compulsive drawer ever since.
Your graphic memoir, Passport, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Identity, transgression, secrets, revelation and, of course, high school.
What can readers expect?
Passport is a story about what it means to grow up with a big family secret and the smaller secrets you carry with you as you create and protect your own identity. It also explores what it is to grow up away from your place of origin and how that effects ones sense of home and belonging. As a high schooler I was defined by my Americanness, but I actually had not spent much time in the United States and this is the frame within which I explore my attempts to differentiate myself from my family by adopting the very behavior they modelled in their secret work.
What sparked you to bring this story to the page?
I’d been writing mainly fantastical and surreal comics for a long time, but my stories were becoming more and more personal. My now-husband had been encouraging me to write about my childhood for years as well, and it all sort of snowballed after I wrote a short comic called Nightstand. That comic helped me develop the voice of my younger self, and once I heard that voice I was able to start writing the book that would become Passport.
Can you tell us a bit about the challenges you faced while writing and how you were able to overcome them?
I was and am genuinely worried about the reactions of those closest to me, both then and now. I wanted to be sensitive without feeling censored. It was difficult to put aside that fear, but in the end I had to because fear is not a useful writing tool. The biggest challenge was submitting a subsequent draft to the Central Intelligence Agency’s Publication Review Board. It was strange and confusing to be told I could not “reveal” certain details about my life growing up overseas. But it was also an interesting process and though it was challenging it was also a reminder that nothing is precious. If I could manage to tell my story without, what could be argued were often superficial details, then the story might become all the stronger for it.
Is there anything you hope your readers take away from reading Passport?
My circumstances were specific, but my experience was not necessarily unique, so my hope is that people see some of their own story in the book. You don’t need to move every few years or live in a country not your own to know what it feels like to be displaced and or to search for a sense of home and self. Ultimately that is what the book tackles and I hope that that is what readers recognize.
What’s the best and the worst writing and art advice you have received?
The best advice for me has always been “writers write” (though I guess you could also say “artist’s draw”), meaning just do it. When you’re stuck, or lost, or confused, put something down on paper. Even the most rudimentary sentence or doodle can lead to your next interesting idea and ultimately the only difference between those who create and those who want to create is the doing of it. The worst piece of advice I ever took was someone once told me to try writing without giving myself a deadline. I ended up taking an extra year to complete my project. But that was actually wonderful advice because it proved to me once and for all that I really need deadlines!
What’s next for you?
I am writing a new graphic novel about a girl who discovers how to manipulate her literal dreams and how that begins to affect the relationships with the real people in her waking life.
Lastly, what have your favourite reads of 2021 been?
Two books that came out this year blew my mind: Tillie Walden’s comics collection Alone in Space and Simon Hanselman’s pandemic epic Crisis Zone.
