Six Questions interview #179 : Kyle Vingoe-Cram

Kyle Vingoe-Cram [Photo credit: James Arthur Maclean] is a cartoonist, writer and visual artist from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. They have been making comics since they were a child, and have always been fascinated by the potential of visual storytelling to create new avenues for literary exploration. They live in Ottawa with their husband and family. Kettle Harbour is their first novel.

How long have you been in Ottawa, and what first brought you here?

I have been Ottawa now for a little over a year and a half. I moved here from Halifax, Nova Scotia, my hometown, because my partner got a position with the Parks Canada federal office. 

I first starting writing and illustrating comics when I was a teenager, and by age 20 had written the first 100 pages of a longer comic. But I decided at the time to abandon it to pursue painting and contemporary art instead, as well as a master’s in Art History. It took me about 10 years to get back into writing comics in a big way. It felt like coming home—like, what had I been missing all this time? I am still quite new to the community here. We moved during the pandemic, so it’s really only in the last year that I’ve started reaching out to other writers and comic artists. I plan on attending my first Ottawa Writer’s festival this weekend!

How did you first get involved in writing, and subsequently, the writing community here?

Like I said, I’m still pretty new to the scene in Ottawa. But I recently just got to meet many of my comic artist peers in person in Toronto for the Toronto Comic Arts Festival, including Ottawa small comics press Ad Astra, and these connections were life-changing! I feel on the brink of being able to set up writing sessions on Zoom and in person, for example, which can be so helpful in a career that can often feel lonely and isolating. I also made a new friend who is organizing local drawing groups, so that’s a great way to stay in touch too.

What do you see happening here that you don’t see anywhere else? What does Ottawa provide, or allow?

Well, as a parent of a young child, I think Ottawa has been great for finding lots of wonderful family recreation and art activities. I’ve been able to take my toddler to local museums and parks on a regular basis, and there are many free activities. It’s inspiring for parents as well, when the kids are entertained, and improves my relationship to my work. I love being able to walk over to the Ottawa Art Gallery and see fantastic contemporary art for free, just a ten minute walk from where I live, for example. Ottawa also has an incredible concentration of independent bookstores, who have all been so supportive of carrying my first book, Kettle Harbour, which just launched. Having lived in several cities in Canada who do not have this resource, we don’t want to take it for granted!

Have any of your projects responded directly to your engagements here? How have the city and its community, if at all, changed the way you approached you work?

I am starting a new graphic novel with my friend, who lives in nearby Kingston, Ontario (where I lived for many years). The setting will be a small eastern Ontario city and college town, taking inspiration from both Ottawa and Kingston. I’m excited to portray the stately architecture of Ottawa in this story. It will be a new challenge from Kettle Harbour, which was set in rural Nova Scotia.

In terms of changing my approach to my work, I’m not sure Ottawa has changed anything substantially about my process (from Halifax). I still love working in nearby coffee shops to feel “part” of something and to be around others at work, instead of at home, where being alone proves a distraction.

What are you working on right now?

I am working on promoting my first graphic novel, Kettle Harbour, a queer family drama set in rural Nova Scotia, on the Fundy coast. The story is told through three interwoven perspectives, each character with their own distinct visual style. I was with Conundrum Press at TCAF this past weekend, and will be in Vancouver and Montreal later this month, Halifax in August. Stay tuned to hear about a signing in Ottawa soon! Probably in the early fall.

I am also working on A Rift in the Valley, with my friend and longtime collaborator, GHY Cheung, who also lettered Kettle Harbour. A Rift in the Valley is a new, full-colour graphic novel about what happens when a series of sinkholes opens up in a small university town in Eastern Ontario. It follows the intertwined lives of young, queer Brueghel scholar Oliver and his therapist, new parent Ursula, as they navigate this surreal new reality. We recently finished a mini-comic to preview the project, and are about to start on a detailed thumbnail draft.

THANK YOU FOR THE INTERVIEW.