The Chronicle

Issue date: 9/6/01 Section: Undefined Section
Last update: 1/18/06 at 11:36 AM EST

THAD PARSONS/THE CHRONICLE [Click to enlarge]

THAD PARSONS/THE CHRONICLE Jenny Zervakis, a researcher at the Medical Center sketches her published cartoon, Strange Growths. She says finding time for both work and drawing can be difficult. [Click to enlarge]

Research associate by day, comic by night. Such is the life of 33-year-old Jenny Zervakis, who works in the Duke taste and smell lab in the Department of Psychological and Behavioral Sciences.

In addition to working and getting her Ph.D. in Psychology, Zervakis has, since 1991, been publishing her own comic, a mostly autobiographical series called Strange Growths.

The comic, or "zine" (as in maga-ZINE), is published as a small 20-page magazine and has slowly earned Zervakis national recognition and a spot on a list of the top comics in the United States.

"Why do I do it?" asks Zervakis. "For the art, to try to make something that moves someone in some way. Comics and zines are a way to get your art out there... It's yours, you do whatever you want. "

With a circulation now in excess of 150, Zervakis has made her name known in the comic community. Distributed nationally and internationally, Strange Growths earned its author a spot on the list of "Top 187 comics," as published by The Starros Report.

As a young girl growing up in Chicago, Zervakis always had a passing interest in comics. Her fascination was more with the stories and messages within them. "I always considered myself more of a writer than an artist... I thought of comics as more of a guy thing," Zervakis said.

Indeed, Zervakis indulges in literary pursuits aside from her comics. She and her husband, fellow zine creator Mark Cunningham, a bartender at Satisfaction produce a monthly column in The Urban Hiker, a local guide to the Triangle. In their column, "Durham Confidential," the two explore the city of Durham and report on thrift shops, the cemeteries, and other places and events they come across.

Cunningham, who Zervakis described as "my biggest fan" also assisted his wife in putting together their anthology "Zoomcranks," a compilation of the best comics from zine authors across the county. This network of comics is perhaps one on the strongest reasons that Zervakis has continued with her comic writing.

“Most of [my circulation] is in trade, where one can trade your zine for the work of people you find interesting. In general, I found the comic community a lot more open and welcoming to people doing it than I would have ever expected.”

Zervakis has put production of Strange Growths on hold while she works on her newest comic about a sentient worm named Bumbalo. The new comic presents a challenge for Zervakis, a self-described “word-heavy” author, as she now grapples with creating a wordless comic. After all, worms can’t speak.

Still, with the cost of design shipping and printing—all of which Zervakis finances herself—there is little money to be made in the business. The majority of zine creators are college students or recent graduates. And as her job at Duke grows increasingly demanding, Zervakis laments the lack of time she is able to put into to her endeavors.

“I guess everyone just wishes they had more time for their hobbies,” she said.

For now, though, Zervakis intends to continue with her passion and to do it as well as she can as she balances her many commitments.

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