State of the Art: Caitlin Yarsky Draws Abuela from Coyotes

The great conundrum of comics press and criticism is that way too many of us struggle to talk about—or at least to fully and vibrantly capture—the artistic side of comics, which is what makes comics, well, comics. We can endlessly debate continuity, criticize character choices, pick apart plotting, but how many of us offer the artistic component the attention it deserves? How many of us cut deeper than comparing one artist to another, or trying to force into insufficient words how we respond to style and basic storytelling choices?

State of the Art is a video series produced in cooperation with Image Comics that shows artists at work as they discuss their series, their artistic journeys, their work process and more, all as we witness one of their characters come to life. Our fourth entry spotlights Caitlin Yarsky, the breakout artist behind Coyotes with writer Sean Lewis. The series, currently between its second and third arcs, has been described as “Kill Bill meets The Howling,” starring a young katana-wielding girl who defends the women of a border town against men who don the pelts of wolves.