M.S. Harkness’s A Harsh and Dreadful Thing

“Valentine’s Day is a time to reflect on previous Valentine’s Days and be upset or overly emotional if you're not getting what you need (sex, love, whatever),” says cartoonist M.S. Harkness. A Midwestern native who lives in Columbus, Ohio, she is the author of the graphic memoirs Under Tension, Desperate Pleasures, and Tinderella. For the February installment of Drawn to MoMA, Harkness has created a hilarious story about one of the most emotionally fraught days on the calendar. Asked about the difficulties of telling stories about love and sex, she says, “It’s challenging when you have to be truthful about anything of substance. People want to be represented in one way or not at all, or they want to be included but then suddenly don’t. I try to keep my own house in order and not worry about it too much.”

M.S. Harkness is the author of the graphic memoirs Time Under Tension, Desperate Pleasures, and Tinderella, as well as various self-published mini-comics. She currently lives in Columbus, Ohio, where she occasionally teaches at the Columbus College of Art & Design.

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