About Marina N. Neira / Marina Neira

My name is Marina and I'm 25 years old. I live in sunny Miami, Florida with my mother and two cats, Stimpy and Shampoo. We came from Argentina a little over six years ago (my mother, Stimpy and I. Shampoo is an all-american cat!)

My dream has always been to draw for a living, and in this wonderful country it is beginning to come true. I get to work as a freelance illustrator (you can see my art here) and also sell my artwork online on Sharpied Canvas, my Etsy store.

Most of my spare time is dedicated to working on Meganeea, a graphic novel project I started when I was 13 years old and which is finally starting to see the light.

My hobbies include reading, writing, drawing, and of course comics. I don't like superhero comics, though. Instead, I favor old American ones such as Little Lulu, Casper, Little Lotta, Little Audrey, Richie Rich and Li'l Abner, or European ones like Asterix, Yakari, Lucky Luke and The Smurfs. Owly and Persepolis are also favorites of mine --I loved all of Marjane Satrapi's books. I also own a vast collection (roughly 200 volumes and counting) of manga, Japanese comics. Going on a comics-shopping-spree, be it offline or online, is my favorite activity. Needless to say, I'm broke a good deal of the time!

I also enjoy collecting postcards and used gift cards.

I love animals very much, in particular cats, owls, deer and goats. Also garden snails, though I'm not too sure why.