Chris Ware Quotes

Powerful Chris Ware for Daily Growth

About Chris Ware

Chris Ware is an American cartoonist, graphic novelist, and educator, renowned for his intricate storytelling techniques and innovative visual aesthetics. Born on August 19, 1967, in Omaha, Nebraska, Ware developed a passion for comics at an early age, inspired by the works of Herge's Tintin series and Charles Schulz's Peanuts. After graduating from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a degree in fine arts, Ware worked as a freelance designer for various publishing companies before becoming a regular contributor to The New Yorker magazine in the early 1990s. His work in the magazine, often referred to as "comics within comics," showcased his unique storytelling abilities and earned him critical acclaim. In 2000, Ware published what is arguably his most famous work, "Jimmy Corrigan, The Smartest Kid on Earth." This graphic novel is a sprawling, intricately plotted family saga that employs non-linear storytelling and complex visual layouts. The book was widely praised for its emotional depth and innovative design, earning Ware numerous awards, including two Eisner Awards. Ware's other notable works include "Acme Novelty Library," a series of self-published graphic novels that explore themes of family, memory, and the passage of time. His work is known for its dense narratives, intricate illustrations, and emotionally resonant storytelling. Ware currently teaches cartooning at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where he continues to push the boundaries of the medium while inspiring a new generation of comic creators.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"Art is a way of making your soul grow."

This quote by Chris Ware emphasizes that art is not just about creating aesthetically pleasing or entertaining pieces; it's also about personal growth, development, and self-discovery. By engaging in the creative process, artists can nurture their souls, learn more about themselves, and evolve on a deeper level. This growth may be emotional, intellectual, or even spiritual, as the act of creating requires introspection, self-expression, and sometimes overcoming challenges. Thus, through art, one's soul not only grows but also becomes richer, wiser, and more profound.


"Life is like an open comic book with no clear ending, and the longer we live the more pages we turn, and the more our understanding deepens about who drew it, what it's about, how it got to be this way, and why we keep reading it despite ourselves."

This quote by Chris Ware highlights the unpredictable and complex nature of life, likening it to an ongoing comic book with no definite ending. He suggests that as we live, we continuously encounter new experiences (turn pages), which deepen our understanding of ourselves, others, and the world around us (discovering who drew the comic, its themes, origins, and reasons). The metaphor implies that despite moments when we may feel lost or confused in life (reading it despite ourselves), there's a compelling curiosity that keeps us engaged.


"The fact that something is drawn does not mean it can't change the world."

This quote underscores the transformative power of art, particularly visual art like illustrations or comics. Just because a work is created through drawing doesn't diminish its potential to inspire, educate, challenge, or even revolutionize society. Art can serve as a powerful medium for expressing ideas, evoking emotions, and sparking meaningful conversations that ultimately impact the world around us.


"All art, if it's any good, should in some way reflect your own experience back to you so that you can see it more clearly, or understand it better."

This quote suggests that effective art serves as a mirror, enabling individuals to examine their own experiences and emotions with greater clarity and understanding. By experiencing the artwork, one is offered a fresh perspective on personal feelings and situations, thus fostering self-awareness and empathy. Art in this context becomes a catalyst for introspection, stimulating personal growth and enriching our connection with ourselves and others.


"Storytelling allows us to live—or re-live—parts of our lives from the comfortable distance of an armchair, and to share with others the particular wisdom that comes only from having been there."

This quote by Chris Ware highlights the transformative power of storytelling in human experience. By narrating events, we can revisit significant moments of our lives, gain perspective, and derive wisdom. Storytelling also fosters empathy as it allows us to vicariously live through the experiences of others, providing a unique form of connection and understanding between individuals. In essence, Chris Ware is emphasizing that storytelling enables us to explore, reflect upon, and share our lives' lessons with others.


As children, as we learn what things are, we are slowly learning to dismiss them visually. As adults, entirely submerged in words and concepts, we spend almost all of our time thinking and worrying about the past and the future, hardly ever looking at or engaging with the world visually.

- Chris Ware

Learning, About, Almost, Submerged

There seems to be such a laziness in - and I hate to use this phrase - the modern world. Everything is pumped out so quickly so that you can read it while passing by, like billboards or those flashcards before movie shows.

- Chris Ware

Movie, Before, Pumped, Billboards

Ragtime has about the same amount of respect as comics. And in a way they're similar art forms. Ragtime is highly compositional, and the emotion in the music is built in, whereas in jazz a lot of that emotion comes from the way it's performed.

- Chris Ware

Art, Similar, Amount, Art Forms

I don't think there's any independent cartoonist whose stuff I don't like or respect in at least some way or another. We're all marginal laborers - we're practically medical oddities - so I don't see why we can't all be nice to each other.

- Chris Ware

Medical, Some, Other, Oddity

I have a preponderance to look smug in photos; something to do with the way my mouth turns up at the corners.

- Chris Ware

Mouth, Smug, Corners, Preponderance

As I've gotten older I've occasionally found myself nostalgic for earlier periods of solitude, though I realize that's also likely a false nostalgia, as I know there was nothing I wanted more during those periods than to not be alone, whatever that means.

- Chris Ware

Alone, Found, Gotten, Solitude

Comics, at least in periodical form, exist almost entirely free of any pretense; the critical world of art hardly touches them, and they're 100% personal.

- Chris Ware

Art, Critical, Almost, Hardly

There seems to be a peculiar kind of clamor for comics. And I'm not sure how much a part of reality that is. I think partly it's based on some idea that comics are what everybody wants to read - and I don't think that's the case.

- Chris Ware

Some, Everybody, I Think, Peculiar

I believe that the development of language - of naming, categorization, conceptualization - destroys our ability to see as we age.

- Chris Ware

Language, Development, Naming

When I was 11 years old, I thought, 'All I really wanna be able to do is my own comic book,' and I'm doing it. I don't have any other real ambitions. I have nothing to conquer at all.

- Chris Ware

Thought, Doing, Other, Comic Book

My wife has joked that if anything ever happened to me, she'd gladly live out her life without anyone else around. I think it bugs her I'm home all the time; such is the life cycle of the cartoonist, however.

- Chris Ware

I Think, Around, However, Gladly

During my Austin years, I was drawing a regular strip for the University Of Texas newspaper, going to school, delivering blood, and trying to change my approach and 'style' as much as I could, since I knew that I'd calcify as I got older.

- Chris Ware

Texas, Newspaper, University, Regular

My grandmother was an unparalleled storyteller who gave me a preview of how life might turn out, and also fortified my empathy.

- Chris Ware

Empathy, Might, Preview, Fortified

Lately, I can't shake the feeling that I've been living a dream for the last 10 years or so; I can't account for most of my 20s, and I have to continually remind myself that certain people are dead now and many of my friends have children.

- Chris Ware

Dead, Been, Shake, Lately

Sometimes I get worried I'm getting too caught up in the nauseatingly oily smoothness of my own line, when all I'm trying to do is make it as clear as possible.

- Chris Ware

Caught, My Own, Line, Worried

The thing I don't understand is why so often one hears discussion of the fruits of human labor as if it's all the creation of some alien race.

- Chris Ware

Understand, Race, Some, Hears

Drawing on a computer doesn't make any sense to me. It's not intuitive.

- Chris Ware

Me, Drawing, Computer, Intuitive

I can definitely say that of all my friends who I consider to be really great cartoonists, we're all trying to aim at basically the same thing, which is an ever closer representation of what it feels like to be alive.

- Chris Ware

Aim, Alive, Feels, All My Friends

I had a messy signature as a child, and my grandmother said this suggested I had no regard for other people. She was right.

- Chris Ware

Signature, Other, Had, Suggested

I prefer to imagine that my wife, a few friends, and occasionally my mom are the only ones who read what I do, though I realize that this is somewhat unrealistic.

- Chris Ware

Imagine, Read, Prefer, Occasionally

Mostly, I was only interested in television as a kid, and the majority of reading material I collected was an adjunct to that central concern, comic books and magazines included.

- Chris Ware

Kid, Comic Books, Mostly, Included

I don't think of myself as an illustrator. I think of myself as a cartoonist. I write the story with pictures - I don't illustrate the story with the pictures.

- Chris Ware

Think, I Think, I Write, Cartoonist

Well, there are better cartoonists now than there ever have been. I firmly believe that. There's some amazing work being done.

- Chris Ware

Some, Been, Firmly, Being Done

I guess I just don't like being physically in front of people I don't know very well, because I expect to be 'seen through,' or, even worse, instantly hated.

- Chris Ware

Through, Very, Even Worse, Hated

The first thing I do when I get up is I look out the window. I've been looking at the same image for six years. It's imprinted in my mind like an afterimage template.

- Chris Ware

Years, Been, Imprinted, The First Thing

A book sometimes seems to impose a through-line to life that real life doesn't actually have.

- Chris Ware

Book, Impose, Actually, Real Life

One of the things that appealed to me most about comics was that you can pick the ones you like and build your own personal pantheon.

- Chris Ware

Own, Like, One Of The Things, Appealed

I still can't get over the idea that respectable adults now go to see superhero movies and that such films get reviewed in the 'New Yorker.' Clearly, I am seriously out of step with the times.

- Chris Ware

Superhero, Idea, Respectable, Yorker

I think it has most to do with the way in which a story is told, whether it feels real either via the music of the telling or the 'honesty' of the story.

- Chris Ware

Think, Feels, Which, Via

When I was a kid, I liked books that just seemed so dense you could lose yourself in them for a whole afternoon. They were like their own whole world.

- Chris Ware

Like, Could, Seemed, Dense

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