Victoria Ying is Telling Her Own Story in Her Own Voice

When literally drawing from experience, Victoria Ying has shown how powerful a personal narrative can affect the reader. Her experience as an illustrator has allowed her to work on animated films for Disney and on multiple comics for DC and Marvel, including the collaboration of Diana, Princess of the Amazons with New York Times bestselling authors Shannon and Dean Hale. In April, she published Hungry Ghost, an autobiographical graphic novel that follows protagonist Valerie Chu navigating her senior year of high school while dealing with an eating disorder, a crush on a classmate, and a personal tragedy.

Recently, Ying and I spoke from Tokyo, where she is living her best digital nomad life, about her current projects, Asian creators, and her upcoming Marvel collaboration. 

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Priya Sridhar: Hungry Ghost, as the afterword mentions, comes from a personal place. What was it like, going through the process of distilling those experiences and feelings into a unique story?
Victoria Ying: It was definitely challenging, but I had the experience that was basically the climax of the book. I wanted to tell a story about that, so I started structuring it the way that I would structure fiction. Knowing it was going to be the climax, I knew that was where the character was going to have her turn, change, and undergo her journey. It was definitely something that was hard because I was going to be putting a lot of myself on the page. Because it was fictionalized, however, I was able to put some distance from it. Fiction allows me to put in a framework and to add an ending that isn't necessarily true to life, but is hopeful. 

PS: I think it's a very hopeful ending as well.
VY: Thank you! 

PS: Valerie's mother felt very true, with her obliviousness to life in the face of her children's struggles. Grief makes a person self-absorbed. What was it like writing to her and avoiding stereotypes?
VY: I think that for me, growing up with an immigrant mother, I was able to see where her own history and way of thinking did limit her ability to understand me and my struggle. A lot of it was trying to be as honest as possible while also not leaning into anything that I know other people wanted to see.

"Stereotype" to me only comes with a lack of understanding. Being close to that experience, I felt that it was easier to render an honest character. A lot of people wanted a more satisfying turn for the mother, for her to change, but I felt that wasn't realistic, and I didn't want to put that in front of other immigrant kids. I wanted it to feel realistic. Even though it's a hopeful ending, it's not a fairy tale ending.

PS: No.
VY: I wanted it to feel true, you know? 

PS: And it does feel true. You've had a prolific career in animation, comics, and written work. What has been your most memorable project?
VY: I started working at Disney in 2007; my very first film was Tangled.