A new comic inspired by the perfectly flat Fishtown rowhouses and the people who live in them

When cartoonist Benji Nate illustrated the unnamed city for her newest comic book, Girl Juice, she scanned the Philadelphia neighborhoods of her youth for inspiration.

“I’ve pretty much based every setting in every comic I’ve ever done on Philly,” Nate said to The Inquirer. This one’s like Sex and the City, but with concerns about making rent and a lot more mischief. It covers the endless antics of four ideally mismatched housemates: the cerebral Nana, the hypersexual and hyper-funny Bunny, the yearning Tula, and the responsible Sadie.

“I was specifically thinking of the Fishtown area, when I was doing Girl Juice,” Nate said. She went to middle school around Fishtown; and while she’s got a particular affection for West Philly (it’s where she had her first apartment as an adult), she selected Fishtown for practical reasons. “A rowhome situation is kind of flat and easy to draw,” she laughed. “I feel like the houses in West Philly are way more ornate and beautiful, but I don’t feel like doing that.”

Born in Puerto Rico, Nate now lives in Arkansas, close to Fayetteville. She moved to Philadelphia when she was 13, and then lived in the city, off and on, through her 20s. She lived in group houses — a major inspiration for Girl Juice.

After she and her husband moved to rural Arkansas to take care of her grandparents-in-law, the loneliness of the pandemic had her thinking about the creative energy of living with a lot of people. “Then I was like, I’m going to create a world and that the pandemic doesn’t exist and it’s just girls hanging out,” she said. “It was all just fantasy and escapism.” And perfectly flat Fishtown rowhouses.

Girl Juice is a brighter, giddier, girlier, and more colorful version of Nate’s typical style. The comic, she said, “is very simple, like a child could read it — even though a child shouldn’t read it!” Themes of Girl Juice include getting laid, getting outdoorsy, getting internet famous, and then changing your mind.

Nate’s currently looking forward to returning to the city of Girl Juice’s inspiration. “I was kind of a goblin when I was in Philly,” Nate said. “I would just spend all of my free time hanging out under a bridge drinking beer,” she laughed. “I’m hoping to come back and visit as a proper adult and not hanging out under a bridge.”

Nate will return to Philadelphia for a reading on May 3, 6 p.m., at Partners and Son. Girl Juice is published by Drawn and Quarterly.

“Benji Nate on tour with Girl Juice,” May 3, 6 p.m., Partners and Son, 618 S. Sixth St, Phila. https://drawnandquarterly.com/event/benji-nate-on-tour-with-girl-juice/