For the past year, Daily Lobo readers could always count on seeing a — very often cat-inspired — positive or thought-provoking comic strip on the last page of the weekly paper.
Daily Lobo Cartoonist Avery Silfer’s weekly comics have the ability to make readers smile and boost self-worth, or reflect on tragedy and political tension.
This semester, Silfer is graduating with her bachelor’s degree in art studio with a minor in journalism, after having produced over 100 illustrations for the paper.
“I was really grateful for the cartooning position and that it existed because it felt like I was melding art and journalism together,” Silfer said.
Silfer started as a Daily Lobo cartoonist in Fall 2024, after hearing about the position from her friend and former Daily Lobo Editor in Chief Lily Alexander.
Silfer’s first illustration was printed for a story about ferrets, and after that she became one of the lead illustrators to bring humor and character to the Daily Lobo sports desk’s “Bobbleheads” features, before delivering the comic weekly beginning in Spring 2025.
Silfer said she enjoyed the pressure of having to “crank out” comics each week to submit to the editor in time for print.
“Having to make art for classes and having to make art for a job was an interesting thing to balance so I think a lot of it ended up kind of last minute,” Silfer said. “I think I ended up doing a lot of comics the day before, like a few hours before, but I really liked that pressure.”
Silfer used pens and watercolor to tell stories and convey messages, often illustrating sensitive or controversial topics with grace and care, while also navigating the challenges of modern journalism.
This year, student journalism has faced increased challenges with rising censorship, a hostile political climate, artificial intelligence and other factors shaping how journalism is created, consumed and perceived, according to the Student Press Law Center.
As a cartoonist who has a weekly spot in a newspaper, Silfer said she wanted to use her voice “for good.”
When Albuquerque was among several U.S cities seeing widespread protests in response to the fatal shooting of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents in Minneapolis, Silfer drew a powerful comic for that week’s Daily Lobo issue.
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Silfer said one of her most memorable comics was when she felt inspired to create a comic in response to a Minnesota school shooting last year.
“I wanted to use (my platform) to communicate ideas that I think are important because it would be foolish of me to not talk about those things at least a little bit in my art if I have that kind of privilege and voice,” Silfer said.
Silfer often incorporated her own personal stories in her comics, like the time that she rescued a kitten from under her backyard grill in Summer 2025.
“I had no idea what I wanted to make comics about and then this baby cat came into my life, and then I made a comic about him, and then (cats) just became a consistent motif in my comics,” Silfer said.
For her other art mediums, Silfer said she had been exploring topics related to womanhood, including body image, which she also incorporated in her comics.
“I was doing a lot of paintings about the female body and self-image and just being a woman,” Silfer said. “I wanted to explore those same ideas in my comics.”
Silfer said after graduation, she wants to continue making weekly comics to post on social media and submit her work to other publications.
“I want to keep cartooning,” Silfer said. “I want to submit stuff to magazines and newspapers just to see, because I think it’s sort of a dying art.”
Silfer said she has been creative since she was a child and has multiple sketchbooks under her bed in her childhood bedroom because she spent most of her free time drawing or making art.
“One of the only things that makes me truly happy is to make art about things, so if I didn’t have that I don’t know what my life would be,” Silfer said. ”I have made a commitment to keep making art throughout my life, no matter what happens, whether I’m making money off of it or whether I’m not.”
Leila Chapa is the social media and photo editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at socialmedia@dailylobo.com or on X @lchapa06
Paloma Chapa is the multimedia editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at multimedia@dailylobo.com or on X @paloma_chapa88
Leila Chapa is the photo editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at socialmedia@dailylobo.com or on X @lchapa06
Paloma Chapa is the multimedia editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at multimedia@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @paloma_chapa88
