We often read hoping to see a piece of ourselves reflected in stories, but it’s the surprising connections that can have the most impact. These connections are not always comfortable, but are often invaluable, such as Jennifer Gonzalez’s experience with depression and Katie O’Neill’s webcomic Mushrooms. Each time readers respond powerfully to comics such as O’Neill’s it…
5 Minutes with Margaret Atwood on Angel Catbird
What is Angel Catbird? There must be a sense of tongue-in-cheekness, surely, to such a title and premise, but with Margaret Atwood, one never knows. It’s a title–and a premise–that allows you to assume you know everything about it (an Angel Catbird, obviously) while simultaneously confirming you know nothing about it (what the hell is an…
Fangirl and Feminist Forever: An Interview with Sam Maggs
You may have seen her on various nerdy platforms and sundry, and Sam Maggs wouldn’t have it any other way. She’s all about sharing her brand of geeky media and feminism with everyone she meets. With her first book, The Fangirl’s Guide to the Galaxy, Sam brings fangirls of all types together to revel in their geekiness….
Comics and Gut-Wrenching Connections: An Interview with Kevin Czap
Comics is a business. We rightfully spend much of our time talking about what we love, what infuriates us, and what gives us life, but we sometimes forget about the financial transaction involved in getting the art that moves us. Cartoonists and comics writers need to eat, to pay their rent, and to feed their cats, and…
By Crom! Rachel Kahn on Getting in Touch with Your Inner Barbarian
My earliest childhood ambition was fairly straight-forward: be Red Sonja or She-Ra. I had a horse and my mom humored me with a fake plastic sword from the circus, but I was not allowed to wave said sword around the horses because horses will freak out over the most innocuous things, like plastic bags. I…
Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá: The Seduction of Two Brothers
Eight years ago, the author/illustrator team of Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá set aside Milton Hatoum’s Dois irmãos, but not because the Brazilian author’s story of twin brothers Yaqub and Omar was not good. Quite the opposite. Moon and Bá found themselves immersed in the settings–the Amazon rain forest and the cities of São Paulo and Manaus–despite…
Meet the Devs: Alayna Cole, Founder of Queerly Represent Me
Welcome to Meet the Devs where we will interview and focus on developers who are women or nonbinary. It was found a recent study that women’s code is preferred over men’s, unless the selector knows a woman made it. This may not shock you as the tech industry is greatly dominated by men and by…
Scholastic Graphix Talent Search
In 2005, Scholastic launched Graphix with the publication of the full-color edition of BONE #1: Out from Boneville. Graphix is dedicated to publishing engaging, age-appropriate graphic novels for children and teens. Supported by librarians, teachers, and, most important, kids, Graphix titles have become bestsellers around the globe and continue to receive awards and critical acclaim,…
“Comics Should Reach Everyone” — Jon Rivera & Gerard Way Talk DC’s Young Animal
DC is introducing a new imprint called Young Animal, which features a specialized line-up of talent curated by Gerard Way, writer of Umbrella Academy (and lead singer of My Chemical Romance). Included in that line-up is writer Jon Rivera, best known as co-author of the critically acclaimed series Heartbreak. I had the pleasure of first meeting…
Say Hello to the new Afro-Latina Superhero on the Block: La Borinqueña
Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez is a writer, art director, and owner of Somos Arte a production studio located in Brooklyn New York. Miranda-Rodriguez is known as a Nuyorican (Native Puerto Rican New Yorker) within the Latinx community, and his Latino identity has served to influence much of his own work within the comic industry. In Guardians of Infinity #3, starring…
Plus-Size Space Sheriff: 2000ad Gets Lawless
Marshal Metta Lawson has arrived to uphold the law at Badrock, a wild west-style colony where the previous marshal has gone insane after just three months on the job. With the help of her deputy, Nerys Pettifer, she gets to work, doing her best to move towards peace and harmony with as few casualties as…
Siobhan Gallagher: Cartoonist and Author on the Rise
I first met Siobhan Gallagher at this year’s MoCCA Festival. Among hundreds of exhibitors, it was her experimental drawing style and ironic witticisms that caught my eye. A former cover designer at Penguin Random House, Siobhan has self-published two full collections and several smaller art pamphlets since her graduation from NSCAD University in 2012. Her…
