Want to make and publish your own comic? Eleven year old Sasha Matthews has all the answers. Well, maybe not all the answers, but this young lady certainly has a plan and, with the support of her parents, has already published two comics of her own and has her own publishing company, Rumble Comics. Her…
Laser Kittens: An Interview with Cheyenne Wall-Grimes
Although I had met Cheyenne Wall-Grimes a time or two before, it was really my experience with her at Metatopia, a gaming convention for designers, that told me the kind of person she was. It was my first time attending, and I was really not sure about this whole designer business. I was probably trying…
Agents of the Realm: Kickstarting the Modern Magical Girls of Today
Agents of the Realm is the answer to the long awaited need for modern, magical girls that fit the diverse world we live in. Its story is complex and compelling, and its characters are incredibly relatable from the moment you meet them. And this month, Agents of the Realm is on Kickstarter! Artist and creator…
Justice 101: Secret Hero Society’s Derek Fridolfs & Dustin Nguyen
When Secret Hero Society: Study Hall of Justice was announced, I was excited. Not only would we be getting kid versions of the DC trinity (Batman/Superman/Wonder Woman), but the team behind my favourite ongoing series when I got into comics, Batman: Li’l Gotham, would be the ones to do it. Young Bruce Wayne is the new…
Not Your Average Wizard: An Interview with Stella Maeve of The Magicians
Every generation seems to have a wizard story of origin: our grandparents may remember Frodo and The Lord of the Rings, while our parents might have introduced us to The Chronicles of Narnia. As the kids who grew up with Harry Potter have aged, the idea of magic has remained a fascinating escape. It’s this eternal draw to magic…
The Impostor Queen: A Q&A with Sarah Fine
In her new novel, The Impostor Queen, Sarah Fine takes readers on an exciting, emotional and political fantasy adventure. At the heart of this new novel is a young girl named Elli. Ever since she was a child Elli has been in training with the Elders of Kupari and one day she will succeed the Valtia and protect the Kupari…
A Brief Q&A with Astronaut Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger!
Last fall, I was able to conduct a brief interview via email with retired astronaut Dottie Metcalfe-Lindenburger. She is one of four Educator-Astronauts who have traveled into space, the first Space Camp alumna to fly in space, and has spent a total of fifteen days, two hours, forty-seven minutes in space. Today, Metcalfe-Lindenburger shares memories of…
Feminism and Realism in John Allison’s Giant Days
Amongst the barrage of “best of” comics lists that closed out 2015, I was delighted to see John Allison’s Giant Days pop up in multiple places. The comic follows three friends—Esther De Groot, Susan Ptolemy, and Daisy Wooton—as they navigate their emotionally and academically tumultuous first year of university (a.k.a. college, for the Americans like…
This Week in WWAC History: Industry Interviews
Interviews with comics creators are like the special features on DVDs. I love hearing about creative influences and the hard work it takes to bring an idea to life. Lucky for me, WWAC provides these comic special features without having to purchase an extended edition. Enjoy these interviews from the past!
Interview with Grand Comics Database
Awhile back while researching for my first piece in my Red Sonja series, I found the Grand Comics Database (GCD) crucial to my research. GCD is a non-profit, international database for printed comics. The site’s goal is lofty – “the database will contain data for every comic book ever published in every country around the planet.”…
The Tuskegee Heirs Will Soon Take Flight
[Editor’s note January 14, 2015: The Tuskegee Heirs Kickstarter has launched!] As a kid, I was completely obsessed with the Tuskegee Airmen. I read biographies, killed my Tuskegee Airmen videotape, did my best to know everything possible about the people and the times. This was in part because my grandfather, himself a member of the…
Get your Optimistic Sci Fi Fix with The Immortal Nerd
I first encountered H-P Lehkonen’s comics when their activism group, Femicomix Finland, visited Chicago and teamed up with local comics activists The LadyDrawers to discuss their work. Lehkonen radiates positivity; whether its with stories that look to the future or biographical works that look to the past, they always seem to celebrate the brighter, more…