JOE! is a sarcastic and mischievous 10-year-old, known among his loved ones for being the lil’ brat in their lives. Whether he’s with family, friends, or at school, Joe frequently finds his way into trouble. He usually has a smart-aleck response to get him back out of it, but that doesn’t always work. This kid is definitely the poster child of punishment.
This comic provides an amusing look at the world through the eyes of one of its future citizens. Each strip is combined with imaginatively-exploited everyday storylines, which makes for a memorable read. Joe along with his family and friends, welcomes you to his world, in the hope of inspiring yours.
Fashion Forward written by Shawnee and Shawnelle Gibbs, art by Linda Chung
Set in the cutthroat world of the competitive New York fashion industry, the series takes a satirical look at what happens when Sam Tate, an MIT drop-out turned fashion assistant, uses technology to advance in haute couture.
Blending elements of comedy, adventure and sci-fi, Fashion Forward, is a tale of morality that will make readers laugh and sit on the edge of their seats as heroine, Sam Tate, embarks on a journey that may change the future of one of New York’s most celebrated industries.
The first print issue is due for release March 5th, keep an eye out!
Aya: Love in Yop City comprises the final three chapters of the Aya story, episodes never before seen in English. When a professor tries to take advantage of Aya, her plans to become a doctor are seriously shaken, and she vows to take revenge on the lecherous man. With a little help from the tight-knit community of Yopougon, Aya comes through these trials stronger than ever. This second volume of the complete Aya includes unique appendices: recipes, guides to understanding Ivorian slang, street sketches, and concluding remarks from Marguerite Abouet explaining history and social milieu.
Traci Todd is the Senior Editor of VizKids, the children’s imprint of Viz Media manga publishing.
Todd graduated from Northwestern University in 1995 with a degree in communications. She went to work as a content writer for Jellyvision, the software company behind the award-winning “You Don’t Know Jack” and the licensed “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” CD-ROM games, to which Todd contributed. She worked for both Oprah.com and Harpo Productions, Inc. writing materials based on the content and themes of the Oprah Winfrey Show, including an eLearning initiative.
Much of her work has been in an educational vein aimed at a wide range of ages, including researching and scripting an online Cognitive Psychology course and producing multi-curricular interactive LeapFrog books for children aged 4-7. She also developed and co-taught a course on “The Art and Innovation of the Children’s Book” for California College of the Arts during the Spring 2008 semester.
She has worked as a children’s book editor for McGraw-Hill, Heinemann Publishing, and Chronicle Books before going to work for Viz Media in 2008. At Viz, she spearheaded efforts to expand beyond translated Japanese material, including manga based on the Nickelodeon Voltron Force show and the Mr. Men and Little Miss series. They also licensed the original Italian Winx Club comics in conjunction with the cartoon’s broadcast on Nickelodeon.
(*yes, this is a day late because being a grown up sucks and I couldn’t brain after work yesterday)
This is a great list. Octavia Butler is awesome of course, but everyone needs some Nalo Hopkinson (Midnight Robber, read it!) in their lives, and I’ve fangirled over Nnedi Okorafor enough to last both of us a lifetime.
And if we were to include comics on that list, we would have to mention Spike (of Templar, Arizona), Alitha Martinez (artist for Iron Man, Batgirl, and the New Crusaders), Ms,Shatia Hamilton (of Fungus Grotto), and Gemma Bedeau (of Afroella)!
Who are your favorite black women creating sci-fi/fantasy comics and prose? I’m fishing for recs here, people!
Are you a black woman working in the field of comics as an artist, writer, letterer, or editor? Are you a creator working on a comic that prominently features a black female character? The Ormes Society would like to hear from you! Drop us a line at theormessociety@gmail.com!
Signal boost! I’ve found some great creators through this list and am keen to find more!
Congratulations to one of my favorite artists, current Batgirl fill-in artist and former Iron Man artist, Alitha Martinez! She’s been hired by Archie Comics on their new digital superhero initiative, The New Crusaders! She takes over with issue 3, released in 4 parts throughout the month of July, and will continue for the foreseeable future.
I’d been meaning to check out this series since I enjoyed DC’s attempt to reboot the Archie “Red Circle” characters a few years ago (especially The Web written by D.E.B.s. writer/director Angela Robinson).
Just a heads up, a recent episode of the public radio show “Native American Calling” covered depictions of indigenous characters in comic books and video games. It’s a great show, and keep an ear out around the 20-minute mark for “Super Indian” creator Arigon Starr!
I had never seen Alitha Martinez’s art before, but I liked her section of the issue. According to DC’s website, we’ll be seeing more of her. She’s listed as drawing part of issue 8 and all of issue 10.
She did a really lovely job…her upcoming pages are even better. I really hope she gets a great ongoing books soon.
That is fantastic news! I’d talked to Carol Burrell (Martinez’s editor at Graphic Universe) at SPX and she said that Martinez was contemplating leaving comics, and that made me a sad panda, since I loved her Iron Man “Mask in the Iron Man” work as well as her “My Boyfriend Bites” work. The fact that she’s getting repeat jobs from DC Comics can only encourage her to stay! Apart from the fact that she’s a great artist, there’s also a real dearth of POC working at the Big Two these days, and Martinez is certainly one that deserves a higher profile (just look at that Babs, people!).
First up, LGBT publishing association the Publishing Triangle has awarded Alison Bechdel the 24th annual Bill Whitehead Award for Lifetime Achievement. The awards ceremony will be held on April 19 in New York City.
Also, the Glyph Comics Awards have announced their nominations of “the best in comics made by, for, and about people of color from the preceding calendar year.” Lady creators are also well represented in this year’s nominees:
Artist Mia Goodwin and her work on Princeless have been nominated for Story of the Year, Best Artist, Best Female Character (Adrienne), and Best Cover (issue 1)
Artist Sara Pichelli and her work on Ultimate Comics Spider-Man have been nominated for Story of the Year, Best Artist, and Best Male Character (Miles Morales)
Cartoonist Ms. Shatia Hamilton and her webcomic Fungus Grotto, have been nominated for Rising Star, Best Comic Strip or Webcomic, and Best Female Character (Vielle)
Writer Gemma Bedeau’s creation Afroella (and one of my favorite “discoveries” of last year) has been nominated for Best Female Character!
The awards will be presented in May at the East Coast Black Age of Comics Convention in Philadelphia.
ETA: An award given about a month ago that I hadn’t posted about!
The Japanese Embassy in the UK has been holding a manga competition for UK creators since 2007, and the winner from 2011 is one Elena Vitagliano, for her eight-page story, “The Deep Needs Train”.
There’s a Black Woman on each of the seven continents and in almost every country. So no matter where you go, she’s already been there. She travels with forces greater than herself. Her presence is everywhere. Black Women For Beginners chronicles the trials and triumphs of Black Women from antiquity to the present, reflecting with wit and humor the challenges they have faced and the fortitude and strength that have sustained Black Women and patterned history with a diversity of excellence. As warriors, healers, teachers, mothers, queens, and liberators Black Women have had tremendous impact on issues from food to fashion, from politics to poetry. Replete with a glossary of reference terms, Black Women For Beginners whimsically details the influence of stereotypes on the portrayal of Black Women in various venues and punctuates the absurd.
Fun Fact: Saundra Pearl Sharp played Eve in season 2 of the Lynda Carter Wonder Woman TV series!
Writer Si Spurrier was supposed to be on a “How To Write A Comic Script” panel today at London Super Comics Convention, but in support of Paul Cornell’s pledge to give up his seat on panels to qualified female creators when the panels are fewer than half women, he followed suit and gave his seat to cartoonist Tammy Taylor:
Carol M. Burrell is a cartoonist and the editorial director of the Graphic Universe imprint of Lerner Publishing Group.
A native New Yorker, Burrell is an alumna of Cornell University, where she majored in Classics. She has also lived in Wales and Italy
In 2005, she launched her webcomic SPQR Blues (as Klio) an historical drama that takes place in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius. Most of the characters are based on the actual inhabitants of the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum, whose names are known from graffiti, inscriptions, and the records of a notorious (and unresolved) ancient lawsuit. She was nominated for a 2008 Glyph Awards Rising Star Award.
In 2008, she started working at Graphic Universe, where she has worked with such creators as Trina Robbins, Joëlle Jones, and Dylan Meconis.
As an artist, she cites Leonardo da Vinci, Hal Foster’s Prince Valiant, and Elfquest by Wendy and Richard Pini as her three biggest influences.
Leilani Hickerson is a freelance illustrator and comics creator.
She was born in the heartland of New Jersey in the year of 1983. She graduated in 2006 from The University of the Arts in Philadelphia. There she received her BFA in Illustration and the university’s most distinguished illustration award.
Patrice Aggs is an illustrator originally from Detroit, Michigan who works in the UK. She studied at St John’s College, Annapolis and City & Guilds Art School in London, and has illustrated more than 50 children’s books, including Philip Pullman’s Count Karlstein graphic novel, and worked in animation, including on The Snowman. In 2008 she drew The Boss, written by her son John Aggs, for The DFC, a comics anthology for children published by Random House. She is writing and drawing “What Will Happen Next?!” for The DFC’s spiritual successor, The Phoenix, launched in 2012.
She has also contributed to the Whores of Mensa and The Strumpet anthologies for adults.
