You might recognize 16-year-old actress Amandla Stenberg from her turn as Rue in the first installment of The Hunger Games. She is also a POC social justice activist, which has led to her most recent creative avenue as a comic book writer.
Titled NIOBE: She is Life, the comic is co-written by Stenberg and Sebastian A. Jones, with illustration by Ashley A. Woods and layout by Darrell May. Jones also founded the Los Angeles-based Stranger Comics — the multi-platform comics company producing this work. Stranger Comics seeks to explore and disseminate narratives about the POC or mixed-race experience through different artistic mediums. May serves as its art director.
Here is the official synopsis for the comic:
"NIOBE: She is Life is a coming of age tale of love, betrayal, and ultimate sacrifice. Niobe Ayutami is an orphaned wild elf teenager and also the would-be savior of the vast and volatile fantasy world of Asunda. She is running from a past where the Devil himself would see her damned... toward an epic future that patiently waits for her to bind nations against the hordes of hell. The weight of prophecy is heavy upon her shoulders and the wolf is close on her heels."
The character of Niobe is multiracial – in this case, half-POC, half-elf – which is what interested Stenberg as an advocate for POC representation.
"I was drawn to give voice to Niobe and co-write her story because her journey is my journey. I connect to her mixed racial background and quest to discover her innate powers and strengths, to learn who she truly is," Stenberg told The Huffington Post.
Stenberg first became involved with the project when she met Jones at the Mixed Remixed Festival, which focuses on celebrating mixed race heritage through the cultural arts.
"It did not take long for me to know she was the person I needed to develop the most beloved character in a franchise I have been brewing for more than two decades — a hero that has the weight of the world on her winged shoulders, a woman who will bind nations," Jones told the Huffington Post.
The character of Niobe first appeared in Jones' series The Untamed, which follows the Stranger – the protagonist of the line – and his quest to seek vengeance for the deaths of his wife and daughter.
As for why Niobe is such an imperative character?
"She is on a path to a destiny that will test her faith and her will, something we can all relate to," said Stenberg, "But there's never been a character quite like her — one who shatters the traditional ideal of what a hero is. We need more badass girls!"
Via: Huffington Post
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