Stephanie Williams has become a sensation in comics journalism, webcomics, and is making her debut in tomorrow’s Marvel Voices: Legacy. She sat down with us to talk about the journey she has taken to get where she is today.
Zachary Jenkins: What was your path from journalist to Marvel writer like?
Stephanie Williams: It’s been a five year voyage lol. I graduated from college thinking I was going to be a scientist and maybe one day a college professor to working as an electron microscopist in lab with an extremely toxic work environment. While working there I passed my time being on Twitter, which eventually led to me starting a podcast because that’s what happens when you’re Twitter a lot.
On my podcast I would talk about comics I was read or tv shows and movies I’d watched. From there I started doing a podcast called Misty Knight’s Uninformed Afro in which myself and co-host would do deep comics history dives on Black women characters in comics. We even go invited to be panelists for the 2018 Art Summit at the Kennedy Center in D.C. which was a phenomenal experience. When that podcast ended abruptly, I had all this comic research I did and still wanted to share so I pitched to SYFYFANGRRLS and next thing I knew, I was writing for them regularly for two years.
All this time I was still working at my day job, but I finally quit it when the toxic work environment started to take a massive toll on my mental health. Just before quitting, my first webcomic, Parenthood Activate debuted and that led to BUT WHAT IF THOUGH, and the next thing I knew I was doing a Kickstarter for Living Heroes. It funded in like 24 hours which still blows my mind. One day I got an email from Marvel editors, Sarah Brunstad and Will Moss, asking if I wanted to write a story for them. It’s all been extremely surreal.
ZJ: Monica has featured heavily in some of your fan comics like Living Heroes. Are you approaching her differently in a licensed Marvel book than you would on your own?
SW: Funny enough, no. For a moment I froze up after getting the email because I was like “shit, what the hell am I going to do now?”. When I think about it now it was a silly moment to have because I knew exactly what to do. The way I approached Monica in my fancomic was from a love of all the things that make her Monica Rambeau, so all I had to do was that very same thing for her story in Marvel Voice’s: Legacy #1.
ZJ: She is also getting a lot of spotlight with Wandavision and the upcoming Captain Marvel sequel. What about the character do you hope folks learn to love?
SW: I’m hoping that people respect the amount of empathy she has, and realize that’s where a lot of her strength comes from. It’s why no matter what her codename is, she’s Monica Rambeau at the end of the day and the only one. She’s straight forward and never afraid to say what needs to be said or do what needs to be done.
ZJ: You get to work with Natacha Bustos on this story. What makes her a great fit for the story you are telling?
SW: I had to sit down when I learned Natacha was going to be working on my story. It was actually a dream come true because I wrote with her art style in mind. She does such an amazing job of making the pages feel like they’re animated. Her art is also extremely inviting. You want to sit down, get comfortable, and have a good time.
ZJ: One of the biggest themes in your work is sisterhood between Black women. Do you feel like this is an under represented theme in mainstream comics? Why is this experience important for you to highlight?
SW: Showing Black sisterhood is ultra important to me. You have these women who are usually the minority on the respective teams they get thrown on or maybe their working alone, but are still in the same universe – why the hell wouldn’t they befriend another Black woman. I know working in science anytime there was a new person who joined another lab or something in the same building I was in, we would eventually find one another and at least speak at work. I imagine it would be the same for a lot of these Black super heroines. They need and deserve that kind of support. They have group chats, Brunch, and get together to go out. There is just no way they wouldn’t interact on some level, even with some of the anti-heroes.
ZJ: What’s next for you?
SW: I’m currently working on an original horror comic with artist Taylor Goethe. I’m really excited about it, it’s focusing the poor relationship between Black communities and the medical community. I’d love make a season 2 for Living Heroes which could happen if schedules align and the timing is right.
Zachary Jenkins co-hosts the podcast Battle of the Atom and is the former editor-in-chief of ComicsXF. Shocking everyone, he has a full and vibrant life outside all this.
