Good afternoon! I’m Michael, Beaufort’s newest intern, aka “Beau-ba Fett.” You can guess with a nom de guerre like that I’m a bit of Star Wars and comics nerd. So I always get a little excited when I see kids making comics. That’s why I took notice when I saw a recent Newsarama article about one of those kids, 15 year-old Emma T. Capps. In the upcoming June installment of Dark Horse Presents, Capps will become the youngest cartoonist ever published by Dark Horse.
But don’t think that Capps is some wunderkind, sprouting fully-formed like Athena, nor is she an amateurish l’enfant terrible. She’s been developing her skills as a writer and illustrator for years now, getting work published in Stone Soup, Cicada, and Creative Kids as far back as 2009. Now in tenth grade, Capps began her comic, Chapel, when she was a home-schooled eighth-grader. And believe me, she’s got the chops. Capps is pushing herself beyond the bounds of the typical semi-autobiographical faire that plagues indie comics. Chapel features a completely fictional 11 year-old girl as its protagonist. And it’s this quote from her Newsarama interview that made me take notice:
“I wanted to create a character who felt very real and had her own faults and quirks. But at the same time, I wanted her to be a person people could relate to. So I wouldn’t want to make the comic about the tales of a 16-year-old cartoonist, because that’s not something that people can relate to. And while some things that Chapel does are things that the readers of the comic may have never done, such as dress up in crazy costume or make hats, I still try to make it relatable.”
The best comics, whether featuring funny animals, spandex superheroes, or completely average humans, are about interesting, relatable characters. I think Capps is in good company. She reminds me of Colleen Doran, a 30-year comics veteran. Doran, notable for her work on Neil Gaiman’s Sandman, scored her first professional comics work at age 15. And though Doran work is filled with fantasy characters, they’re still believable people. Comics needs more young women like Emma T. Capps – enthusiastic, mature, and making good toons. I’m excited to see what happens next for Emma; I wish her all the best luck!
Tags: comic books, comics